Our History

Today, Landauer monitors many of the nation's radiation workers as well as a variety of foreign countries. It has a national sales force and employs over three hundred people devoted to services that aid in protecting personnel from ionizing radiation hazards. But, back in 1954, there was no anticipation of the company becoming an international service or being ranked among the best small companies by Forbes and Business Week!

Robert S. Landauer, Jr. started the business in 1954 in his home in Park Forest, Illinois. His interest in radiation monitoring arose as result of accompanying his father on occasion as he made the rounds between medical x-ray therapy installations in the 1930s, consulting with the radiologists, and calibrating their equipment. After returning from service in World War II, Landauer worked part-time with his father while finishing education at the University of Chicago. After two and a half years of employment in the commercial radiation instrumentation field, Bob Landauer took the plunge and started the company "with a few borrowed dollars and a prayer."

At first, he did most of the work himself-marking film, processing badges, and preparing reports. Business from customers such as Purdue University, General Electric, and Michael Reese Hospital helped to establish the viability of the service, and gradually the company expanded. By 1964, the company reached a milestone by processing over a million dosimeters.

In 1968, R. S. Landauer, Jr. and Company merged forces with Tech/Ops, Inc. Through this synergy came the 8mm film system; a smaller, more convenient and user oriented badge design; and an automated film reading system. Landauer's Thermo Luminescent Dosimetry (TLD) service was inaugurated in 1973 as an option to film and a means to improve finger badges. Also in 1973, the first major step towards international expansion came about with the Nagase-Landauer joint venture to provide dosimetry service to Japan. In 1982, Landauer offered its customers the ability to directly access computer data by the use of telephone and modem. In 1988, the company came around full cycle and became independent again as Tech/Ops divested its businesses. In 1992, overseas expansion continued with the opening of an office in the United Kingdom. In 1998, Landauer "reinvented dosimetry" with a revolutionary new dosimetry service called Luxel® which embodies a new technology OSL—optically stimulated luminescence.

Landauer's leadership is the result of superior technical competence, advanced data management, and most importantly, a results oriented customer commitment.