On August 1, 2023, Anton Paar acquired the German company Brabender GmbH & Co. KG, which will be integrated into the Anton Paar Group as Anton Paar TorqueTec GmbH. The effective, retroactive date of the acquisition is January 1, 2023. The company, based in Duisburg, Germany, offers measurement and process engineering solutions for the testing of various raw materials and for recipe and process development. It covers a wide range of applications – from food and feed to plastics and rubber, and even batteries and other special applications.

The signing of the acquisition agreement took place on August 1, 2023. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. A smooth integration of Brabender into the Anton Paar Group is planned. As before, products and services can be purchased directly via the Brabender website and sales organisation.

Development, growth, and position on the market

For Anton Paar, the acquisition of Brabender is a promising addition to the product portfolio, especially in the area of material characterisation – one of Anton Paar’s strongest growth markets.

“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 100 years ago,” says 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 (USA).”

Brabender’s approximately 200 employees will become part of Anton Paar. The acquisition represents a clear commitment to progress, according to Brabender Executive Director Dr. David Szczesny: “Being part of the Anton Paar Group opens up many opportunities for us – in research and development of our innovative products as well as in sales and service. For us, this is a great move that will definitely benefit our employees and customers.”

Effective January 1^st, 2020, the KROHNE Group (Ludwig Krohne GmbH & Co. KG) is appointing a new Chairman of the Advisory Board and a changed Executive Board. The changes herald a generational change in the family-run company and ensure that the KROHNE Group will continue to be successfully positioned to meet the challenges of the market in the future.

After almost 40 years as Chairman of the Advisory Board of the KROHNE Group, Prof. Dr. Rolf Theenhaus retires. The Advisory Board and all employees thank Rolf Theenhaus for his commitment and creative capabilities, with which he has continuously introduced and promoted innovations and new business areas for KROHNE.

Michael Rademacher-Dubbick, who has successfully led the KROHNE Group for over 25 years as managing shareholder, is the new chairman of the advisory board. With this step, he underlines the constant and close connection of the owner family with the company and its activities.

Dr. Attila Bilgic is the new Chief Executive Officer and Speaker of KROHNE Group’s executive board. He has been on the Board since 2017 and has been Chief Technical Officer for KROHNE since 2009. Dr. Bilgic is responsible for the areas of research and development, intellectual property, production, quality management, marketing and product management. Stephan Neuburger, member of the Management Board since 1999, will drive growth in new business areas as Chief Business Development Officer.

Effective January 1st, 2020 Ingo Wald and Ansgar Hoffmann are newly appointed to the executive board. As Chief Financial Officer, Ingo Wald heads the finance and human resources departments. He has been Managing Director for KROHNE Messtechnik GmbH since 2006 and will continue to hold this position in parallel to his executive board activities for the KROHNE Group. As the fourth board member, Ansgar Hoffmann takes over responsibility for sales of the KROHNE Group as Chief Sales Officer and will also be responsible for IT. Ansgar Hoffmann changed from GEA Group to KROHNE and has many years of experience in leading positions, particularly in sales, most recently as Executive Vice President DACH Eastern Europe.

How much food do we waste on the farm, in manufacturing, supermarkets, restaurants and canteens and in households? In order to help Member States quantify food waste at each stage of the food supply chain, the Commission has established an EU measurement methodology that is published for open public consultation. Citizens and stakeholders have the opportunity to express their views on the proposed methodology, which will be open for feedback for 4 weeks. In drafting a common methodology to measure food waste levels in the EU, the Commission worked closely with Member States’ experts and also benefitted from the input and insights of actors in the food value chain participating in the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste. Thanks to the revised waste legislation, adopted in May 2018, specific measures on food waste prevention have been introduced which will provide the EU with new and consistent data on food waste levels. These data are needed by Member States to implement effective food waste prevention programmes and help guide the EU’s progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3 of halving food waste by 2030.

For more information on EU action to fight food waste

To participate, until 4th April, in the feedback mechanism

Measurement of the colour of clear and hazy juices (Spectrophotometric method)

Principle. The colour of a juice is an important quality criterion. In some juices a relatively light colour is expected for a good quality, such as apple or grape juices. However, in red/black juices a deep red/purple colour is expected in good quality juices. The colour of a juice can be determined spectrophotometrically by measurement of its absorbance or transmission in the visible region of the spectrum. In yellow/brown products e.g. apple, pear, white grape juices the absorbance is measured at 430 nm. In red/black juices e.g. blackcurrant, raspberry etc. the absorbance is measured at 520 nm.

The text has been slightly revised to clarify part of the procedure.

The revised method can be access via the methods section of the IFU website www.ifu-fruitjuice.com