Emtec Electronic marks another milestone with quarter-of-a-century success story


Emtec celebrated its 25th anniversary at the end of the year 2020

The German company emtec Electronic GmbH, a leading manufacturer of testing technologies worldwide, turned 25 years old this December 21, 2020. The company is proud of what has been achieved over the past few decades as it looks back on more than 13 innovations, international partnerships, and a successful market expansion. Emtec looks forward to supporting the paper, tissue, nonwovens and textile industries in the years to come.

Emtec Electronic’s journey began with small steps and an idea. In 1995, its founder and general manager, Leipziger physicist Giselher Gruener, developed a completely new method to test the liquid penetration of paper products, the Penetration Dynamics Analyzer (PDA). The device can help to predict the gluing, printing and coating behavior of paper and board for use in the converting by measuring the converting process relevant parameters, surface sizing and surface porosity. With one product and a team of four employees, Mr. Gruener began to make a name for emtec in the paper industry, keeping a strong focus on innovation and customer relations.

In 2006, emtec hit another milestone with the invention of the first objective testing device for measuring softness in the world, the Tissue Softness Analyzer (TSA). This unique device simulates the sensory capabilities of the human hand to measure the perceived haptic properties based on softness, smoothness, and stiffness. This innovative product proved to be one of the biggest successes of the decade and has become an industrial standard over the years. A few years later, the company extended the concept to include the nonwoven and textiles industry by introducing the Tactile Sensation Analyzer.

Continually striving toward improvement and innovation, emtec introduced the Ash Content Analyzer (ACA) in 2012, which makes it possible to non-destructively determine the total ash content as well as the individual minerals and fillers in paper and board within seconds. Just one year later, the company presented the Fiber Zeta Potential Analyzer Online (FPO): a fully automatic online-device that transfers results in real-time to process control or to an internet server, allowing access to measurement results from anywhere in the world.

The most recent emtec innovation for the pulp and paper industry arose from a close partnership with AFG Analytic GmbH. The two companies developed new-and-improved designs for the CAS touch! Charge Analyzing System and FPA touch! Fiber Potential Analyzer in 2016. Although the measuring principle of the two devices remains the same, the upgrades made them smaller, lighter, and therefore more easily portable. The touchscreen enables an easy and intuitive handling while the integrative PC software offers a deeper analysis of the tested material.

Since its founding, emtec Electronic has grown to encompass 13 innovative devices, many with several modules, 33 employees and loyal customers in more than 80 countries, and is also served by a global sales network of 32 independent representatives. All devices in the emtec product range are self-developed and unique on the market.