Over 100 Years of Anton Paar
A century: Great people | Great instruments
The "Anton Paar" success story began on January 4, 1922, when Anton Paar started his one-man machine repair shop. Back then, it was hard to imagine that this one-man shop would one day become a global corporation that currently has more than 4,200 employees.
What’s behind this success story? It’s not just the unique quality of our instruments, which we manufacture with exceptional craftsmanship and the highest precision. Above all, it’s the people at Anton Paar who approach their work with enthusiasm, curiosity, and engagement.
At Anton Paar, we think the unthinkable to create the extraordinary. Every day anew, since 1922. We’re ready and excited for the next chapter – the next 100 years.
The Anton Paar Group has its origins in 1922 when the master locksmith Mr. Anton Paar started a one-man machine repair workshop. He soon earned a reputation for excellent work which led to contacts with universities and research institutes.
Anton Paar trained his daughter, Margareta Platzer, in the 1920s and in 1932 she became the first female master locksmith in Styria, allowing her to follow in her father's footsteps. Her talent for high-precision mechanics and her unique skills in high-precision production combined with the knowledge of Prof. Otto Kratky formed the basis for the company's first scientific, analytical instrument: the Kratky Small Angle X-ray Camera. It is still the most widely used measuring system of its type today.
In 1963 Ulrich Santner, Margareta Platzer's son-in-law, became CEO of the company. With his innovative spirit he laid the foundations for the subsequent expansion of the company in the field of measuring technology. He strengthened the relationships with universities and research institutes and developed a systematic approach for transferring technology from research to industry. As a true citizen of the world he was able to build up an international network which helped him to position numerous innovative products on the world market. During his time, the company grew from about 20 employees to 460, and annual turnover increased from roughly 300,000 Euros to 36 million Euros.
Anton Paar became a global company under the leadership of CEO Friedrich Santner. In 1997 he joined his father-in-law, Ulrich Santner, in the management of Anton Paar. Since 2002 he was the CEO of the company. From the beginning he focused on establishing subsidiaries to manage worldwide sales. Under his leadership new sales and service subsidiaries were established and companies with complementary measuring technologies were acquired. The emphasis on research and development ensures that Anton Paar can further expand and strengthen its position as the world leader in various fields of measuring technology. Under the management of Friedrich Santner, the number of employees rose to over 4,200.
In 2020, Dominik and Jakob Santner joined the management team of Anton Paar GmbH. Since then, Dominik Santner has served as COO, overseeing organizational areas such as production, administration, and corporate services, while Jakob Santner has taken on the role of CTO, responsible for technological areas including research & development and all product lines. In 2025, Dominik and Jakob Santner took over the overall management of Anton Paar GmbH from Friedrich Santner as CEOs, in addition to continuing in their existing roles as COO and CTO. At the same time, Katharina Christopoulos joined the management team as CSO, taking over responsibility for sales and marketing from Friedrich Santner.
Santner foundation
Ownership of Anton Paar GmbH was irrevocably relinquished by the previous owners in 2003, when Anton Paar GmbH was donated to the charitable Santner Private Foundation as part of Anton Paar AG.
