What KRÜSS Scientific does

KRÜSS Scientific, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, is a manufacturer and supplier of measuring instruments in the field of surface science, with continuous operation dating back to 1796. The company specializes in interfacial analysis equipment, producing tensiometers, contact angle goniometers, foam analyzers, and mobile surface analysis instruments. Its core technology spans a portfolio of six primary instrument types—the Ayríís 3D contact angle instrument, Tensíío force tensiometer, BPT Mobile bubble pressure tensiometer, MSA One-Click SFE mobile surface analyzer, DSA100E drop shape analyzer, and DFA100 dynamic foam analyzer—all controlled by the proprietary ADVANCE Software platform for data acquisition and instrument control. The company serves four primary customer segments identified in the input: research and development institutions, industrial quality control operations, industrial manufacturers (coatings, adhesives, cosmetics, semiconductors), and chemical formulation developers.

KRÜSS's revenue model combines high-value hardware sales with recurring service revenue streams. Direct revenue comes from instrument sales, software licensing (one-time license for ADVANCE), technical services covering installation, training, maintenance, and calibration, plus contract measurement services performed by in-house specialists who run 40+ precise measurement methods on behalf of customers. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales supported by regional offices in Germany (HQ), the United States, and China, complemented by direct website sales, demo units, refurbished stock, and conference presence. Marketing relies on content-driven channels including LinkedIn, YouTube, WeChat, application reports, webinars, certificate training programs co-organized with ORBIT, and a monthly newsletter. Manufacturing follows 'Made in Germany' quality standards with ISO 9001 certification; pricing is quote-based rather than transparently published, consistent with enterprise scientific instrument sales.

KRÜSS's strategic positioning emphasizes its heritage, claimed market leadership in surface science, and proprietary measurement methodologies including the trademarked Stood-up Drop method. The company is privately held under the KRÜSS GmbH legal structure, with no disclosed parent company, venture capital backing, or IPO activity. Named enterprise customers include Sika, a Swiss chemicals and construction materials firm that uses the MSA contact angle measuring instrument for quality control and maintains an annual maintenance contract with on-site consulting. The headcount band of 101-250 employees and management team visibility (President and Applications Lab Manager of KRÜSS Americas) imply an established mid-sized Mittelstand manufacturer operating globally.

Name

KRÜSS Scientific

Legal name

KRÜSS GmbH

Website

https://kruss-scientific.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1796

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

KRÜSS Scientific is a German manufacturer of surface science measurement instruments, producing tensiometers, contact angle analyzers, foam analyzers, and proprietary ADVANCE software for research, industrial quality control, and chemical formulation customers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Surface Science Instruments

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables (334513), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Mass Spectrometry & Spectroscopy Instruments (HLAGAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Analytical Instruments & Chromatography Systems (HLAGAIAA), Metrology, Calibration & Testing Equipment (Balances, pH/DO, Standards) (HLAGAIAL), Process Analytical Instrumentation (Gas analyzers, spectroscopy, pH/ORP, conductivity) (IMAGAFAE), Test & Measurement Equipment (Oscilloscopes, DAQ, signal analyzers, calibration benches) (IMAGAFAC), Calibration Services & Standards (Calibration labs, reference standards, traceability services) (IMAGAFAH)

Keywords

• Surface science instruments
• Contact angle measurement
• Interfacial tensiometry
• Foam analysis equipment
• Interfacial rheology

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Scientific Instrument Sales: Sale of surface analysis instruments including tensiometers, contact angle goniometers, foam analyzers, and accessories. Instruments range from portable mobile units to automated laboratory systems.
2. Technical Services: Set-up & installation, training, maintenance & calibration services to support instruments throughout their lifecycle.
3. Measurement Services: Contract measurement services where KRÜSS specialists perform analyses for customers in surface and interfacial tension, contact angle, roughness measurement, foam analysis, and interfacial rheology.
4. ADVANCE Software: Software licenses and updates for instrument control and data analysis.
5. Stock and Refurbished Products: Sale of reduced stock items and refurbished products at lower prices with accustomed quality standards.
6. Professional Training: Educational programs including webinars, seminars, and certificate courses on surface science applications.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

KRÜSS Scientific designs, manufactures, and distributes precision instruments for surface and interfacial analysis, including tensiometers, contact angle goniometers, bubble pressure tensiometers, drop shape analyzers, and foam analyzers, supported by its proprietary ADVANCE software for instrument control and data analysis. The company complements its hardware with accessories, technical services (setup, training, maintenance, calibration), and contract measurement services performed by its in-house surface science specialists.

Product overview

KRÜSS Scientific offers a unified portfolio of surface science instruments with complementary software and services. The core product line includes six main instrument types: Ayríís (portable 3D contact angle meter), Tensíío (force tensiometer), BPT Mobile (bubble pressure tensiometer), MSA One-Click SFE (mobile surface analyzer), DSA100E (drop shape analyzer), and DFA100 (dynamic foam analyzer). These are supported by the ADVANCE Software platform for instrument control and data analysis. The offering is extended through a comprehensive range of accessories (capillaries, probes, chambers, syringes, standards) and complemented by Technical Services (setup, training, maintenance) and Measurement Services (lab-based analysis by specialists). The company has been in business since 1796, manufacturing in Germany with ISO 9001 certification.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ayríís Portable contact angle instrument that measures the 3D Contact Angle, providing easy and reliable surface quality control through sophisticated mobile standalone technology, targeted at industrial quality control users.
• Tensíío Next-generation force tensiometer for liquid and solid surfaces, measuring surface and interfacial tension, wettability, and adhesion with modular design and advanced innovations, for industrial and research users.
• BPT Mobile Mobile Bubble Pressure Tensiometer for monitoring surfactant content in cleaning and coating baths, enabling mobile quality control in production environments.
• MSA One-Click SFE Mobile Surface Analyzer providing one-click SFE (Surface Free Energy) measurements for fast wettability analysis in seconds.
• DSA100E Automated premium Drop Shape Analyzer for wetting and adhesion analysis of solids and liquids.
• DFA100 Universal Dynamic Foam Analyzer covering all aspects of liquid foam analysis.
• ADVANCE Software Proprietary software platform for instrument control, data acquisition, and analysis across KRÜSS surface science instruments.
• Accessories Comprehensive range of accessories including capillaries, sample holders, environmental chambers, temperature control equipment, measuring probes, syringes, standards, and spare parts for optimizing instrument performance.
• Technical Services Comprehensive support services covering setup and installation, training, maintenance, and calibration to maximize instrument performance and longevity for KRÜSS customers.
• Measurement Services Professional measurement services performed by KRÜSS surface science specialists covering surface and interfacial tension, contact angle, roughness measurement, foam analysis, and interfacial rheology.
• Flexible Care Package Service package providing ongoing support and maintenance options for KRÜSS instruments.

Quantifiable outcome

• One-click surface free energy measurement with MSA One-Click SFE
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ORBITcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerORBIT in association with KRÜSS organizes certificate courses on surfactant application and challenges. This 3-day intensive program bridges the gap between scientific development and industrial application in surface science.
• NETZSCH-Gerätebau GmbHminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKRÜSS co-hosts webinars with NETZSCH-Gerätebau GmbH on topics such as hot melt adhesives, combining expertise in surface science and thermal analysis to provide comprehensive educational content.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Dataphysics Instruments: German-based manufacturer of contact angle goniometers and tensiometers, directly competing with KRÜSS in the same surface and interfacial science product category and customer base.
• Kyowa Interface Science: Japanese manufacturer of contact angle meters and surface science instruments, serving similar R&D and QC customers globally as KRÜSS, with comparable product categories.
• Biolin Scientific (Attension): Offers the Attension line of tensiometers and contact angle meters; now operating under the Addlife group. Directly overlaps with KRÜSS on optical tensiometry and surface wettability instruments.
• First Ten Ångstroms (FTA): US-based supplier of contact angle and surface tension instruments, with a focused catalog closely paralleling KRÜSS's tensiometer and goniometer offerings.
• Holmarc Opto-Mechatronics: Indian manufacturer of contact angle meters and tensiometers serving academic and industrial surface science customers, with a comparable product set to KRÜSS's core line.
• Rame-Hart Instrument Co. Long-established US manufacturer of contact angle goniometers and tensiometers; now part of a larger scientific instruments group. Directly comparable product line to KRÜSS's contact angle portfolio.
• SEO (Surface Electro Optics): Korean manufacturer of contact angle and surface free energy instruments, competing in similar R&D and industrial QC use cases as KRÜSS, particularly across Asian markets.

Broad incumbents

• Bruker: Diversified scientific instrument manufacturer with surface and materials analysis product lines that overlap with KRÜSS's research and industrial customer base.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Global analytical instruments incumbent offering a broad portfolio that includes surface science and contact angle capabilities (e.g., via Rame-Hart). Competes with KRÜSS as part of a much larger, multi-category sales and service platform.

Emerging players

• Ossila: Smaller, fast-moving supplier of contact angle and surface characterization tools targeting materials and device R&D labs; an emerging niche competitor with partial overlap to KRÜSS's product set.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/KrussDe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kruss-gmbh
• Xx.com/krussscientific
• Facebookfacebook.com/KRUSS.Advancing.your.Surface.Science

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KRÜSS Scientific