February 2, 2026, 12:00 pm | Read time: 5 minutes
Initially, it was a satellite antenna that made the Technisat brand known in Germany. Today, however, the company has a much broader range, offering everything from consumer electronics like TVs and digital radios to smart home products such as energy lamps and even protective masks.
Technisat was founded in 1987 in Daun in the Eifel by Peter Lepper, who passed away in 2024. His goal was to produce satellite products for consumers. Lepper likely foresaw that with the launch of private television in 1989, there would be a significant demand for reception systems for the Astra satellite. Satellite antennas indeed became a bestseller, and Technisat was able to meet this demand.
Technisat Developed the Award-Winning “Satenne”
As a pioneer, the company scored early on, for example, with its first satellite flat antenna, the “Satenne,” in 1990. A flat antenna requires significantly less space compared to a satellite dish and can be placed, for instance, in a flower box. The Satenne was recognized at the time for its reception quality and features. This honor would be bestowed on Technisat products repeatedly in the future.
Collaboration with Star Designer Luigi Colani
Also groundbreaking for Technisat was the worldwide exclusive contract signed in 1998 with the late star designer Luigi Colani, who passed away in 2019. Colani’s sculptural design for the Technisat TV was set to make history, not least because it was free of any angles and edges.
“The collaboration with Professor Luigi Colani was excellent and significantly shaped our company’s history in two ways,” said founder and managing partner Peter Lepper on the occasion of Colani’s death. From Colani, they learned the importance of high-quality design in consumer electronics. With the Colani TVs, they laid the foundation for Technisat’s TV production. “What we started with him back then, we continue to this day: the development and production of high-quality and visually appealing TVs in Germany,” Lepper praised Colani’s influence on Technisat.
In 2003, the company introduced the HD Vision model, the world’s first series-ready HD-ready LCD TV with a multi-reception tuner. In 2007, the company presented its first own Full-HD digital TV with an integrated dual HDTV multi-tuner at the IFA, the International Consumer Electronics Fair in Berlin. Two expansions of the product portfolio were also of immense importance for the company. In 2012, they added DAB+ radios to their lineup, and in 2014, they expanded into the smart home sector and have since been producing energy lamps.
Digital Radios, Energy Lamps, and Protective Masks
In the following two years, Technisat again achieved success at the IFA. With the Technimedia UHD+ model, the company presented its first own smart TV. A year later, Technisat also unveiled a completely revamped brand appearance that redefined the company’s external orientation.
For its 30th anniversary in 2017, Technisat launched the Digitradio 1, the first digital radio marketed as “Made in Germany.” This underscored the company’s commitment to keeping development and manufacturing within the country.
In 2019, according to Technisat, “a milestone in the development of its own smart home system” followed. With new software updates and a growing number of supporting devices, the system now offers “comprehensive possibilities for more security and comfort at home,” as stated on the company’s website.
A significant turning point came in 2020. Against the backdrop of supply shortages at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Technisat began producing medical protective masks of the FFP2 class. These products were also manufactured as “Made in Germany” and marked a new chapter in the company’s history.
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Part of a Nonprofit Foundation Since 2018
The company, which today has more than 1,000 employees in development, production, sales, and service, is now owned by the nonprofit Lepper Foundation, established in 2018. The founding couple, Doris G. and Peter Lepper, expressed their motivation as wanting “to give back the good we have received from society.” This gratitude ultimately resulted in the founding of the Junior Uni Daun on December 8, 2023.
Modeled after the Junior Uni Wuppertal, Daun allows young people aged four to twenty to explore a variety of courses free from the pressure of grades. Whether mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, technology, or arts and culture—everything is possible here.
Latest Developments
The economic changes of recent years have not left Technisat unscathed. Since early 2025, the traditional German consumer electronics manufacturer has been facing profound changes. After decades of its own production in Germany, the company decided in the summer of 2025 to close its Vogtland site in Schöneck. Production was moved to Poland to address the high energy, personnel, and bureaucratic costs in Germany and to maintain competitiveness.
Around 70 employees are affected by the closure, while production at the existing Polish site in Oborniki Śląskie is being expanded. At the same time, the former Schöneck site was taken over by OHB SE to manufacture electronic components for the aerospace industry there in the future—a step intended to preserve regional industrial expertise and lead into new technological fields.
In parallel, Technisat has further developed its product portfolio. In addition to its core areas of smart TVs, satellite, and DAB+ reception technology, the company launched a new DAB+ digital radio with an integrated ASA warning system in 2025. It is also now focusing on additional business areas such as electromobility with its own TechniVolt wall boxes.