Innovations are successful worldwide
Two pioneering achievements started it off. In 1856, the company’s founder Wilhelm Carl Heraeus melted kilograms of platinum by using the oxyhydrogen blowpipe technology, - a breakthrough that made the precious metal usable on an industrial scale. In 1899, chief researcher Richard Küch melted rock crystal to obtain a new high-purity material—quartz glass. Since that time, our company has developed groundbreaking products such as precious metal catalysts, platinum thermoelements, artificial sunlamps, UV and infrared lamps, sensors, and ultra-high-purity glass for the production of microchips.
Heraeus currently holds more than 4,700 patents, and invests approximately € 60 million in research and development annually. Over 350 R&D employees in 25 development centers around the world fuel our innovative engines. The importance of innovations for the company can be seen from the key figure termed the “innovation rate”, which is around 25 percent. The innovation rate is the proportion of product turnover achieved with products that are less than three years old.
