Damages resulting from overvoltage saw a great increase in the 1980s. This was attributed to the increasing use of more sensitive electronic measurement, control and communication devices in both industry and service institutions. All production processes are carried out by PLC units, and production cannot be performed without the computer-assisted manufacturing (CAM) systems.
At Daimler-Benz, the largest computer-controlled truck factory in Europe located in the town of Wörth near Karlsruhe, Germany, material stock and production is controlled by computers connected via DC data communication lines. The problem of halted production and the related production losses experienced during stormy weather was completely eliminated thanks to the over-voltage protection systems installed in 1984. As a second example, an overvoltage that entered into system as a result of a lightning strike on the administrative building of a national bank in Cologne led to a hardware damage of about 2 million German Marks at a computer center that was 120m away. It is estimated that the losses that followed reached a total of 4 million German Marks.