Eppendorf History

Eppendorf Milestones 1945 – present

After 75 years the mission of the company is just as valid and up-to-date as it ever was: our goal is to improve the living conditions of man. Since 1945 we have succeeded in continually producing high-quality products and technology, integrated as systems which solve problems in a holistic way. We invite you to follow the successful path of our group of companies over the decades.

Expert and Advisor
Since its founding Eppendorf is known as a premium brand. Today, the contribution of about 4,500 employees in over 26 countries helps to ensure that Eppendorf is recognized as expert partner in life science laboratories worldwide. Our vision: We strive to make our customers feel confident and proud when they use our products and services.

1945 – 1965

1965 – 1985

1965 - Building the headquarter
Eppendorf begins with the construction of its headquarters at Barkhausenweg, Hamburg, Germany. Today you can find on the site seven manufacturing facilities and offices, a training center and a day care center.

1969 - Automated analyzer
Increasingly rapid analysis of a growing number of samples: with its first automated Analyzer 5010, Eppendorf succeeded in fulfilling this demand in medical diagnostics from 1969 onwards. Chan links were used to feed samples into this device, which was used for rapid and precise measuring of enzyme activity and could handle as many as seven times the number of samples processed by laboratory workers in manual tests.

1974 - „We“ at Eppendorf
Behind each Eppendorf technology stand competent and motivated employees. In a holistic approach Eppendorf-teams work together interdisciplinary, creative and application-oriented. In 1974, the 500th Employee was appointed. The quality of Eppendorf products speaks for itself: 1976 the export reached 30% of the turnover.

1975 - New plant for the production of consumables
A new plant is inaugurated in Oldenburg, Germany. Here, high quality comsumables are manufactured in a clean room production. Today, more than two billion plastic disposable products leave the plant, annually.

1977 - Photometer, microprocessor-controlled
Eppendorf was one of the first equipment manufacturers to integrate microprocessor technology in its analysis systems.  (Picture shows the PCP 6121, a programmable photometer.)

1978 - Manual dispenser
Eppendorf launched the first Multipette® 4780. This manual dispenser is still one of Eppendorf's most successful products ever. The dispenser can discharge liquid not just once, but repeatedy in predefined doses. The Multipette with Combitips system is one of the leading manual dispensing systems in the world.

1984 - Quality wins out

The premium quality of Eppendorf products paid off: In 1984, the brand Eppendorf is registered worldwide; over a million pipettes were sold until 1984; the Eppendorf group achieved a turnover of 100 million DM.

1985 – 2005

1985 - Cell injection
With the injection of fluids into individual cells, the cell itself becomes a test tube. To this end, Eppendorf developed the Microinjector. (Nobel Prize winner Prof. Georges Köhler at his Eppendorf cell injection workstation.)

1991 - Contamination-free pipetting
Using the Eppendorf Biomaster® in conjunction with Mastertips® completely prevents the formation of aerosol, a frequent cause of contamination (e.g. in the amplification of nucleic acids).

1993 - Electronic dispensing system
With the EDOS® 5222 metering system, Eppendorf created an extremely versatile and high-performance device for all fluid dispensing tasks in the lab.

1994 - Manual multi-channel pipettes
The Titerman variable multi-channel pipette which can be calibrated and is for a high sample throughput. In a single maneuver, it can be converted from an 8-channel to a 12-channel pipette.

1995 - Eppendorf Award for Young European Investigators
The Eppendorf Award for Young European Investigators which comes with a cash prize of €15,000, has been awarded every year since 1995. This award honors outstanding achievements and new analytical approaches in the field of biomedical research that apply molecular biology methods.

1996 - Microinjectors
The CellTram Air and Oil microinjectors for controlling pressure, for manual microinjection and for dispensing fluids were designed for optimum ergonomics, easy operation and maximum precision.

1997 - International Relations
Cooperation and progress are essential features of the company. In 1997 a holding company in Japan is established. Marketing offices in England and Austria were founded.

1998 - Photometer
The Eppendorf BioPhotometer is a handy measuring device for the rapid and reliable quantitative analysis of ds/ssDNA, RNA, oligonucleotides, proteins and bacterial cell density (turbidity measurements).

1999 - Temperature control
ThermoStat plus: Eppendorf has made convenient temperature control of all common laboratory test tubes a concept with the ThermoStat plus - the result is a compact bench-top thermostat using Peltier technology.

2000 - Stock company Eppendorf
Eppendorf becomes a stock company and gains extended control functions as a holding. The turnover exceeds DM 258 million.

2001 - Nucleic acid purification
The Perfectprep Gel Cleanup Kit was developed for the purification of dsDNA fragments from a wide variety of agarose gels and reaction batches.

2002 - PCR plates
One-piece design: Combining polycarbonate and polypropylene for optimum performance.

2003 - PhysioCare
The mission of Eppendorf has always been to improve the living conditions of their customers. Nowadays where people spend a lot of their time at work the ergonomics of their tools and the whole work environment is becoming more important for their well-being. Thus the development of each Eppendorf pipette is based on three spheres that support the health of their customers.

2004 - Eppendorf Tubes
LoBind Tubes: With this new type of tube developed by Eppendorf, Eppendorf for the first time offers the user carefree work with the smallest quantities / concentrations of DNA or a number of proteins.

2005 – today

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