Anton Paar’s 100th Anniversary: Overcoming Challenges to Change the World

Small beginnings, milestone innovations, and a rich humanitarian legacy that lives on

The story of Anton Paar exemplifies what it takes to engage the world’s biggest challenges and to empower science. The 100-year anniversary of the company’s founding marks a chance to look back at the events which have helped to define Anton Paar as a technology pioneer. The anniversary is also an opportunity to celebrate the philanthropic and humanitarian roles Anton Paar has taken on when facing challenges in the global community.

The Tale of a Leader

The tale of how the company grew to a global leader in measurement science has a modest beginning. On January 4, 1922, Anton Paar opened a locksmith and machine shop in Graz, Austria, starting with hand tools, a foot-operated lathe, and several machine vices. Over the next one hundred years, through incremental steps in growth and innovation, Anton Paar has risen to become a leading force in the world of measurement science and solutions.

Stories of Innovation

The breadth of Anton Paar’s technology innovation has had far-ranging impacts across the world and beyond. Over the past 10 years, Anton Paar instruments have been installed in 93% of the world’s countries, tasked with everything from monitoring fluid properties of petrol in Kiribati to analyzing alcohol spirits at the top of the world in Bhutan.

Making an impact far from civilization, Anton Paar instruments have even been brought into space by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as well as European space agencies. Prior to the Apollo 11’s first lunar landing on July 21, 1969, NASA, the U.S. space agency, ordered several Kratky Cameras. Ulrich Santner believed that NASA planned to use these devices to conduct studies of the titanium-alloyed sheets that formed the space capsule’s heat shield.

Back down on earth, Anton Paar technologies have helped in keeping history alive and preserving precious landmarks. The Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, once the residence of the Ottoman sultans, is now a museum under repair leveraging Anton Paar density analysis of restoration materials. Museum curators in France are using Anton Paar instruments to counteract age-related wear of precious paintings and sculptures, to assist restoration and to ensure their longevity.

In the biomedical world, whether modern biomaterials are used for tissue grafts, joint cartilage, or artificial implants, they must be tested to ensure the right levels of performance and compatibility for use in the human body. Anton Paar instruments are serving a vital role, not just in biomaterials analysis, but in research into blood fluid dynamics, metabolism, and a range of important biomedical pursuits.

Philanthropic and Humanitarian Visions

Developing solutions to challenges such as those described above have helped drive progress in innovation. Anton Paar has played instrumental roles in philanthropic and humanitarian efforts as well, assisting thousands of people worldwide while at the same time helping to shape the company, its culture, and its legacy.

The Santner Foundation

In 1932, following in her father Anton Paar’s footsteps, Margareta Platzer became the first female master locksmith in the state of Styria, Austria. In 1963, Ulrich Santner, Margareta Platzer’s son-in-law, became CEO of the company, forging collaborations with external research institutes and universities, and grew the company’s presence in the scientific devices industry. In 1997, Dr. Friedrich Santner, son-in-law of Ulrich Santner, became CEO, a role he still holds today. As of today, Dr. Santner’s time as CEO has been marked by extensive growth of not only sales, but the company’s global network. 2020 saw Jakob Santner and Dominik Santner both officially join the Executive Board, making them the fifth generation to be part of the management team.

Amidst Anton Paar’s storied company history, it was a landmark event in 2003 that saw the ownership of Anton Paar GmbH irrevocably relinquished by former owners. Anton Paar GmbH was officially donated to the charitable Santner Foundation, a status that it holds today, where part of the proceeds of the company goes into the foundation to be used solely for charitable purposes.

While most companies seek stock gains and profits for shareholders, Anton Paar has chosen a different path—one that re-invests in the company while supporting a range of philanthropic efforts. Scientific research in natural science and technology, substance abuse rehabilitation efforts, and other noble pursuits are all now part of the Santner Foundation charitable legacy.

“Offline” Project

One initiative of the Santner Foundation involves a program aimed at helping to prevent and treat drug addiction. This low-threshold project offering work and qualifications aims to help people through sales of second-hand clothing, unique handmade accessories, and furniture.

Take a closer look at the “Offline” Project

Project Kalam

In 1995, Anton Paar India, supported by the global Anton Paar Group, invested in an inspirational school project for underserved children. Desolate conditions and lack of resources has kept many school-aged kids, particularly in rural areas of India, from obtaining the proper foundation to achieve the necessary knowledge and skills and succeed.

Through the course of the past six years, over 60,000 Euros have been raised to fund more than 2,000 students, providing resources to support the operations of five schools. These continuing efforts have instilled a sense of pride not only in the children and their communities, but within the Anton Paar company community as well.

Take a closer look at Project Kalam

The Pursuit of Performance

Always searching for opportunities to grow in the community, Anton Paar has forged a way to combine mastery of measurement technologies with favorite pastimes—a pursuit that has led to creative solutions for sports performance training.

Anton Paar Sports Tec GmbH

The SportsTec division of the company produces and distributes the skillslab product, a virtual reality soccer training system. In developing skills.lab, Anton Paar combined high-performance measuring instruments with the precision work of engineers and sports scientists. As a measurement company with an avid interest in the game of soccer, it was a natural fit to pursue this concept.

In 2020, skills.lab system even found a match with Bavarian giants FC Bayern Munich. The state-of-the-art skills.lab facility integrates high-precision ball service machines, cinema-quality projectors, laser sensors, and high-speed cameras to create an immersively realistic virtual soccer experience. The goals include establishing a central resource for top performance training and optimization.

Anton Paar SportsTec GmbH has also been supporting the SK Sturm Graz soccer club for several years—a partnership that was recently extended. The skills.lab training arena will continue to be used for individual player training while also being used to assess player development and to make team assignments.

The 100-year Anniversary

In 2022, the company now has over 3,700 employees and 33 sales subsidiaries around the world. Anton Paar employees and stakeholders can look back at these first 100 years and cherish the amazing scientific, philanthropic, and technological achievements the company has made. The company can look forward as well, towards the future and the many great challenges and innovations yet to come.

Reinhard Eberl, General Manager of Anton Paar’s Americas region, noted that “While many companies measure their progress by sales or product milestones, we are proud that Anton Paar’s first century has been marked by the growing impact the company has had on people. As we reach our 100 Year Anniversary, we will be celebrating impactful charitable and philanthropic work, as well as our growing network of employees and customers that has turned into a community of its own.”

“We are very proud of our business growth, but it’s the human impact of Anton Paar that we are most excited about as we head into our second century as a company.”

Technical and corporate achievements over the first 100 years include:

In 1957, Anton Paar released its first scientific instrument: the small-angle X-ray camera. This instrument was introduced under the leadership of Margareta Platzer, and is still being built and used to today for analyzing molecules such as proteins.

In 1967, Anton Paar released the world’s first digital density meter using oscillating U-tube technology. The company’s liquid density meter portfolio now included the perfect model for all use cases and customers.

In 1986, Paar USA, Inc.—Anton Paar’s first USA subsidiary—opened just north of Philadelphia in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The headquarters later moved to Ashland, Virginia, and additional offices are now located in Torrance, California; Houston, Texas; and Vernon Hills, Illinois.

By 1989, the company had moved into several new technology areas. It designed measuring instruments for rheometry and viscometry and started building equipment for chemical digestion using microwaves.

In 1996, Physica Messtechnik GmbH became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anton Paar, which has since turned Anton Paar into the world’s leading manufacturer of rheometers.

In 2007, Anton Paar acquired Wolfgang Kerchen GmbH and formed Anton Paar OptoTec, gaining expertise in refractometry and polarimetry optical measurement solutions. This was followed by the acquisition of Petrotest GmbH, now known as Anton Paar ProveTec, which moved the company into analysis solutions for the petroleum industry.

In 2013, Anton Paar GmbH acquired Swiss-based CSM Instruments SA, now Anton Paar TriTec, to offer a full line of solutions for material characterization of surfaces.

In 2017, the company acquired Cilas technology, expanding Anton Paar’s portfolio in light scattering and particle characterization.

In 2018, Anton Paar GmbH acquired Florida-based Quantachrome Instruments to provide extensive complementary solutions to its particle characterization and density portfolios. As a part of Anton Paar, the company is now officially known as QuantaTec.

On April 25, 2022, the ground-breaking ceremony for the expansion of the company headquarters in Graz-Straßgang marked the start of construction of a 60 million technology center with up to 1,000 workplaces. The completion of the technology center is planned for the end of 2023.

In June 2022, Anton Paar and the Austrian Bundesliga club extended their partnership between Anton Paar SportsTec GmbH and SKSturm Graz in support of objectively measuring and specifically increasing the technical performance of its players - from the first team to the junior level.

In June 2022, the 24 Asset Management GmbH, subsidiary of Anton Paar Group AG, purchased the Fuerstenstand property with plans to renovate the popular excursion destination.

On Friday, June 24, 2022, approximately 2,700 guests from all over the world came together to celebrate a century of Anton Paar together.

One hundred Years at the Forefront of Analytical Instrumentation