Werner Ingold
Werner Ingold (20 February 1919-24 June 1995) was a Swiss chemist and businessman. He was a pioneer in chemical microanalysis, particularly in developing glass-based, highly resistive pH electrodes. He founded Dr. W. Ingold AG in 1948, producing and selling sensors for process analytical applications. He expanded the company into a mid-size international organisation and sold it to Ciba Geigy in 1986. Werner Ingold became a member of the New York Academy of Sciences in 1966.
Early life and education
Werner Ingold was born on 20 February 1919 in Lüterkofen, in the rural district of Solothurn, Switzerland. On his father's farm he was the youngest of three boys of Hans and Ida Ingold (born Santschi). Werner attended primary and district school in neighbouring Hessigkofen hamlet and grammar school at Kantonsschule Solothurn.
Academic career
Between 1938 and 1942, Werner Ingold studied chemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich with his thesis "On the Constitution of Naphtaline-Yellow" under Hans Eduard Fierz. He later received a PhD in organic triterpene chemistry microanalysis at the Institute of Organic Technology under Leopold Ružička, obtaining his PhD in 1945 with the thesis "On Understanding Oleanolacid, Glycyrrhetinacid and Boswellinacid." After his dissertation, he remained at ETH's Institute of Organic Technology, financed by a stipend from the Young Academics Promotion Foundation, and continued his research on organic microanalysis.
In his postgraduate studies, Werner Ingold employed glass electrodes to titrate organic molecules.
Glass electrodes were already known at that time for detecting acidity (pH). (Fritz Haber and Zygmunt Klemensievicz (1909), Dungan Macinnes and Malcom Dole developed pH-sensitive glass electrodes at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York). However, these electrodes' tips were quite fragile. The inventors calculated membrane wall thickness below 0.001 mm. Moreover, these electrodes were mainly unavailable in Europe during World War II and had to be produced in chemical laboratories. During this time, Werner Ingold developed a deep knowledge of glass and its manufacture, enabling him to manufacture more robust pH electrodes ideal for laboratory and industrial uses. Werner Ingold was dedicated to developing and improving glasses for pH measuring until his company's sale.
Company foundation and development
Werner Ingold began producing glass electrodes for pH measurement in 1948, initially as a one-man company operating at Zurich's Huttenstrasse 24. Before devoting himself entirely to marketing pH electrodes, the Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) Plastics Division contacted him to establish a micro-analytical laboratory in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, UK .
From 1950, Ingold advanced the production of pH sensors in Zurich. The first employees joined the company in 1952 and founded Dr. W. Ingold GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany the same year (converted into Dr. W. Ingold KG in 1960). He converted Zurich's sole ownership into a stock corporation, Dr. W. Ingold AG, in 1954
In the early 1950s, the invention of a single-rod measuring cell, a combination of measurement and reference electrode in one construction unit, marked a decisive step towards becoming one of the world's leading companies in the field of pH measurement. Ingold recognised early on the demand for high-quality and robust pH electrodes in the biotech industry – for example, for the production of penicil. The brands Argenthal (high-temperature, high-pressure applications), EQUITHAL (temperature differential compensation) and Xerolyt (without pressure compensation) were launched. Robust pH electrodes were also employed in the chemical sector, developing and marketing micro, piercing and surface electrodes for food applications.
By 1955, the company developed fittings to introduce sensors into tank and piping systems, enabling in-line sensor use for industrial applications. In the 1970s and 1980s, sensors for measuring liquefied oxygen and carbon dioxide as well as ion-selective electrodes (such as ammonium and nitrate) were developed using glass electrode technology.To complete the product range, third-party measurement electronics were also sold.
Zurich's production site moved several times (in 1956 from Huttenstrasse 24 to Pfluggasse 6 and in 1961 to Scheuchzerstrasse 71). Finally, in 1974, the company built and moved to its own production site in Urdorf near Zurich. In 1966, Werner Ingold founded the joint venture Ingold Electrode Inc. in Andover, Massachusetts (USA) for the production and distribution of sensors in North America. The Ingold Technique sales and service branch opened in Paris in 1970, and Ingold Industria e Commercio Ltda in 1978. Facility in Sao Paulo, Brazil .
As Head of Technology, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Executive Board, Werner Ingold was responsible for product innovation and the development of the group's expanding portfolio, Dr. René Baumann, as Head of Sales, Member of the Board of Directors and Member of the Executive Board, was responsible for commercial development and sales network building. The Board of Directors was completed by Dr. Hans Huessy.By the mid-1980s, the group of companies employed approximately 200 professionals and supplied customers in 44 countries.
In 1986, Ingold sold the company to Mettler Instruments AG, who at that time was owned by Ciba Geigy. Today (2019), PO Ingold is a still prosperous business unit of Mettler-Toledo International.
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