Extruder Developer Brabender Acquired by Anton Paar

Anton Paar, a global leader in specialized metrology applications based in Graz, Austria, announced on Aug. 1, 2023, the acquisition of German extrusion company Brabender. It will be integrated into the Anton Paar Group as Anton Paar TorqueTec GmbH. Terms of the transaction, which is effective retroactively on Jan. 1, 2023, were not disclosed.

Beyond extrusion

Brabender has a footprint in the plastics processing space through its single- and twin-screw extruders, but it also offers measurement and process engineering solutions for the testing of various raw materials and for recipe and process development. The company, based in Duisburg, Germany, covers a wide range of applications – from food and feed to plastics and rubber, and even batteries and other special applications. Its expertise in material characterization made Brabender an attractive acquisition target, said Anton Paar in the news release. 

“The decisive factor for Anton Paar's decision to purchase Brabender was the know-how in the development and production of world-leading measuring instruments, which the company has built up since its foundation,” commented Anton Paar CEO Dr. Friedrich Santner. “In line with its own long-term strategy, Anton Paar will sustainably expand and further strengthen Brabender's sites in Duisburg and Hackensack, NJ.” 

Flour power

Brabender was founded in 1923 to carry out major repairs of electric motors and transformers, but it is perhaps best known for the invention of the Farinograph by company founder Carl Wilhelm Brabender in 1928. It was the first — and is still the most widely used — instrument for testing the quality of flour by flour mills, baking agent manufacturers, and large bakeries. The Farinograph is a component of a three-phase system developed by Brabender to investigate and describe the processes involved in the production of baked goods.

In 1936, the company launched the Plastograph, a testing device for plastics modeled after the Farinograph. After the Second World War, it developed additional testing instruments specifically for the plastics industry, and in 1970 it produced its first single-screw extruders. In 2001, it developed the world’s first twin-screw extruder with a hinged liner, according to a timeline on the Brabender site.

Anton Paar was founded in 1922 in Graz and reportedly is the world leader in the measurement of density and concentration, the determination of dissolved carbon dioxide, and in the fields of rheometry and viscometry. Its customers include most of the major beer and soft drink manufacturers worldwide; companies active in the food, chemicals, petroleum, and pharmaceutical industries; and influential academic groups.