At Eleven Dynamics, we believe stories shape industries. Stories of bold decisions, of ideas born over coffee rather than in boardrooms, of people who refuse to settle. That's why we launched Metrology Stories, our new podcast where pioneers share how they pushed the limits of what's possible in industrial measurement. And we couldn’t have kicked off with anyone better than Raimund Loser.
Raimund began his professional life earlier than most. At 14, he was already apprenticing as a fine mechanic at Siemens. But it didn’t take him long to realize that wasn’t enough.
“I knew it—doing the same thing every day for the next 47 years? That can’t be it.”
He craved more. So he studied by night, worked by day, and carved his own unconventional path into engineering and metrology. Over time, he transitioned from technician to engineer, from field worker to development leader. His journey would take him from factory floors in Munich to executive meetings at Leica and Hexagon—and to the forefront of measurement technology.
In the early days, precision metrology was more vision than reality. Electronic theodolites were brand new. Distance meters required perfect environmental conditions. And the idea of a laser tracker was just that—an idea.
“We had this black box from Camlau. It could either track—badly—or measure—slowly. But not both.”
It took two years of engineering, experimentation, and stubbornness to turn that prototype into something useful. What came out was the LTD500—the first laser tracker equipped with an absolute distance meter. That innovation alone changed how industries measured large-scale components. But Raimund was just getting started.
Some of Raimund’s greatest contributions came not from perfect planning, but from brave decisions. One of them? The launch of the T-Scan. After months of development and internal debate, his project faced cancellation. Testing was still incomplete. But Raimund had a feeling it was time.
“I said that’s it—we stop testing. We take it to a customer. We show them what we’ve built.”
That customer was Volvo in Gothenburg. They were blown away. That moment proved what Raimund always believed: sometimes, you need to bet on your vision—especially when the system tells you not to.
Raimund is the first to admit it: nothing he built was built alone.
“It was always about the team. I just kept the ideas moving.”
From his early days managing a development team of 37 engineers to helping shape a new generation of specialists, Raimund constantly brought people together. He credits his success not just to technical skill, but to long conversations, shared meals, and meaningful coffee breaks.
“Some of the most important decisions didn’t happen in meetings. They happened over coffee, or late-night dinners.”
This is a value we share deeply at Eleven Dynamics. We don’t believe in top-down culture. We believe in eye-level collaboration—across departments, roles, and generations.
Raimund’s fingerprints are on nearly every major advancement in modern optical metrology. When others debated theory, he sketched mechanisms on napkins and built them in titanium. When others waited for perfect conditions, he rolled up his sleeves and found a way.
Here are just a few things he helped bring into the world:
- The first integrated scanning tracker
- The punch tool used by Stadler Rail and large-scale casting manufacturers
- Automation interfaces years ahead of their time
- The foundational elements of robotic calibration workflows
At one point, his side project (a small mechanical punch developed from a lunchtime idea) sold over 950 units to companies like Stadler Rail and Hexagon. That tool alone helps mark up to 6,000 points per train car.
Raimund may be in his seventies now, but he’s still sharp, curious, and deeply involved. Whether it’s mentoring young engineers or sharing stories with the next generation of metrology enthusiasts, his contribution continues to grow.
And we at Eleven Dynamics are proud to carry his spirit forward. It’s a spirit of solving problems not just with brains, but with heart. A spirit of pushing forward even when the path is unclear. A spirit of seeing people, not just products, as the core of innovation.
We launched Metrology Stories to preserve exactly this kind of wisdom. Not the polished LinkedIn version. The real story. The mistakes. The breakthroughs. The friendships. The coffee.
Listen to Episode 1 with Raimund Loser at:
Watch on YouTube (German)
Watch on YouTube (English subtitles)
At the end of each episode, we ask our guests: What’s one piece of career advice you’d give your younger self?
Raimund didn’t hesitate: “Believe in your ideas. But never forget that the best ones are made together.”
