From start-up to global player: Endress+Hauser has experienced both rampant growth and turbulent times. However, sustainable success has been at its core throughout.
1953 The company L Hauser KG is founded in Lörrach, Germany, on 1 February 1953. It sells the Tektor and Telstor level meters made by the British company Fielden Electronics.
1955 Georg H Endress files his first patent at the Swiss Federal Office for Intellectual Property.
1956 Launch of Nivotester and Silometer. The devices are produced in a former joiner’s workshop in Lörrach.
1957 The young company takes the name Endress+Hauser. Sales exceed 1 million deutsche marks.
1960 First sales centers open abroad, in the Netherlands and Switzerland; France and Belgium follow soon after.
1960 Exhibition on wheels: a minibus takes the product portfolio to the customer.
1968 The Group establishes a holding structure. Net sales exceed 13 million deutsche marks. Two years later the Group expands into the United States and into Japan.
1974 The oil crisis impacts Endress+Hauser’s finances heavily. 74 of 710 employees are temporarily laid off. In 1975 Ludwig Hauser dies at the age of 80. The Endress family becomes sole shareholder.
1976 Takeover of Wetzer (measurement registration) in Nesselwang. Endress+Hauser Flowtec (flow measurement engineering) is founded in Reinach. Acquisition of Conducta in Gerlingen (liquid analysis).
1982 Information technology finds its way into Endress+Hauser early on – in the commercial field, but also in production and R&D.
1984 Advanced know-how: Endress+Hauser acquires early expertise in calibration.
1989 Focus on Asia: after Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, sales centers in Thailand, China, Korea and India follow.
1995 Generation change: Klaus Endress – here with his brothers Urs, Hans-Peter and George (from left) – takes over the operative management of the group of companies from his father.
2006 The Endress family shareholders draw up their own charter.
2008 Company founder Dr Georg H Endress dies aged 84.
2009 Bundled production know-how: in Suzhou, China, Endress+Hauser manufactures pressure, level, flow and temperature measuring devices.
2012 A new production center opens in Itatiba, Brazil. Acquisition of the US company SpectraSensors (gas analysis).
2013 With the acquisition of Analytik Jena, Germany, and Kaiser Optical Systems, USA, Endress+Hauser is further developing its offering in the field of analytics.
2014 Matthias Altendorf takes over as CEO of the Group; Klaus Endress moves to the Supervisory Board as president. Endress+Hauser employs 12,000 people worldwide.
2018 Endress+Hauser Netilion is introduced, a cloud-based IIoT ecosystem for Industry 4.0 applications.
2020 Endress+Hauser maintains the ability to deliver during the coronavirus pandemic and continues to effectively support customers even from afar.
2022 Endress+Hauser launches a training initiative with five percent of all positions set aside for interns, apprentices, trainees and students: twice as many as before.
2023 Endress+Hauser opens an innovation hub in Freiburg, Germany, to drive the development of new sensor technologies.
2024 Dr Peter Selders becomes the new CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group; Matthias Altendorf joins the Supervisory Board as President.
2026 The third generation of the family takes over: Steven Endress becomes President of the Supervisory Board, and Sandra Genge becomes Vice Chair of the Family Council.
1953 The company L Hauser KG is founded in Lörrach, Germany, on 1 February 1953. It sells the Tektor and Telstor level meters made by the British company Fielden Electronics.
1955 Georg H Endress files his first patent at the Swiss Federal Office for Intellectual Property.
1956 Launch of Nivotester and Silometer. The devices are produced in a former joiner’s workshop in Lörrach.
1957 The young company takes the name Endress+Hauser. Sales exceed 1 million deutsche marks.
1960 First sales centers open abroad, in the Netherlands and Switzerland; France and Belgium follow soon after.
1960 Exhibition on wheels: a minibus takes the product portfolio to the customer.
1968 The Group establishes a holding structure. Net sales exceed 13 million deutsche marks. Two years later the Group expands into the United States and into Japan.
1974 The oil crisis impacts Endress+Hauser’s finances heavily. 74 of 710 employees are temporarily laid off. In 1975 Ludwig Hauser dies at the age of 80. The Endress family becomes sole shareholder.
1976 Takeover of Wetzer (measurement registration) in Nesselwang. Endress+Hauser Flowtec (flow measurement engineering) is founded in Reinach. Acquisition of Conducta in Gerlingen (liquid analysis).
1982 Information technology finds its way into Endress+Hauser early on – in the commercial field, but also in production and R&D.
1984 Advanced know-how: Endress+Hauser acquires early expertise in calibration.
1989 Focus on Asia: after Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, sales centers in Thailand, China, Korea and India follow.
1995 Generation change: Klaus Endress – here with his brothers Urs, Hans-Peter and George (from left) – takes over the operative management of the group of companies from his father.
2006 The Endress family shareholders draw up their own charter.
2008 Company founder Dr Georg H Endress dies aged 84.
2009 Bundled production know-how: in Suzhou, China, Endress+Hauser manufactures pressure, level, flow and temperature measuring devices.
2012 A new production center opens in Itatiba, Brazil. Acquisition of the US company SpectraSensors (gas analysis).
2013 With the acquisition of Analytik Jena, Germany, and Kaiser Optical Systems, USA, Endress+Hauser is further developing its offering in the field of analytics.
2014 Matthias Altendorf takes over as CEO of the Group; Klaus Endress moves to the Supervisory Board as president. Endress+Hauser employs 12,000 people worldwide.
2018 Endress+Hauser Netilion is introduced, a cloud-based IIoT ecosystem for Industry 4.0 applications.
2020 Endress+Hauser maintains the ability to deliver during the coronavirus pandemic and continues to effectively support customers even from afar.
2022 Endress+Hauser launches a training initiative with five percent of all positions set aside for interns, apprentices, trainees and students: twice as many as before.
2023 Endress+Hauser opens an innovation hub in Freiburg, Germany, to drive the development of new sensor technologies.
2024 Dr Peter Selders becomes the new CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group; Matthias Altendorf joins the Supervisory Board as President.
2026 The third generation of the family takes over: Steven Endress becomes President of the Supervisory Board, and Sandra Genge becomes Vice Chair of the Family Council.
In 1953, two seemingly different men came together to set up a new company in a private apartment in Lörrach, Germany: One was the Swiss engineer Georg H Endress, just 29 years old, tall and strong; the other was 58-year-old German bank manager Ludwig Hauser, clearly older and slim in stature.
A strong team
However, these unlikely business partners proved to be a perfect match. Endress’ vision and Hauser’s caution proved to be the cornerstones of success. The young engineer clearly saw the opportunities that the new electronic level measurement technology had to offer. Until then, measured values had to be read and gauged by hand. The experienced banker took a careful approach to business and steered the company safely through the turbulent early years.
Small beginnings
The starting capital of L Hauser KG was 2,000 Deutschemarks. The first ‘operating facility’ was in a room in Hauser’s apartment in Lörrach. Incidentally, the firm’s name came from Ludwig Hauser’s wife Luise: the entry in the commercial register of 10 February 1953 lists her as shareholder. The company first traded under the name Endress+Hauser in 1957.
Find out how Endress+Hauser celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2023.
Dynamic growth
Georg H Endress led the company for four decades. He opened up new markets and fields of application, developing the company - specializing in level measurement and growing into a supplier of complete solutions for the processing industry. By 1995, when he handed the management of the company over to his second eldest son, Klaus, the backroom business had grown into a global company with 4,300 employees.
International structure
Klaus Endress purposefully continued his father’s work and developed it, over time leaving his own managerial mark. He expanded sales and production internationally and recognized the importance of the services and solutions business. The family also established forward-looking structures – for example, through a Family Charter. It states that Endress+Hauser is to remain a successful family-owned company.
Discover the worldwide organization of Endress+Hauser.
Digitalization and expansion
In 2014, Matthias Altendorf took over as CEO. Laboratory analysis specialist Analytik Jena was already part of the Group at that time. Further acquisitions strengthened process analysis and the measurement of quality parameters. In addition, Matthias Altendorf drove forward the topic of digitalization in products, in customer interaction and in business processes.
In 2024, he handed over leadership of the group to the new CEO, Dr Peter Selders. By that time, the strategic partnership with sensor manufacturer SICK in the field of process automation was already underway: Endress+Hauser later acquired SICK’s gas analysis and gas measurement business, marking the largest acquisition in the company’s history.
Find out more about our Product Center competencies.
The younger generation is taking over
In 2025, the family laid the groundwork for the generational transition. Two grandchildren of the company’s founder will assume additional responsibilities: Steven Endress will become President of the Supervisory Board, and Sandra Genge will become Vice Chair of the Family Council. She is set to succeed Klaus Endress as Chair of the Family Council in 2027. The Family Council serves as the link between the family and the company; it makes decisions on important matters concerning the relationship between the family and the company.
Global footprint
Today, Endress+Hauser is a leading supplier of measurement and automation technology for process and laboratory. With over 18,000 employees, the company generated sales of more than 4.0 billion euros in 2025. Its own sales centers and selected representatives provide sales and support in over 125 countries worldwide. Endress+Hauser production centers manufacture on four continents.
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