The story
Founded by Georg Endress in 1953.1
Foundation and beginnings
The company was founded as L Hauser KG on 1 February 1953 by Swiss engineer Georg H Endress (1924–2008) and German banker Ludwig Hauser (1895–1975). Starting capital was a modest 2,000 Deutsche Mark; the first ‘operating facility’ was a room in Hauser's apartment in Lörrach, Germany. The business has been trading under the name Endress+Hauser since 1957.
In the beginning, the company sold level instruments produced by the British company Fielden Electronics. Soon after, Georg H Endress started to develop his own devices. In 1955, he registered his first patent and set up a production facility. The company broadened its offerings by incorporating new measurement principles and explored business opportunities in additional countries.
The first foreign subsidiary was established in 1960 in the Netherlands.
In 1968, a holding company was registered in Switzerland. In 1970, Endress+Hauser entered the US and Japanese markets.
Family ownership of the Endress family and generational transition
In 1975, co-founder Ludwig Hauser died; the Endress family became sole shareholder. In the following years, the company expanded through acquisitions and start-ups.
In 1977, Endress+Hauser Flowtec AG was founded at the headquarters in Reinach, as a development center for the flow measurement business area. Among the first products were magnetic inductive flowmeters.
Measurement value recording and liquid analysis were added as other fields of activity, followed later by pressure and temperature measurement technologies.
In 1979, Klaus Endress, the son of the founder, joined the company. In 1995, he took over the position as the group's CEO from his father and company founder, Georg Endress. By that time, Endress+Hauser had grown into a global company with 4,339 employees and generated revenue of CHF 679.6 million.
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Expansion from 1996 onwards.
In 1997, Innovative Sensors Inc. (ISI), a manufacturer of sensors for water analysis, was acquired. Prior to the acquisition, Endress+Hauser had already collaborated with ISI for over 19 years.
At the beginning of the 2000s, production facilities in Germany and Switzerland were expanded, particularly at the locations in Reinach, Cernay, and Maulburg. Several German companies were also acquired, including Exner Anlagebau GmbH & Co. KG and Dr. Staiger Mohilo Analysenmesstechnik GmbH & Co.
In addition, in 2000, the company expanded into India with a flow meter production facility in Aurangabad. In 2001, shares were acquired in the American analytical measurement technology company Wedgewood Technology Inc. Shares were also acquired in the Finnish company Satron Instruments, a manufacturer of measuring devices and fittings for the paper and pulp industry.
In 2002, the corporate group recorded losses in revenue for the first time. The reason for this was the insolvency of the subsidiary Photo Print Electronic. However, the loss did not hinder the company's growth, and in 2008, the corporate group achieved a revenue of over €1 billion for the first time.
In 2005, Endress+Hauser acquired Innovative Sensor Technology IST AG, a Swiss-based provider of physical, chemical and biological sensors with operations in Ebnat-Kappel, Switzerland, and Roznov, Czech Republic.
In 2008, Georg H Endress died. During his lifetime, the shareholder family had created a family charter, which states, “Endress+Hauser shall remain a family company oriented toward sustainable success.”
In early 2010, Endress+Hauser opened a new production facility for flow measurement technology as well as level and pressure measurement technology in India. From this location, not only the Indian market but also countries such as Singapore, Japan, and Thailand were supplied directly.
Endress+Hauser also expanded in the US market. In 2012, Spectra Sensors Inc., based in Houston, Texas, was acquired. Spectra Sensors is a manufacturer of optical gas sensors.
In 2013, Endress+Hauser entered the laboratory instrumentation business with the acquisition of German company Analytik Jena AG. Additional takeovers (Kaiser Optical Systems Inc., SensAction AG) strengthened the segment of process analysis and measurement of quality parameters. Besides this strategic focal point, the issue of digitalization was another major factor of influence in company development. By 2014, Endress+Hauser increased its stake in Analytik Jena to 82.22%. A year later, a branch of Analytik Jena was opened in Reinach. The acquisition of Analytik Jena was completed in March 2016, after the remaining shares were acquired. At that time, it was considered the largest acquisition in the company's history, with a purchase price of around €100 million. Prior to this, only smaller companies had typically been acquired. In 2018, shareholders of Analytik Jena AG sued over the stock price as compensation and demanded a higher cash settlement for the transfer of shares. However, the Gera District Court ruled that the price set by Endress+Hauser was justified.
On 1 January 2014, Matthias Altendorf took over as CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group from Klaus Endress, who became president of the supervisory board. At that time, the company generated revenue of €1.814 billion and employed 11,919 staff worldwide. Although not a member of the family, Altendorf had already been with the company for over 25 years at that time. With his appointment as CEO, Altendorf announced the intention to further develop the field of laboratory and process analysis.
In the same year, sales companies were also established in the United Arab Emirates and Algeria.
Growth and developments since 2017
In 2017, the group acquired Blue Ocean Nova AG, a manufacturer of inline spectrometers for monitoring quality-relevant process parameters. In 2018, a calibration and training center was opened in Al-Dschubail, Saudi Arabia.
From 2018/19 onwards, Endress+Hauser significantly increased its investments in the expansion of the group. Over a period of five years, approximately €0.5 billion were invested. This included expansions of the headquarters in Reinach, the production site in Maulburg, as well as international locations in the United States and China.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Endress+Hauser's revenue decreased by 2.8% to €2.6 billion. Due to the diverse industries, segments, and countries served by the group, the impact of the pandemic was less severe than for other companies. Reduced working hours were largely avoided, and employees were not laid off as a result of the pandemic.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Endress+Hauser ceased operations in Russia and withdrew from the Russian market.
At the turn of 2023/24, Klaus Endress stepped down from his active role in the company due to his age and resigned from the supervisory board but remained chairman of the family council. Matthias Altendorf transitioned to the group's supervisory board and handed over management to Peter Selders, who had previously led the company's competence center for level and pressure measurement technology.
From Wikipedia’s article on Endress+Hauser, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4