Petrotest Becomes Part of Anton Paar

Anton Paar has acquired the Petrotest (Germany) Group as of March 1, 2012. This acquisition brings two longstanding companies together: Petrotest was established in 1873 by Berthold Pensky, the inventor of the Pensky-Martens method. Petrotest has therefore been serving the petrochemical industry for nearly 140 years. This long tradition almost makes Anton Paar look "young” in comparison. The Austrian-based company celebrated its 90-year anniversary in 2012.

Developing rapidly from its roots as a one-man locksmith’s workshop, today Anton Paar is the world leader in the field of density and concentration measurement, the determination of dissolved CO₂, rheology and the material characterisation of surfaces. Its customers include the largest soft drink and beer manufacturers in the world, as well as companies in the petrochemical, food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Its products for petrochemical applications include density meters, viscometers, refractometers, online sensors for determining density and API gravity, asphalt rheometers and instruments for wet-chemical acid digestion and microwave-assisted sample preparation.

Dr. Friedrich Santner, CEO of Anton Paar GmbH: “Petrotest’s products are an ideal complement to Anton Paar’s product portfolio. The combination of existing technologies from both companies results in a promising synergy effect and allows the development of new measuring instruments. Our strategic aim is clear: by providing a comprehensive range of measuring instruments for laboratories in the oil industry we want to become the preferred partner of our customers in a wider field.”

With Anton Paar’s dense network of sales partners and 17 subsidiaries around the world, Petrotest customers will now benefit from the renowned high quality of Anton Paar's service and support. After-sales services range from on-site product training, customer-specific seminars, application support, method development, the provision of certified reference materials and maintenance contracts.

Heinz Kindlhofer, General Manager of the new subsidiary, explains: “Anton Paar's strength lies in its innovative approach and reliable service. 20 % of annual turnover is invested in R&D and whole teams are dedicated to product development, to “inventing” in the truest sense, in fact. Once in the field, Anton Paar’s instruments are well-known for their unbelievable robustness. They run for years and when service or application support is needed, an expert is close by, ready to come to the customer’s site.”

Anton Paar's acquisition of Petrotest brings together two companies with highly specialised, high-end products. The expanded portfolio consolidates Anton Paar’s position on the market and forms a strong base for future innovations.