Feinwerk- und Messtechnik

What Feinwerk- und Messtechnik does

FMB Feinwerk- und Messtechnik GmbH is a Berlin-based precision engineering company founded in 1990 that designs, manufactures, and installs ultra-high vacuum (UHV) components and complete systems for synchrotron radiation research facilities. Its product portfolio spans vacuum chambers for storage rings, front-end components, full beamlines for IR/VUV/X-ray applications, monochromators (Double Crystal, Plane Grating, Spherical Grating), precision slit systems, beam position monitors, mirror chambers, radiation absorbers, and the proprietary BLiCS control software suite. Core manufacturing capabilities include NEG (Non-Evaporable Getter) coating under license from CERN, UHV-compatible brazing in a high-vacuum furnace reaching 1200°C, three-tier cleaning through to ISO 5 cleanroom conditions, and precision machining up to 1.5m × 1.5m × 0.8m, all delivered from a 4,000 m² facility at the WISTA Adlershof Science Park.

The company operates a project-based, direct enterprise sales model selling customized equipment and engineering services to government-funded national laboratories and research institutions worldwide. Customers include Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, ANKA, PSI/SLS, Canadian Light Source, Australian Synchrotron, Diamond Light Source, ALBA, APS/Argonne, NSLS Brookhaven, DESY, SOLEIL, NUS, and CAT India, with installation and commissioning supported globally (within 8 hours in Germany, 24 hours in Europe, 48 hours worldwide). FMB has held DIN ISO 9001 certification since 1997 and is privately held under Managing Director Jens Rekow, having been acquired by Italy's SAES Group in September 2025 and integrated into its High Vacuum division.

Name

Feinwerk- und Messtechnik

Legal name

FMB Feinwerk- und Messtechnik GmbH

Website

https://fmb-berlin.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

FMB Feinwerk- und Messtechnik GmbH, founded 1990 in Berlin, designs and manufactures ultra-high vacuum components, beamlines, and monochromators for synchrotron radiation research facilities worldwide. Now part of SAES Group, it serves government research institutions from a 4,000 m² facility with 60-70 specialists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Synchrotron Radiation Equipment and Ultra-High Vacuum Systems

NAICS

Irradiation Apparatus Manufacturing (334517), Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals (334515), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

X-Ray Apparatus & Tubes & Related Irradiation Apparatus (3844), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMAGAFAC

Test & Measurement Equipment (Oscilloscopes, DAQ, signal analyzers, calibration benches)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Electrical Equipment & Industrial Electronics/Sensors, Instrumentation & Measurement (Industrial sensing, metrology, test)

SECONDARYEUAKAIAK

Radiation Detection Instruments & Systems (Portal monitors, spectrometers, contamination monitors)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Nuclear Energy/Nuclear Materials, Radiation Services & Isotopes (Medical/Industrial)

Keywords

• Ultra-high vacuum systems
• Synchrotron beamline components
• Vacuum chamber manufacturing
• X-ray monochromators
• Precision mechanical engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Equipment Manufacturing: Design, development, manufacturing, testing, and installation of custom vacuum systems, front-ends, beamlines, and components for synchrotron radiation research. Projects range from standalone components to complete storage ring vacuum systems or beamlines.
2. Engineering and Consulting Services: Comprehensive consulting during project preparation phase, design studies and technical specifications development, project management, and technical support throughout the project lifecycle.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

FMB designs, engineers, manufactures, tests, and installs custom ultra-high vacuum systems, front-ends, complete beamlines, and precision components (monochromators, precision slits, mirror chambers, beam position monitors, diagnostic components, and absorbers) for synchrotron radiation research facilities worldwide. The company also provides proprietary BLiCS beamline control software, CERN-licensed NEG vacuum chamber coatings, UHV brazing services, and full project lifecycle support from consulting through global installation and commissioning.

Product overview

FMB Feinwerk- und Messtechnik GmbH is a precision engineering company providing complete vacuum systems, front-ends, beamlines, and components for synchrotron radiation research facilities. The product portfolio centers on ultra-high vacuum (UHV) technology for particle accelerators, including Double Crystal Monochromators (DCM), Plane Grating Monochromators (PGM), and Spherical Grating Monochromators for X-ray and VUV spectroscopy; Precision Slits and Slit Systems for beam apertures; complete Beamlines for IR, VUV, and X-ray applications; Vacuum Systems for storage rings including dipole chambers, straight chambers, and front-end components; Beam Position Monitors (BPM) and diagnostic components; Mirror Chambers with optical systems; Radiation Absorbers; and BLiCS proprietary control software for beamline equipment. Supporting these products are manufacturing capabilities including NEG (Non-Evaporable Getter) coatings licensed from CERN, high-vacuum brazing services, precision machining (turning, milling to 1.5m×1.5m×0.8m), various welding methods (TIG, MAG, electron beam, laser), UHV cleaning in ISO 5 cleanroom conditions, and metrological testing with 3D coordinate measurement and laser interferometry. The company operates from ~4000 m² facilities at the WISTA Adlershof Science Park in Berlin, Germany, and serves major synchrotron facilities worldwide including BESSY II, Diamond Light Source, ESRF, SLS, Australian Synchrotron, and others.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BLiCS: Beamline Control Systems - includes BLiCS.EPS (Equipment Protection System), BLiCS.PGM (Monochromator Control System), BLiCS.HEXAPOD (Hexapod Control Software), and BLiCS.SLIT (Slits Software)

Products and services

• Precision Slits Backlash-free, flexure-mechanism-controlled aperture systems with configurable blade materials (tungsten, tungsten-carbide), stepper motor drives with 0.05 µm encoder resolution, UHV compatibility to 10^-10 mbar, and baking temperatures up to 200°C for vacuum-sided parts. Sold to synchrotron radiation research facilities for beamline aperture applications.
• Slit Systems for Apertures Modular slit systems with two or four slit heads, available with or without synchronous belt gear motorization, cooled or uncooled slit jaws in OFHC-Copper, Glidcop, or Tungsten, and Renishaw linear encoders. Sold to synchrotron research facilities for beamline aperture control.
• Double Crystal Monochromators (DCM) X-ray Double Crystal Monochromators in (+,-) configuration that select monochromatic photon energy from white synchrotron beams, with water-cooled first crystal, configurable Bragg angles (-3° to 55°), and optional sagittal focusing via ESRF-licensed mechanical bending. Sold to synchrotron radiation research facilities for X-ray spectroscopy applications.
• Plane Grating Monochromators (PGM) VUV Plane Grating Monochromators for the 3 eV to 1500 eV energy range with resolution up to E/ΔE=100,000, supporting both normal incidence and grazing incidence modes, with water-cooled mirrors and gratings and piezo or stepper motor drives in vacuum. Sold to synchrotron research facilities for VUV spectroscopy.
• Spherical Grating Monochromators Spherical Grating Monochromators for soft X-ray and VUV spectroscopy applications with high-precision grating rotation mechanisms and angular encoders. Sold to synchrotron radiation research facilities.
• Vacuum Systems for Storage Rings Complete ultra-high vacuum systems for synchrotron storage rings including dipole chambers, straight chambers, pre-dipole and post-dipole chambers, with specific desorption rates <1×10^-12 mbar·l·s^-1·cm^-2 and He leakage rates <5×10^-10 mbar·l·s^-1. Sold to synchrotron radiation research facilities for storage ring construction and upgrades.
• Front-End Components Front-end components for synchrotron beamlines including photon shutters, photon collimators, vacuum vessels, bellows, bremsstrahlung shutters, and fast vacuum shutters for dipole, undulator, and wiggler radiation sources. Sold to synchrotron radiation research facilities.
• Beamlines Complete beamline systems for infrared, VUV, and X-ray applications including mirror systems, optics, diamond windows, and spectrometer integration for synchrotron research facilities. Sold as turnkey beamline projects to research institutions.
• Beam Position Monitors (BPM) Beam Position Monitors for synchrotron storage rings including dipole radiation and insertion device (ID) radiation variants, with motorized H/V stage options and LoCuM-4 cable integration. Sold to synchrotron radiation research facilities.
• Mirror Chambers and Mirror Systems Mirror chambers and complete mirror systems for beamline optics with gold-coated mirrors, ellipsoidal and toroidal configurations, and UHV-compatible mounting systems. Sold to synchrotron radiation research facilities for beamline optical setups.
• Diagnostic Components Diagnostic components including fluorescence monitors, intensity monitors, and profile monitors for beam characterization and photon diagnostics. Sold to synchrotron radiation research facilities.
• BLiCS - Beamline Control Systems BLiCS is FMB's proprietary beamline control system software suite for equipment protection (BLiCS.EPS), monochromator control (BLiCS.PGM), hexapod control (BLiCS.HEXAPOD), and slit control (BLiCS.SLIT), built on SCADA frameworks. Sold to synchrotron radiation research facilities as an integrated control software offering.
• Absorbers Radiation absorbers including wedge plates/crotch absorbers, photon shutters, and intensity absorbers for managing high heat loads in synchrotron beamlines. Sold to synchrotron radiation research facilities.
• NEG Coatings Non-Evaporable Getter (NEG) coatings for ultra-high vacuum chambers developed under CERN license, applicable to stainless steel, aluminium, and copper chambers up to 5 metres in length, with approximately 20 possible activations. Sold as a manufacturing service to research institutions and industrial customers requiring UHV chamber coatings.
• High-Vacuum Heat Treatment Furnace Services UHV-proof brazing services in a clean high-vacuum furnace for copper, Glidcop, stainless steels, molybdenum, tungsten, mu-metal, and ceramics, with brazing area 500x500x800 mm, maximum temperature 1200°C, final vacuum <10^-6 mbar, and temperature uniformity <±5K. Sold as a contract manufacturing service to research institutions and industrial customers.

Named customers12 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• SAES GroupflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFMB is now officially part of the SAES Group, a major provider of vacuum technology solutions. SAES Getters (Lainate, Italy) provides NEG coating services for FMB's vacuum chambers. The acquisition by SAES Group provides strategic alignment in high vacuum technology markets.
• CERNcoreTechnology or IntegrationFMB holds a license for NEG (Non Evaporable Getter) coating technology developed at CERN. This enables FMB to coat vacuum chambers with pump-active NEG coats on inner surfaces up to 5 metres in length.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bruker Corporation: US-headquartered analytical instrumentation company making X-ray, NMR, and mass spectrometry systems used at research institutions. Comparable as a broad incumbent in scientific analytical instrumentation with synchrotron customer overlap, though focused on benchtop rather than beamline-scale systems.
• Oxford Instruments: UK-based scientific instrumentation company supplying cryogenics, detectors, and analytical systems to research and industrial customers. Broad incumbent with overlapping presence at synchrotron facilities via detector and cryogenic instrumentation.
• Rigaku Corporation: Japanese manufacturer of X-ray analytical and diffraction instrumentation serving materials science and synchrotron-adjacent research customers. Comparable in providing X-ray spectroscopy and diffraction equipment to research institutions, though not specialized in beamline integration.
• Pfeiffer Vacuum: German publicly listed vacuum technology company providing components, pumps, and systems to research institutions and industrial customers. Comparable as a broader incumbent serving overlapping UHV and synchrotron vacuum infrastructure needs, though not specialized in beamline assembly.

Direct peers

• VAT Group: Swiss manufacturer of high-end vacuum valves, chambers, and motion feedthroughs used in semiconductor and synchrotron applications. Comparable precision-vacuum supplier with overlapping synchrotron and accelerator customer base, though focused on components rather than full beamline systems.
• Danfysik: Danish designer and manufacturer of accelerator magnets, power supplies, and beamline components. Direct peer supplying custom precision accelerator technology to synchrotron and research facility customers worldwide.
• Scienta Omicron: Swedish/German manufacturer of UHV surface science and ARPES systems for synchrotron beamlines. Direct peer serving overlapping synchrotron endstation customers with similar precision-engineered UHV instrumentation.
• SPECS Surface Nano Analysis GmbH: Berlin-based manufacturer of UHV surface analysis systems, ARPES endstations, and synchrotron-compatible instrumentation. Highly comparable as a German-headquartered niche precision engineering firm serving the same synchrotron and UHV research customer base.
• Research Instruments GmbH: German manufacturer of accelerator magnets, beamline components, and ion source systems. Direct peer providing custom particle accelerator and beamline technology to the same global research facility customer base.

Others

• Thales (Electron Devices / Microwave & Imaging Sub-Systems): European multinational supplying klystrons, RF sources, and accelerator subsystems used in synchrotron and FEL facilities. Comparable as an enabling supplier to the same accelerator/synchrotron infrastructure market, though operating as a large diversified group.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Feinwerk- und Messtechnik