Innovation Driven by Empowering Good People – Analytik Jena’s Road to Success

From mass spectrometers and spectrophotometers to food and human diagnostic kits, Analytik Jena provides a wide range of successful analytical technology and molecular diagnostic systems for bioanalytical applications; and plans to continue delivering technological innovation for many years to come. But how does a scientific company ensure it stays ahead of the game? What are the secrets to its success?

SelectScience caught up with Analytik Jena’s CEO, Ulrich Krauss to find out more about the future of Analytik Jena and his personal thoughts on how to deliver a successful business.

Mr. Krauss, your first year as CEO of Analytik Jena is behind you. How do you feel about that?

It has been a year of change and focus: We have spun-off of non-core businesses and have started to focus on what we do best: providing innovative systems, solutions and services for laboratory analysis and life science applications. Innovation plays a key role for us, but I personally believe that our people make the real difference. Their expertise, knowledge and experience not only help us understand what our customers need but it also is they driver for building long-lasting relationships with customers and business partners alike.

What inspired you to get into the world of science and lab technology?

I have worked for technology-driven companies for almost all of my professional career. The pace of innovation in such companies is fascinating. Being at the pulse of technological advances which impact us in many aspects of our daily life is a rewarding experience for me personally. So, the lab industry and Analytik Jena as one of the technology leaders in this field feels like a natural fit for me.

What kinds of visions do you pursue for Analytik Jena, and where do you foresee the company will be in several years’ time from now?

We are fortunate to be in an industry which is expected to continue to grow in the years to come. The key drivers for this growth are very sustainable: environmental protection, food safety, pharmaceuticals in healthcare, just to name a few, address very fundamental needs of a growing and aging population.

As a consequence, the possibilities to respond to those needs are many fold, and we have established a presence in many different areas and industries. Going forward, I see Analytik Jena continue to build its business on its strong foundation of people and innovation. This will help to even further strengthen the trust of our customers and partners, in lab analysis, especially in those industries where our parent company, Endress + Hauser, has assumed a leading presence in the field of process automation over many years.

What are your personal 4-5 key ‘tips' for business success?

For me, there is no single ‘recipe for business success’. However, what I have always found most rewarding both for the business and personally is when you focus on hiring, developing and empowering good people, listening to and understanding your customers and never stop learning yourself.

What do you see for the future trends in the scientific and instruments industry and what part will Analytik Jena play in this?

In addition to the “Megatrends”, which fuel the demand for more and better analysis of substances and materials in order to improve quality of life and efficiency of industrial processes, our customers are increasingly asking for more robustness, precision and higher throughput of their systems. At the same time, ease of use and cost of ownership play an important role. Digitalization is a key to these trends in many aspects: it allows for better and integrated solutions for (lab) analytical applications and may offer innovative approaches in bridging or combining lab and field analysis.

With our presence in the lab analysis industry and by being an integrated part of Endress + Hauser, I believe we are uniquely positioned to respond well to those needs going forward.