Graetz Strahlungsmeßtechnik GmbH
Since its foundation in 1949, GRAETZ has been developing and producing innovative Radiation measurement devices with high precision and reliability. Our mission has remained the same since the beginning of our company: We give people a “technical sense organ” for protection against dangerous ionizing radiation. Our image brochure gives you an overview of our range of products and services and the industries and applications for which we develop radiation measuring technology. High reliability, field-proven robustness, easy and safe handling of our instruments as well as high quality standards in our production have made us a leading manufacturer in radiation protection measurement technology worldwide.
Company details
Find locations served, office locations
- Business Type:
- Manufacturer
- Industry Type:
- Radiation Monitoring
- Market Focus:
- Globally (various continents)
About us
All life on Earth is exposed to the effects of ionizing radiation. This radiation comes to us from outer space or it originates from natural radioactive substances in our environment. Natural radioactive substances found in our bodies themselves also contribute to a small extent.
Technical development has also made it possible to produce radioactive substances artificially or to generate ionizing radiation directly with the aid of special radiation sources. For radionuclides, gamma or X-rays, there are a multitude of beneficial applications today. Technology and medicine can no longer do without them. Whether radiation is applied directly or whether it occurs as an undesirable side effect, as in the use of nuclear energy, it is necessary in any case to protect people and the environment from harmful radiation exposure.
Since the human senses cannot detect radioactive hazards, we have developed a technical “sensory organ” with our devices to warn of this invisible and extremely harmful danger. This is the goal of GRAETZ Strahlungsmeßtechnik GmbH from Altena in Westphalia.
Our Quality Standard
As one of the pioneers of industrial radiation measurement technology, we stand for values. Our claim is that our customers and, above all, the users can rely 100% on the reliability of our products in use. From this, a demanding, consistent understanding of quality is derived for all areas of our company. GRAETZ Strahlungsmeßtechnik GmbH has set itself the goal of meeting the highest quality standards.
Quality is made by people in our company – handmade at the Altena site. This requires knowledgeable and conscientious employees who have internalized the company’s vision and values and live them every day. For us, quality is a living process that is constantly being critically scrutinized and optimized.
Our quality management system is certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001:2015. We do not only have the effectiveness of the QM system checked by certified bodies. Internal audits, which go beyond the prescribed level, also ensure regular monitoring and a continuous improvement process.
Markets and Applications
A heightened sense of environmental awareness and responsibility, as well as increased safety awareness, are prevalent when dealing with nuclear facilities. Wherever work is carried out with radioactive sources or ionizing radiation is to be detected and measured, measuring instruments are used for personal or stationary radiation protection.
For more than 70 years GRAETZ Strahlungsmeßtechnik GmbH has been developing, producing and distributing portable as well as stationary warning and measuring devices for the detection and measurement of α-, β- and γ-radiation (ionizing alpha, beta and gamma radiation from radioactive sources and X-ray tubes) for the protection of man and the environment.
High reliability, field-proven robustness, easy and safe handling of our instruments as well as high quality standards in our production have made us a leading manufacturer in radiation protection measurement technology worldwide.
Since 1949 GRAETZ stands for “Made in Germany” with outstanding competence in radiation protection and supplies quality products in the following areas and applications:
- Fire departments / civil defense / disaster control
- Customs / Police / Federal Police
- Other authorities (e.g. TÜV, factory inspectorate, environmental authorities)
- Non-destructive material testing (NDT)
- Nuclear Medicine
- Industry (e.g. mines, refineries, chemical, petrochemical, offshore, steel)
- Research (e.g. laboratories, pharmaceutical industry) and teaching (e.g. universities)
- Nuclear technology (e.g. power plants, disposal, repositories)
- Transport and logistics (e.g. freight forwarders, shipping companies)
- Special customer requirements (e.g. military, food industry)
We sell our equipment worldwide into these application areas through our network of dealers and representatives or directly from Altena.
The devices are used to determine exposure to ionizing radiation. They can be used to measure equivalent doses (energy doses with biological effects taken into account). The local dose H*(10) and the personal dose Hp(10) are given in Sievert (Sv) as well as the dose rate in Sv/h or fractions thereof. Contamination meters indicate the activity of a radioactive source in pulses per time (Ips) or, for a known nuclide, in becquerels (Bq).
Our product range includes the following types of equipment, for which we also provide service (maintenance, repair and / or calibration):
Our History
The origin of GRAETZ Strahlungsmeßtechnik GmbH goes back to the 19th century. Albert GRAETZ, the inventor of the “Petromax” kerosene starch lamp introduced in 1910, founded the lamp factory Ehrich & GRAETZ OHG in Berlin with Emil Ehrich in 1866. The company originally manufactured lamp-burners, stoves and heating stoves for liquid and gaseous fuels. In 1925, the production of radios began.
The descendants Erich and Fritz GRAETZ moved the company to Altena in Westphalia after the Second World War and founded the GRAETZ KG. In 1952, the production of televisions was started and over time other household appliances were added, such as music chests and coffee machines. The company grew into a well-known manufacturer of radio and television sets as well as the world-famous “Petromax”. In the meantime, up to 4,000 employees worked at the GRAETZ plants in Altena.
A small research group at GRAETZ KG was involved very early on in the development of Radiation measurement devicesbased on the Geiger-Müller counter tube principle – colloquially known as Geiger counters – for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation. On May 12, 1949, GRAETZ Strahlungsmeßtechnik GmbH was founded in Altena. In 1959, the company was renamed GRAETZ-Raytronik GmbH.
In 1961, Erich GRAETZ sold the entire company with thirteen production sites to Standard Elektrik Lorenz AG (SEL), which was one of the ten largest companies in the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1960s and 1970s and belonged to the US group ITT. After the end of the boom, ITT sold the company including the GRAETZ plants at the end of 1986 to the French Compagnie Générale d’Electricité (CGE), which later became Alcatel. In 1988, the Finnish company Nokia took over this division.
GRAETZ Strahlungsmeßtechnik GmbH was sold by the Nokia Group to the Hamburg company Herfurth with effect from December 3, 1990 and renamed Strahlungsmeßtechnik GmbH Altena.
Although the radio and television business in the former GRAETZ factories was discontinued by Nokia in Altena in 1993, Strahlungsmeßtechnik GmbH remained at the traditional location. In the same year, however, the parent company, Herfurth of Hamburg, filed for insolvency.
After five years under the management of the insolvency administrator, a management buy-out (MBO) of four leading employees of the company from the insolvency estate took place in 1998. From then on, the company again operated under the founding name GRAETZ Strahlungsmeßtechnik GmbH and still exists today at its place of origin.
The historic building has since been taken over from Nokia by Möhling GmbH & Co KG – a leading international manufacturer of fasteners. It has been the headquarters of GRAETZ Strahlungsmeßtechnik GmbH since its foundation in 1949.
Although GRAETZ Strahlungsmeßtechnik GmbH can look back on an eventful company history, it has remained an owner-managed, medium-sized company for more than 20 years.