History

Company history

 

On 4th February 1958, the cousins Hans-Jürgen and Hans-Joachim Heyl sold their shares in Chemisch-pharmazeutische Fabrik Heyl & Co in Berlin. Different opinions regarding the path of entrepreneurial development led the two partners to leave the family-run business. In the same year, they founded Gebrüder Heyl Analysentechnik GmbH & Co. KG, in the Oststadt district of Hildesheim. The two entrepreneurs took over a plot of land, a building and some employees from the Heyl company in Berlin; there were no specific ideas at the time about a production programme.

“Talk about jumping in at the deep end.” – Hans-Jürgen Heyl

In the beginning, Gebrüder Heyl Analysentechnik produced pharmaceuticals and medicines, including a penicillin preparation for the African market. In tandem, the so-called Durognost® was also produced and distributed. This is an easy-to-use test kit for determining water hardness. This product is still included in the Gebrüder Heyl Analysentechnik product range and remains almost unchanged to this day, and it continues to deliver impressive sales figures.

At the end of the 1950s, many industrial companies were highly interested in measuring methods for determining water hardness. Therefore, Gebrüder Heyl Analysentechnik developed and patented a liquid indicator, complementary to the Durognost® test kit, which has a shelf life of up to two years. This innovation was a first notable milestone in the history of Gebrüder Heyl Analysentechnik.

In cooperation with the Hildesheim-based company Otto Otto, the medium-sized water analyst achieved another breakthrough. The first Testomat® device was developed in the 60’s. This equipment automatically (and continuously) monitors the water hardness with the help of the proprietary indicator. To this day, Testomat® instruments – including Heyl indicators – are used in a wide variety of applications worldwide.

At the beginning of 2001, Jörg-Tilman Heyl, a nephew of the company founder Hans-Jürgen Heyl, took over Gebrüder Heyl Analysentechnik. Before the takeover occurred, the company was on the verge of insolvency due to a string of costly, under-performing acquisitions. Through restructuring measures and a return to the company’s classic strengths, Jörg-Tilman Heyl was able to put the company back on the road to success.

One important pillar was the development of Testomat 2000®. This represents a further development of the old Testomat model with which Gebrüder Heyl Analysentechnik was successful for over 40 years. In the years that followed, the device was developed further into a comprehensive family of measuring devices according to market requirements. To this day, Gebrüder Heyl Analysentechnik focuses on innovations, the expansion of its international network and the consistent use of modern marketing and sales strategies.

Durability and reliability are of tremendous importance for both the company and the products. Gebrüder Heyl Analysentechnik develops and manufactures its products exclusively in-house. This procedure ensures high quality standards at all times.

We would like to thank the entire crew for their many years of loyalty, the loyalty of our customers and the trust of our business partners. Optimistic and full of positive energy, we will shape our future!

PS: You can download our company brochures for the 50th company anniversary, “A tradition through the ages”, and for the 60th company anniversary, “60 years of existence”, as PDF files in the download area.