UP Umweltanalytische Produkte

What UP Umweltanalytische Produkte does

UP Umweltanalytische Produkte GmbH (UP GmbH) is a German specialty instrumentation company founded in 1993, headquartered in Cottbus with a branch office in Ibbenbüren. The firm designs, manufactures, and sells environmental analytical measurement systems for soil physics, hydrology, plant physiology, and meteorology, with a core specialization in sapflow (xylem water transport) measurement based on Dr. Andre Granier's thermocouple method originally developed at INRA Nancy in the 1990s. Its product stack spans Granier-style and Dr. Liu-variant sapflow sensors with configurable needle lengths (10-63mm) and heating zones (5-60mm), constant-current sources (CCS2, CCS5), the CLOG family of high-resolution dataloggers (Prosa-LOG, Dendro-LOG, SDI-12 variants), and the Scatter100 wireless transmission platform with SDI-12 and LoRaWAN sensor interfaces. The firm has sold more than 10,000 sapflow sensors and serves customers primarily in academic and institutional plant-physiology research, with secondary reach into agricultural operations via the Firmtech FT7 and ART Apple Ripeness Test devices.

The company monetizes through hardware sales of sensors, dataloggers, and complete measurement systems; turn-key services covering installation, commissioning, maintenance, and repair; second-hand equipment, leasing, and trade-in programs; and a recurring SaaS component via the PROSA-App for sapflow data evaluation and visualization. Pricing is quote-based with no public disclosure, and go-to-market combines direct sales from the German offices with a regional distributor network spanning Belgium, Italy (two partners), Japan, Portugal, China/Hong Kong, and Korea, plus direct end-customer reach into the UK and USA. Technical collaborations with ITC Wageningen (CHD/NTG measurement method) and Dr. Andre Granier (foundational sensor IP) anchor the R&D pipeline, which has produced steady but incremental product refreshes — most recently the CCS5 constant-current source in September 2024 and the Scatter100 wireless system in 2023. The firm operates without disclosed external funding, M&A activity, or material leadership turnover, and currently employs only a small team of physicists, engineers, technicians, and office staff.

Name

UP Umweltanalytische Produkte

Legal name

UP Umweltanalytische Produkte GmbH

Website

https://sapflow.upgmbh.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Short description

UP Umweltanalytische Produkte GmbH is a German specialty instrumentation firm that designs, manufactures, and sells sapflow sensors, dataloggers, and wireless environmental monitoring systems based on Dr. Andre Granier's methodology, serving primarily academic plant-physiology researchers and, to a lesser extent, agricultural operators across Europe and East Asia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Analytical Instruments

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519), Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables (334513)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Totalizing Fluid Meters & Counting Devices (3824)

akta.pro primary industry

Irrigation Monitoring & Sensors (Flow/Pressure Meters, Soil Moisture, Water Quality Sensors) (AFABAHAJ)

Keywords

• Sapflow measurement
• Environmental analytical instruments
• Plant physiology sensors
• Agricultural monitoring systems
• Heat pulse sensors

Headquarters

HQ city

Ibbenbüren

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales: Sale of measurement systems, sensors (sapflow-sensors, dendrometers), dataloggers, and accessories including cables and power supplies.
2. Services: Turn-key solutions including installation, launching, maintenance and repair services. Leasing and trade-in options also available.
3. Software as a Service (SaaS): PROSA-App for professional sapflow evaluation is billed as SaaS (software as a service).
4. Second-hand Products: Offering second-hand products as part of their business model.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

UP Umweltanalytische Produkte GmbH manufactures and sells sapflow measurement systems for environmental and plant-physiological analysis. Its product range comprises SFM sensors, field dataloggers, wireless data transmission hardware, and accompanying SaaS software for data acquisition, transmission, and evaluation. Customers are primarily research institutions, universities, and agricultural operations.

Product overview

UP Umweltanalytische Produkte GmbH offers specialized environmental analytical products focused on plant physiology, soil physics, hydrology, and meteorology. The core product line centers on sap flow measurement systems based on Dr. Andre Granier's methodology and Dr. Jinchen Liu's developments. Key product families include: (1) Sap flow sensors (SFS2, SF-L, custom designs) combined with constant current sources (CCS2, CCS5) for powering the sensors; (2) Complete measurement systems including the Basic system (entry level), M1 mobile system (with PAR sensor and batteries), and CHD system (with natural temperature gradient compensation); (3) Wireless data transmission solutions (Scatter100 system with sensor interfaces and SDI-12 modules); (4) Dataloggers (CLOG series including PROSA-LOG and Dendro-LOG variants); (5) PROSA-App SaaS software for data evaluation and visualization; (6) LoRaWAN nodes for dendrometers. Products are offered both individually and as turn-key solutions, with services including installation, maintenance, leasing, and trade-in options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sapflow: Product line for sapflow measurement systems including sensors, dataloggers, and complete measurement solutions for plant physiology research
• Scatter100
• PROSA-App

Products and services

• SFM Sap Flow Meter sensors

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ITC WageningencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative development partner for the CHD/NTG (Natural Temperature Gradient) method to compensate errors in sapflow sensor measurements. This partnership has resulted in proprietary technology for cyclic heat dissipation measurements.
• EU (Gezonde Kas Project)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipated in EU-funded research and development project 'Gezonde Kas' (Healthy Greenhouse). Experience in EU-funded R&D projects with other German institutions.
• Dr. Andre Granier, INRA NancycoreTechnology or IntegrationLicensed base technology for sapflow sensors based on the development of Dr. Andre Granier from INRA Nancy, developed in the 1990s. Company has refined and extended this technology, selling over 10,000 sensors.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Acclima: U.S. specialist in soil moisture sensor technology. Comparable as a sensor manufacturer targeting research-grade soil water measurements; potentially complementary or competitive depending on the deployment scenario.
• Sentek Technologies: Australia-based developer of soil moisture profiling sensors used in agriculture and research. Overlaps with UP's soil-physics and plant-water monitoring portfolio, particularly in field research deployments.
• Implexx Sense: Smaller specialist focused on plant water status and sap flow sensors. Directly comparable niche competitor with similar target customers in plant physiology research, though with a narrower product breadth than UP.

Regional players

• Stevens Water Monitoring Systems: U.S.-based manufacturer of soil moisture, water quality, and hydrology sensors. Comparable in the hydrology and soil physics instrumentation space, primarily serving North American research and utility customers.

Broad incumbents

• Campbell Scientific: Large established manufacturer of dataloggers, weather stations, and environmental measurement systems. Overlaps with UP's C-LOG datalogger family, Scatter100 wireless platform, and meteorological sensor integrations, but serves a much broader customer base.
• LI-COR Biosciences: Established manufacturer of plant physiology and environmental instruments (gas exchange, light sensors, leaf area). Comparable target customers in academic plant science labs, though focused on photosynthesis rather than sap flow.
• Pessl Instruments (METOS): Austria-based provider of METOS-branded agricultural and environmental sensors, weather stations, and farm decision-support tools. Competes in adjacent soil moisture and ag-meteorology instrumentation and overlaps with UP's research-to-agriculture use cases.

Direct peers

• Dynamax Inc. U.S.-based manufacturer of sap flow sensors (including Granier-type and heat-balance designs) and plant water monitoring systems. Direct competitor in the same niche, serving academic and agricultural researchers with comparable sensor hardware.
• METER Group (formerly Decagon Devices): U.S. manufacturer of soil moisture, environmental, and plant science sensors (TEROS, Acclima-compatible). Overlaps with UP in soil physics and hydrology sensing, and integrates into similar research installations.
• ICT International: Australia-based supplier of sap flow sensors (SFM, HRM), dendrometers, and plant physiology instrumentation. Directly competes with UP in scientific-grade sap flow measurement and shares the same research-customer profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/up-umweltanalytische-produkte-gmbh

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 UP Umweltanalytische Produkte