HORIBA today celebrates the 50th anniversary of its first European subsidiary. Established in 1972 in Steinbach near Frankfurt am Main, HORIBA Europe GmbH (hereinafter HORIBA Europe) followed second to the first overseas business outside of Japan which started in the USA in 1970. In the beginning, the company employed about 50 people and functioned mainly as a sales office. Since then, it has grown considerably and now, thanks to strategically important acquisitions and new branches in Germany and Europe, HORIBA Europe employs over 700 people across the four different segments: Automotive, Process & Environmental, Semiconductor and Scientific, offering its customers a wide range of solutions for various industries.
Over the past decades, HORIBA Europe extended its expertise thanks to various acquisitions. With the acquisition of SCHENCK-Development Test Systems in 2005, the company was able to expand its mechatronic competence, greatly benefiting its Automotive segment. The subsequent acquisitions of FuelCon in 2018 – test systems for batteries, fuel cells and electrolysers –, Tocadero in 2019 – water analytics – and BeXema in 2021 – power electronics for battery, fuel cell and electrolysis applications – expanded HORIBA Europe’s know-how in electrification and new energy as well as in environmental measurement.
However, HORIBA Europe’s growth is not only due to acquisitions, but also to numerous new and expanded locations. In 1983, HORIBA Europe established its Process and Environmental segment which was followed by a new factory location in Leichlingen in 1993 and supplemented with the factory’s extension in 2022. By more than doubling its space, it vastly improved the capacity for the company’s process technology in respect to gas and liquid analyzer solutions. In 2003, HORIBA Europe established its new Headquarter in Oberursel followed by an extension of its mechatronics business with the opening of a new factory in Olomouc, Czech Republic in 2012. HORIBAs new FuelCon factory (HORIBA eHUB) in Magdeburg-Barleben started operating in 2022, providing five times the production space, improving service and delivery processes and allowing to further expand its electrolysis expertise.
These expansions coupled with HORIBA’s broad expertise have made HORIBA Europe what it is today: a Trusted Partner in Measurement and Test Solutions, which is thus able to support customers during fast-moving market changes with regard to changing mobility concepts for example with solutions for Connected Autonomous Vehicle Test Systems and Fuel Cell Powertrain Testing and requirements for new energy sources such as electrolyzer test stands. Steadily making its contribution to a carbon-free future, HORIBA Europe can reflect on five decades of sustainable and innovative solutions and is looking forward to the future.
"As the new President of HORIBA Europe GmbH, I am proud to build on such a successful history. Not only do we have access to our established expertise, but with our latest acquisitions of FuelCon, BeXema and Tocadero and the new factories in Magdeburg-Barleben and Leichlingen we are very well prepared for the future. Technologies and markets are constantly changing with increasing speed and complexity, this is very noticeable in the mobility and energy sectors. We meet these challenges with our global network at HORIBA and offer the best possible solutions to our customers supported by our cross-segment approach, allowing them to benefit from the combined expertise and different approaches from across our segments,” explains Ralph Lauxmann, President of HORIBA Europe GmbH.