Working for our customers for 70 years: The milestones

The foundation of BRAND more than 70 years ago marks the origin of the development of our group. The conviction of our founders that there is always room for improvement continues to be our motivation. Today, with 1,000 employees worldwide, the Brand Group is a partner of trust for our customers in the laboratories of the life sciences, the pharmaceutical and chemical industries and process analytics.

This historic overview presents milestones in the development of the Group. The promise to make laboratory work simple, easy, and efficient is a recurring theme in the development of BRAND and also applies to the entire group of companies.

Let me invite you on a journey through 70 years of company history.

Christoph Schöler

Beginnings in Hamburg and Ilmenau

Even before the company was founded, the eponym Rudolf Brand (1902 to 1987, right) was already active in the laboratory sector.

For the Hamburg trading house of Herman Paulsen (left), he works, among other locations, in the Ilmenau branch and manages the laboratory glassware business there.

Foundation of the company Rudolf Brand in Wertheim

On April 1, 1949 Rudolf Brand founded his company in Wertheim.

On May 9, 1949, Helmut Schöler begins an apprenticeship at BRAND and is the first apprentice in the new glass industry.

1950s and 1960s

Development of the worldwide distribution

Helmut Schöler intensively travels through Europe to establish or reactivate relationships with laboratory dealers. Later, he also develops the markets in the Americas, Africa and Asia/Pacific, always in cooperation with local laboratory dealers as shown in our photo from 1963. Some of these new business relationships still exist today.

Glass, vacuum technology and liquid handling

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1955

Our brand as a promise of quality

Volumetric glassware is the most important product group at the beginning of BRAND's development. Technical innovations, such as precise graduation, ensure that customers can work more easily and efficiently with BRAND products even back then. With product brands such as BLAUBRAND®, BRAND emphasizes its distinct position and establishes itself as a supplier of premium quality.

1961

Vacuum technology as a new business field

With the development and manufacture of the first vacuum pump, the company enters a new business field.

By focusing on chemical process engineering and later founding an independent company, the company achieved the success that VACUUBRAND and its strong brand stand for today.

1967

BRAND becomes a liquid handling company

More precision, more efficient use of time and material: BRAND establishes the business field of liquid handling. The first bottle-top dispenser is marketed as “The Fast Pipette.”

Even back then, simple operation and efficiency made the decisive difference for our customers.

1981: A new factory for BRAND

The development of the group is also reflected in the various sites in Wertheim. BRAND's vacuum technology division started out at its current location in Otto-Schott-Straße in 1968, followed in 1973 by the joint logistics center with the first high-bay warehouse. From 1981 onwards, all group activities were temporarily concentrated at the current BRAND location.

Today, the expansion of the site follows a long-term master plan that combines growth with sustainable land use and innovative logistics concepts.

1985: VACUUBRAND becomes independent

The Vacuum Technology division grows under the VACUUBRAND brand, partly due to the diaphragm pump introduced in 1982. The spin-off as its own legal entity within the group of companies in 1985 is an important step in setting the course, as it allows VACUUBRAND to concentrate fully on customers, the market and the development of new products.

Expansion of the group of companies

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1996

Foundation of the first sales subsidiary

Foundation of BrandTech® Scientific, Inc. in the USA, our first sales subsidiary. The objective is to work directly and intensively with our customers in the important North American market. Today, BrandTech®, with approximately 40 employees, is successful in the distribution of BRAND, VACUUBRAND and VITLAB products, provides technical service and, with its own logistics center, short delivery times in North America. BrandTech uses many common functions such as logistics and customer service with its North American sister, VACUUBRAND, Inc. This is followed by subsidiaries in China and India, which also operate as regional sales, service and logistics centres for the entire group, as well as a sales and service subsidiary in the UK.

2002

VITLAB becomes part of the group of companies

With the purchase of VITLAB and the merger with WALU Labortechnik, which was acquired in the same year, the group of companies continues to grow. In 2006, VITLAB moves to a newly built plant in Grossostheim in the wider Rhine-Main metropolitan region.

2006: Success with microliter pipettes

Microliter pipettes are one of the most important products in the laboratory. With the new generation Transferpette® S, BRAND has made a breakthrough in this growth market.

The new pipette not only features high quality and low weight combined with an operating concept that makes work easier and more efficient, just as we promise.

2012: Life science quality from the cleanroom

The BRAND Injection Molding Centre is one of the world's largest and most modern cleanrooms for the production of life science products. In an area of 6,000 m², BRAND manufactures PCR consumables, pipette tips, and many other products for which our customers require the highest standards of purity.

2015: Laboratory automation as a new business segment

With the Liquid Handling Station, BRAND introduces an easy-to-operate robot that can perform a wide range of pipetting tasks in the laboratory and opens up a whole new business segment.

2019: BRAND INTERNATIONAL - Shared Services for the Brand Group

The Brand Group continues to grow. 1,000 employees worldwide work for our customers. As we grow, we also continue to develop our organization to ensure efficient, integrated processes. An important step forward is the new role of the so far international holding entity BRAND INTERNATIONAL GMBH, based in Frankfurt am Main, as the Group's shared services company in the areas of human resources and legal, IT, finances and financial planning.

2019: New logistics center in Wertheim

5,000 m² floor space, 27,000 small parts containers: The new BRAND logistics center in Wertheim allows for a comprehensive reorganization of the material and product flow and the simple and efficient execution of all logistics processes.

Our Wertheim team enjoys the new company restaurant "Mainschmecker".

2019: Touch operation like on a smartphone

The HandyStep® touch repetitive pipette is the first handheld device to bring touch operation into the laboratory and immediately earns not only great recognition from our customers but also important awards in Europe and the US.

As early as the 1980s, BRAND was one of the first companies to use SAP software. The Brand Group is also among the first worldwide to switch to the current version SAP S/4HANA. A decisive factor for success is the IT strategy of the group. VACUUBRAND, BRAND INTERNATIONAL, BRAND and VITLAB went live successfully with the new ERP system in 2020.

2020 - 2022: Our products contribute to COVID-19 diagnostics and vaccine development.

As the number of PCR tests ist still rising and since manual pipetting requires a lot of concentration and time, our LHS (Liquid Handling Station) is used very often. With the pipetting robot many PCR samples can be prepared at once and exactly the right amount of liquid will get into each tube.

2022: Global launch of the accu-jet® S pipette controller

The new pipette controller brings versatility and endurance to your team. It makes lab work simple, easy and efficient, whether you work with cell cultures, in quality control or in a pharma lab.