100 years of Anton Paar
May 2022
Editor's Choice
News
The company's success story began on January 4, 1922, when Anton Paar founded his machine shop. At that time, no one would have imagined that this one-man operation would one day become a global corporation with currently more than 3500 employees.
From the rough to the detailed
Even in the early years of the company, Anton Paar planned for the long term and involved his family, so his two daughters Hermine and Gretl worked in their father's business. While Hermine was responsible for the bookkeeping, Margareta worked in the workshop. Later Anton Paar gradually withdrew from the business. Gretl, at that time the first female master machinist in Styria, took over the management. The proper training of apprentices was especially close to her heart.
Gretl’s expertise and talent in the field of precision mechanics and manufacturing and also her intensive interaction with universities and research institutes, formed the basis for many inventions. A milestone was the cooperation with the Technical University of Graz in Austria, resulting in development of the Kratky small-angle X-ray camera, the first scientific analytical instrument to be produced by Anton Paar.
Expansion to world market leader
From the 1950s onwards, the company focused on measuring and analysis technology – the ultimate beginning of the success story. From beer, wine and soft drink producers to pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies to chocolate or cellphone display manufacturers – they all rely on the technical know-how and instruments of the Anton Paar Group.
In 1963, Gretl’s son-in-law, Ulrich Santner, took over the management of the company. He set the foundation for the company's expansion in the field of measurement technology later on. Ulrich made contacts with universities and contributed to the transfer of new technologies from research to industry. Finally in 1997 his son-in-law and current CEO Friedrich Santner joined the management.
Many new sales and service subsidiaries were established under his leadership and complementary measurement technology companies were acquired. As a result, the company's growth has been strong, both in terms of sales and number of employees. Anton Paar now has 45 sister companies and subsidiaries as well as 50 sales partners and operates in more than 110 countries around the world. Friedrich Santner also focused on expanding internal research and development.
Charitable foundation and the fifth generation
The non-profit Santner Private Foundation has owned the company since 2003. The foundation has two purposes: to promote non-profit science and research as well as to prevent and combat drug addiction. In January 2020, Friedrich Santner's sons, Jakob and Dominik Santner, joined the company's executive board, making it the fifth generation to be part of the management team.
For 100 years now, the company has combined high precision technology with scientific curiosity and a thirst for research. Among other things, this has made Anton Paar the world market leader in the fields of density and concentration measurement, rheometry and CO2 measurement.
"Talent, commitment and inner cohesion, in both successful and difficult times, have always distinguished us and our company. With these attributes, we are confidently entering the second century of our history," says Friedrich Santner.
Further reading:
Connecting every transport node
RJ Connect
Editor's Choice Data Acquisition & Telemetry
Stockholm's bus system strategically links urban mainline, suburban mainline, non-mainline routes, community service buses and night buses. To acquire and process data from multiple sources and analyse onboard information on their moving buses, Transdev sought a dependable and powerful onboard computer. It teamed up with CatAB, Moxa’s local representative, known for delivering top-notch industrial data communication boards and equipment since 1988.
Read more...
Local range of planetary units
SEW-EURODRIVE
Editor's Choice Motion Control & Drives
As SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa actively extends its offerings to customers, the SEW PPK and SEW P2.e industrial gearbox ranges are good examples of solutions that are well suited to the local business environment.
Read more...
Case History 195: Unstable reboiler steam flow
Michael Brown Control Engineering
Editor's Choice
A high-pressure steam flow control in a reboiler on a column in a petrochemical refinery continually cycled when placed in automatic. Several attempts had been made to tune the controller, but these had been unsuccessful.
Read more...
Open control system for retrofit of conveyor control system
Beckhoff Automation
Editor's Choice
For every online retailer, warehouse logistics is part of the critical infrastructure. An Australian office equipment supplier has retrofitted the warehouse logistics installation of its central warehouse, and replaced the proprietary decentralised controllers of the conveyor lines with PC-based control from Beckhoff, based on powerful EtherCAT communication.
Read more...
Digital industrial platforms and why they are important
Editor's Choice
One of the most significant trends driving digital transformation is the emergence of digital industrial platforms. This article will briefly explore what digital industrial platforms are, why they are important, and how they might shape the future of industrial automation.
Read more...
Celebrating 65 years: rebuilding and redefining its legacy
Editor's Choice News
Founded in 1959 by Neill Simpson, Axiom Hydraulics has grown into one of South Africa’s elite hydraulic companies. Over the past six and a half decades they’ve weathered many challenges, but none as devastating as the fire of 2023.
Read more...
Young robotics team takes world title
igus
Editor's Choice News
In an inspiring demonstration of innovation and teamwork, Texpand, a young South African robotics team, recently made history by winning the 2024 FIRST Tech Challenge World Championships.
Read more...
SAIMC: It’s not black and white
SAIMC
Editor's Choice SAIMC
Grey imports are a problem worldwide, not least in the automation industry in South Africa. The Supplier Advisory Council (SAC) operates under the umbrella of SAIMC, and is tackling this problem head-on.
Read more...
Loop signature 25: Tuning part 3 - Results of tuning a particular simple self-regulating process by several different methods.
Michael Brown Control Engineering
Editor's Choice
A couple of SWAG methods of tuning were given in the previous Loop Signature article. I have tuned a simple self-regulating process using those methods, and two other tuning methods, one of them being the sophisticated Protuner tuning package, which is the system I employ. The tests were performed on a very accurate and powerful simulation package, and the results are compared below.
Read more...
PC-based control for advanced hydrogen storage technology
Beckhoff Automation
Editor's Choice PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
The proportion of renewable energies from solar, wind and water is rising continuously. However, sufficient storage options are of the essence to use these energies as efficiently as possible. GKN Hydrogen offers a particularly compact and safe option, low-pressure metal hydride hydrogen storage systems with PC-based control from Beckhoff.
Read more...
printer friendly version