2023 has been a year of significant evolution for LAIIER. We’ve grown and matured in every area of the business, while still remaining true to our values. And while we’ve certainly been busy, we’re particularly proud of the impact that this activity has translated into.
We’ve added senior commercial expertise to the team this year, which has had a big impact on our presence in the market. Or should we say - markets: while we continue to serve the UK, this year we’ve begun to seriously dip our toes into the EU, and we’re gaining significant traction in the US.
How significant is that traction? Enough that the LAIIER name and reputation preceded us at the many, many events Matt attended and spoke at this year. A major highlight was WEFTEC in Chicago, where LAIIER was hosted as a member of Imagine H2O’s prestigious Accelerator program.
As more and more commercial real estate owner-operators and insurers seek better water leak detection solutions, it’s exciting to hear that we’re already known for our innovation and engineering excellence.
And perhaps most importantly on the commercial front, we’ve been privileged to welcome a number of new customers this year. While we’re not able to talk about all our customers due to commercial sensitivity, we’re particularly proud to be able to share the successes we had with Rentokil Initial’s lab, and Big Penny Social’s entertainment venue.
Being more fully part of the wider water and LoRa ecosystems has been such a positive experience for us: we love coming together with like-minded people and seeing diverse ways of solving important problems! We’re delighted to have become members of both RICS and the LoRa Alliance this year.
Early in ‘23 we signed a joint marketing agreement with Henkel’s Adhesive Technologies arm, to support the scaling of our sensors. We continued the collaboration with the inclusion of our Severn and Trent sensors in Henkel’s INKxperience Kit, designed to spark innovation for engineers and R&D specialists. And in the latter half of the year, we were honored to be invited to install Severn WLD™ devices in the Lab of Printing Technologies in the Henkel Adhesive Technologies Inspiration Center in Düsseldorf.
And as we’ve just recently announced, we are now members of the AXA XL Ecosystem! AXA XL has an unparalleled depth and breadth of knowledge about water leaks. We’re excited to be included in its suite of trusted technology solutions, and look forward to working with both AXA XL and its customers to better address business risks and meet innovation goals through early water leak detection.
This year we’ve been able to dig even deeper into the needs of our customers, and to push the boundaries of the technologies we use. As commercial demand has grown, so too has our engineering team, as we continue to invest in technological and product development.
Thanks to the invaluable feedback from customers and partners, we’ve gained an even deeper understanding of what customers want from an early water leak detection solution, and Severn WLD specifically. This candid feedback has driven us to continue to innovate, and we’re excited to share new developments with you early in 2024.
We’ve always been committed to a rigorous R&D program. This year, that commitment yielded the company’s fifth patent. Occasionally we’re asked if we own the technology we’re bringing to market, and we’re very proud to say that we do!
Our R&D efforts have also sparked two significant projects that remain in the sphere of LAIIER’s remit of dynamically functional surfaces, but that step outside our core use of water leak detection. We’ve engaged in a major energy project with transformative potential; and have gained significant traction in building materials, reinforcing our longstanding thesis of putting tech into building materials.
As we bring this year to a close, we’re already taking steps to implement the lessons we’ve learned and build on the successes we’ve had. With both economic and climate uncertainty set to continue, we believe that we’re well positioned to deliver innovative solutions that save money and resources.
After the hundreds of customer meetings that we had in 2023, one thing was clear. Our customers need LAIIER’s solutions. The combination of economic uncertainty, plus financial and cultural incentives to save resources are driving our customers to save both money and water. We’re excited to do this at scale in 2024.
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