For 35 years, the SME from Mamer has been providing state-of-the-art products and services to the global players in the space and satellite industries.
Founded in 1986, HITEC Luxembourg S.A. specializes in high-tech solutions in four areas of activity: satellite ground segment; physical properties test and measurement equipment; traffic management; and crisis and mission critical communication solutions. The common thread between these activities is excellence, precision and measurement.
Its products include complete antennas, adaptable positioners, or integratable components, for use on large array telescopes and ground-based space communication systems, and geostationary and elliptical satellites in medium and low earth orbit.
With the motto “Market-oriented, customer-centric and technology-driven”, the 53-person company based in Mamer serves private and public, Luxembourgish and international players.
Startup And AI collaboration
“Our experience allows us to adapt our products and services to the specificities of the different space markets,” says Philippe Osch, its Senior Partner & CTO. “Our multidisciplinary team of mechanical, electrical, radio frequency and service engineers has proven expertise in design, system integration, commissioning, testing and maintenance of ground station systems.
HITEC Luxembourg was present at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), which took place in October 2021 in Dubai. HITEC Luxembourg was part of the delegation accompanying the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce’s economic mission to the United Arab Emirates, along with some thirty other Luxembourg-based companies.
“On site, we were able to see and see again in person the actors of the Luxembourg ecosystem,” says the CTO. “We were also able to make and renew contacts with companies and organizations in the space industry and exploration from all over the world. It was refreshing for us.”
“In 1988, the Grand Duchy discovered space commercially, via private initiatives, which has since contributed to its current space DNA.”
Yves Elsen, Managing Partner & CEO of HITEC Luxembourg
It was also an opportunity for the SME to discover startups that have been established in Luxembourg for the past two years, but which had fallen under the radar during the pandemic and the containment.
“We were able to meet and exchange with them, and above all to understand their business model, their vision and their development strategy,” explains Mr. Osch.
HITEC Luxembourg has identified startups with which it could consider a collaboration, “We see a very good complementarity in activities such as optical communication, specific ground stations dedicated to large constellations, or antenna technology,” continues the CTO.
On the technological level, the SME is also focusing on artificial intelligence, in particular in the construction of equipment capable of predicting maintenance operations in a more efficient and targeted manner, or in intrusion detection. And this in collaboration with the startup EarthLab, which the SME co-founded with other partners in 2015.
Economic And Technological Opportunities
“If someone had told us 35 years ago that we would be here today, we would have all been proud to sign!” rejoices Yves Elsen, Managing Partner & CEO of HITEC Luxembourg. “In 1988, the Grand Duchy discovered space commercially, via private initiatives, which has since contributed to its current space DNA.”
According to him, the launch of the ‘Luxembourg Space Resources Initiative”, has also attracted many private companies and talents in a sector that now employs some 800 people.
“This success will continue, thanks to the growth of its core activities, but also with the opportunities offered by space exploration, which will allow new companies to come to Luxembourg, but also public research and higher education to launch new advanced professional specializations,” Elsen predicts.
He also considers that the Grand Duchy has confirmed its role as an innovative and pioneering nation in the field of space, facing major players such as the United States, Russia, China, India and some large European countries.
“By its size, it remains definitely the smallest country; but it plays among the big ones. And its strength is that it sees space as an economic and technological opportunity,” observes the CEO. “This is what it has done since its independence in 1839, and which differentiates it internationally from these behemoths, which consider space according to geostrategic considerations above all!”
This article was first published in the Silicon Luxembourg magazine. Read the full digital version of the magazine on our website, here. You can also choose to receive a hard copy at the office or at home. Subscribe now.
