Endress+Hauser looks back on seven eventful decades

It was an unlikely pair that came together in 1953 to create a company: on one side, the Swiss engineer Georg H Endress, just 29, and on the other, the German Ludwig Hauser, 58, head of a cooperative bank. But the two complemented each other perfectly. The vision and drive of one was as important for success as the prudence and experience of the other.

From the back room into the world

L Hauser KG opened for business on 1 February. The young company was headquartered in Hauser's apartment in Lörrach in Germany, financed with modest start-up capital of 2,000 deutsche marks. The company was named after Ludwig Hauser’s wife, Luise, who is listed in the commercial register as the shareholder.

The young company started with the sale of innovative electronic level sensors that filled a market niche. It wasn’t long before Endress began to develop instruments on his own. In 1955 he registered his first patent with what is now known as the Swiss Federal Institute for Intellectual Property. Production took place in rented spaces, with the employees distributed throughout several buildings that they teasingly, but affectionately, referred to as the ‘United Hut Works’. 

Opening new markets step by step 

In 1957 the company began trading under the name Endress+Hauser – and experienced strong growth. The company continued to carve out new niches. Georg H Endress compared his approach to ‘rolling out the dough’. He continuously expanded the portfolio by adding new measurement principles and pursued business opportunities in other countries. The first foreign subsidiary was created in 1960 in the Netherlands. Other sales centers followed virtually every year.

The company expanded its offerings through acquisitions and start-ups. Measurement value recording, liquid analysis and flow measurement engineering were added as new fields of activity to the mix, followed later by pressure and temperature measurement technologies. Endress+Hauser evolved into a full-range provider for the process industries. By this time, the Hauser era was already history. The Endress family became the sole shareholder in 1975.

Global structures, universal culture

Klaus Endress took over the reins of the Group from his father in 1995. Over the following years he expanded the business beyond process instrumentation into services and automation solutions. He also tackled the challenges of doing business in a globalized world. After establishing sales centers around the world, production also went global; modern IT ensured interconnection.

For 19 years Klaus Endress put his personal stamp not only on the Group but also on the corporate culture. He recognized loyalty and responsibility as core values in the relationships between customers, employees and shareholders. Not least, the future of the family business was close to his heart. He drove forward work on a family charter in which the shareholder family stated that Endress+Hauser should remain a successful family-owned company. With the death of Georg H. Endress in 2008, this sentence became his legacy.

Focus on digitalization and analysis

In 2014, Matthias Altendorf took over as CEO. He is not a member of the Endress family but has been working at the company for over 25 years. Laboratory analysis specialist Analytik Jena was already part of the Group at this point. Further acquisitions strengthened process analysis and the measurement of quality parameters. In addition, Matthias Altendorf was pushing the topic of digitalization in products, in customer interaction and in business processes. 

During the coronavirus pandemic, the extensive digitalization proved its worth. Endress+Hauser could support customers remotely and was coping well with the crisis. But the challenges are not abating. The Russian attack on Ukraine resulted in harsh sanctions; Endress+Hauser had to stop work in Russia. In addition, the conflict clouded the economic outlook.

With confidence into the anniversary year 

Nevertheless, Endress+Hauser is entering its anniversary year with confidence. The Group supports customers in major challenges such as digitalization and decarbonization. Endress+Hauser contributes to the supply, nutrition and health of people. The company is on sound footing; its global footprint ensures stability. And the shareholder family has everything in place to ensure a smooth handover of responsibility to the third generation.