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Heraeus AI simulator
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Heraeus
Heraeus is a German technology group with a focus on precious and special metals, medical technology, quartz glass and sensors as well as electronic components. Founded in Hanau in 1851, the company is one of the largest family-owned companies in Germany in terms of revenue. Heraeus employs 16,400 people in 40 countries and generated a total revenue of €25.6 billion in 2023. The headquarters and head office are in Hanau, Germany.
The origins of the Heraeus family business go back to the 17th century. In October 1660, Isaac Heraeus (1636-1676) took over what was then the Faucque pharmacy in Hanau-Neustadt, east of Frankfurt. In 1668, he opened his own pharmacy on the market square in Hanau-Neustadt under the name "Zum weißen Einhorn", which later became the Einhorn Pharmacy. The Einhorn Pharmacy was run as a count's court pharmacy for a total of six generations until the middle of the 19th century.
Since the end of the 18th century, Hanau was a town of goldsmiths and platinum had been processed in the town for the production of jewelry. Goldsmiths had extreme difficulty processing platinum due to its toughness and high melting point of 1770 degrees Celsius. Until a melting process was discovered, platinum could only be processed by using complex forging processes using the white-hot metal. In 1851, at the age of 24, the pharmacist and chemist Wilhelm Carl Heraeus took over the Einhorn Pharmacy from his father Esay Heraeus (1785-1830).
Heraeus understood the problems faced by goldsmiths. After a series of experiments, he first succeeded in melting platinum in large volumes and producing pure metal in 1856, using an oxyhydrogen blowpipe he developed himself. Although the process was already known, this had previously only succeeded in small quantities in the laboratory. With his gas blowpipe, Heraeus could produce enough oxyhydrogen and a large enough flame front to melt several kilograms of platinum-containing materials.
This enabled Heraeus to found the W.C. Heraeus First German Platinum Smelters, supplying a variety of customers such as goldsmith workshops and jewelry factories internationally, as well as dental manufacturers, chemistry laboratories and other branches of industry. In 1857, W.C. Heraeus succeeded in producing around 30 kilograms of pure platinum. Between 1875 and 1879, up to 400 kilograms were sold per year, and in 1888, over 900 kilograms.
In 1889, the two sons of the company founder, Wilhelm and Heinrich Heraeus, took over the management. Research and development was further pursued, and the physicist and chemist Richard Küch, a former school friend of the Heraeus brothers, joined the company in 1890. Küch's research resulted in the German Imperial Patent No. 63591 in 1891 for the gilding of platinum sheet, the first patent in the company's history. Küch then developed a process by which quartz glass could be obtained by melting rock crystal at around 2000 °C.
The quartz glass produced by the company was almost entirely free of defects and was of outstanding purity. It is still used in medicine and is a highly sought-after material in manufacturing on account of its translucence and resistance to heat and acids. With the advent of ceramic colors, more platinum was needed for production processes, and Heraeus started supplying products to the electrochemical and plastics industries. As the company continued to expand, it needed new premises – so in 1896, the W.C. Heraeus Platinum Smelting Factory was established just outside Hanau, employing 40 people.
Further experimentation in the platinum smelters’ laboratories resulted in a variety of inventions and new production processes. These included the production of pharmaceutical iron compounds, chemically pure hydrofluoric acid, rubidium, and caesium. Most production at this time still involved platinum, which was used in more applications due to its chemical and physical properties. As it is also highly resistant to acids and heat, platinum was also used to make instruments such as scientific tools, crucibles, and vessels used in chemistry and physics.
Heraeus
Heraeus is a German technology group with a focus on precious and special metals, medical technology, quartz glass and sensors as well as electronic components. Founded in Hanau in 1851, the company is one of the largest family-owned companies in Germany in terms of revenue. Heraeus employs 16,400 people in 40 countries and generated a total revenue of €25.6 billion in 2023. The headquarters and head office are in Hanau, Germany.
The origins of the Heraeus family business go back to the 17th century. In October 1660, Isaac Heraeus (1636-1676) took over what was then the Faucque pharmacy in Hanau-Neustadt, east of Frankfurt. In 1668, he opened his own pharmacy on the market square in Hanau-Neustadt under the name "Zum weißen Einhorn", which later became the Einhorn Pharmacy. The Einhorn Pharmacy was run as a count's court pharmacy for a total of six generations until the middle of the 19th century.
Since the end of the 18th century, Hanau was a town of goldsmiths and platinum had been processed in the town for the production of jewelry. Goldsmiths had extreme difficulty processing platinum due to its toughness and high melting point of 1770 degrees Celsius. Until a melting process was discovered, platinum could only be processed by using complex forging processes using the white-hot metal. In 1851, at the age of 24, the pharmacist and chemist Wilhelm Carl Heraeus took over the Einhorn Pharmacy from his father Esay Heraeus (1785-1830).
Heraeus understood the problems faced by goldsmiths. After a series of experiments, he first succeeded in melting platinum in large volumes and producing pure metal in 1856, using an oxyhydrogen blowpipe he developed himself. Although the process was already known, this had previously only succeeded in small quantities in the laboratory. With his gas blowpipe, Heraeus could produce enough oxyhydrogen and a large enough flame front to melt several kilograms of platinum-containing materials.
This enabled Heraeus to found the W.C. Heraeus First German Platinum Smelters, supplying a variety of customers such as goldsmith workshops and jewelry factories internationally, as well as dental manufacturers, chemistry laboratories and other branches of industry. In 1857, W.C. Heraeus succeeded in producing around 30 kilograms of pure platinum. Between 1875 and 1879, up to 400 kilograms were sold per year, and in 1888, over 900 kilograms.
In 1889, the two sons of the company founder, Wilhelm and Heinrich Heraeus, took over the management. Research and development was further pursued, and the physicist and chemist Richard Küch, a former school friend of the Heraeus brothers, joined the company in 1890. Küch's research resulted in the German Imperial Patent No. 63591 in 1891 for the gilding of platinum sheet, the first patent in the company's history. Küch then developed a process by which quartz glass could be obtained by melting rock crystal at around 2000 °C.
The quartz glass produced by the company was almost entirely free of defects and was of outstanding purity. It is still used in medicine and is a highly sought-after material in manufacturing on account of its translucence and resistance to heat and acids. With the advent of ceramic colors, more platinum was needed for production processes, and Heraeus started supplying products to the electrochemical and plastics industries. As the company continued to expand, it needed new premises – so in 1896, the W.C. Heraeus Platinum Smelting Factory was established just outside Hanau, employing 40 people.
Further experimentation in the platinum smelters’ laboratories resulted in a variety of inventions and new production processes. These included the production of pharmaceutical iron compounds, chemically pure hydrofluoric acid, rubidium, and caesium. Most production at this time still involved platinum, which was used in more applications due to its chemical and physical properties. As it is also highly resistant to acids and heat, platinum was also used to make instruments such as scientific tools, crucibles, and vessels used in chemistry and physics.