Successful Telecontrol

 
The Swiss company Telecontrol AG, which manufactures measuring devices for electronic market research, closed the year 2007 with a turnover of around 38 million Swiss francs, a good double that of 2006. The company also reported a similar growth rate in profits. "It was our most successful year ever," said founder and CEO Matthias Steinmann on request. Telecontrol AG has 38 employees and is now wholly owned by the German GfK Group. The Chairman of the Telecontrol Group is Peter Hofer, CEO of IHA-GfK in Hergiswil, and the company was able to gain a foothold in several countries in 2007. In Pakistan and Georgia, a TV panel with 500 households each was set up with TC VIII, the latest Telecontrol generation. The situation is similar in Romania, where 1,200 households are being measured. In Armenia, a panel with 125 households is in operation. A doubling to 1,500 households is planned in Ukraine. Another panel has been set up in Bulgaria. The first test deliveries of a completely new system, the so-called TC Score, have also been sent to Germany. Mediawatch, which can measure the use of radio, TV, print, cinema, AdScreen and posters, is also being used abroad, for example in Cyprus.
In 2008, Steinmann wants to concentrate more on Switzerland again and maintain contact with Mediapulse, the Swiss foundation for TV and radio research. "With all the work abroad, I personally lost sight of our customers here," says Steinmann self-critically. Mediapulse previously purchased TC devices, Radiocontrol clocks and now also the Mediawatch from Telecontrol AG.
 
Markus Knöpfli