TFA History

TFA Dostmann, the traditional German brand for meteorological measuring instruments, celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. Our first WIFI weather stations in the TFA.me series, designed and developed by us in Germany, also present our new flagship for the future.

We place a great deal of importance on individual and innovative product design. Winning the renowned Red Dot Award for our innovative “Clock in the Box” in our anniversary year reinforces this claim.

TFA focuses on sustainability

In 2021, we demonstrated our commitment to sustainability by installing a photovoltaic system on the flat roof of our company building. This covers around 40% of our own electricity consumption. This initiative is in line with other measures we have taken, such as reducing plastic packaging and developing sustainable product alternatives.

CO2 measuring devices

We had already developed CO2 measuring devices long before Covid-19 emerged. However, the pandemic gave them additional relevance, including in the private sphere, for monitoring air quality in closed spaces.

TFA Logistics Centre

Our new logistics centre was commissioned in 2015 after a nine-month building phase. It offers space for 5,300 pallets at a storage height of up to 14 metres. The packaging warehouse now runs fully automatically via computer-controlled shuttles. This has achieved an important step into the future!

Products get smart

Smartphones open up completely new technologies: Innovative devices that can be easily operated by apps on your mobile phone and locally measured climate values can be retrieved from anywhere in the world via the Internet.

In 2014, we launched the WeatherHub app and made measuring weather and climate data around your home and garden smart. Three years later, we introduced the WeatherHub Observer Platform, a solution that automates the monitoring of temperature and humidity, especially in the professional sector.

TFA expands its headquarters

In 2007, our company headquarters were expanded once more. The storage capacity was extended and a floor was added for new office space. TFA now has a floor space of more than 11,000 square metres.

WETTERdirekt: Professional weather forecasting at home

In the same year, we introduced WETTERdirekt technology (only for Germany): Professional forecasts are transmitted directly to our weather stations multiple times a day using radio and satellite technology. In 2012, the weather stations were further developed to incorporate weather warnings.

Alarm and wall clocks expanded our product range.

Quality is and remains important

New product ideas and our own designs become the focus of our company policy. The production of electronic instruments is now in the Far East. A new branch in Shanghai ensures local quality assurance.

Wireless thermometers from TFA conquer the market

TFA’s innovative wireless thermometers with cable-free transmission of temperature readings have become best sellers. Intelligent forecasting systems further improved the accuracy of weather forecasts. Our first digital window thermometers were designed and well received on the market.

High-bay warehouse

In 1992, TFA’s high-bay warehouse was built and inaugurated, a significant milestone in our company’s logistical infrastructure. This warehouse was later expanded to meet growing storage capacity and efficiency requirements.

Precise electronic weather instruments

In 1985, TFA Dostmann developed digital thermometers that represented a ground-breaking innovation in temperature measurement. These sophisticated devices enable more precise and reliable temperature measurements than their analogue predecessors. Since their introduction, these digital thermometers have significantly improved measurement accuracy and versatility in various applications.

TFA is a weather specialist

With its numerous patents and product ideas, TFA has qualified as a weather specialist. In 1979, sales increased to more than ten million DM (German Marks) and with that the need to build another extension. Machines were purchased, enabling streamlined production. By 1985, the company had 100 employees.

Design and cult object: Galileo Galilei thermometer

In 1977, a patent was registered for a high-precision synthetic hair hygrometer. In 1982, TFA launched the Galileo Galilei thermometer – this glass cylinder with its coloured orbs would become a design and cult object in the 1980s and 1990s.

TFA Dostmann grows

The first company premises were built in 1966 at the present location of “Zum Ottersberg”. Several additions increased the production area to 2,300 square metres in the following years. More than 30 employees were then working for the company now renamed as TFA Dostmann GmbH & Co. KG.

Our product range is extended

In the 1960s, simple household and commercial thermometers were added to our product portfolio. This was further expanded in 1970 to include barometers, hygrometers and compasses. Many TFA products have gone on to become genuine classics and continue to be produced today in a virtually unchanged format.

Foundation of the company

Heinz Dostmann founded TFA in November 1964 as a “technical factory for valves” in Kreuzwertheim. At that time, several new glass processing companies settled in the region, attracted by the Wertheim glassworks, which had been built in 1950 by Thuringian glass specialists.

The very first TFA product

Inspired by the Six thermometer invented by James Six in 1782, a maximum-minimum thermometer was patented by Heinz Dostmann. Production began in Kreuzwertheim in 1964.