Werner Ingold

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Werner Ingold (born February 20, 1919 in Lüterkofen , Solothurn ; † June 24, 1995 in Uitikon , Zurich ) was a Swiss chemist and entrepreneur .

Life

Youth (1919–1938)

Werner Ingold grew up as the youngest of three sons of Hans and Ida Ingold (née Santschi) on his father's farm. He attended primary and district school in neighboring Hessigkofen and received at the Canton Solothurn the Matura .

Studies and academic career (1938–1949)

Between 1938 and 1942 he studied chemistry at the ETH Zurich and obtained his diploma as an engineer-chemist with Professor Hans Eduard Fierz with a thesis entitled “On the constitution of the naphtha yellow”. He then did his doctorate with Nobel Prize winner Professor Leopold Ružička in the field of organic microanalysis of triterpene chemistry and graduated in 1945 with the dissertation "Knowledge of oleanolic acid, glycyrrhetinic acid and β-boswellic acid". After completing his dissertation, he stayed at the Institute for Organic Technology at the ETH, supported by a grant from the Foundation for the Promotion of Young Academics, and did research in the organic microanalytical field. Werner Ingold used glass electrodes to titrate the organic substances for the microanalyses during and after his dissertation. These glass electrodes were already known at that time; Duncan MacInnes and Malcom Dole (Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York City) had developed pH-sensitive electrodes based on preliminary work by Max Cremer (1906), Fritz Haber and Zygmunt Klemensiewicz (1909). However, these were very fragile, the wall thickness of the membrane was, according to the inventors, <0.001 mm thick and was hardly available during the Second World War . Accordingly, they had to be made in the laboratory. Werner Ingold autodidactically acquired in-depth knowledge of glass and its processing and was thus able to manufacture much more robust pH electrodes. Werner Ingold was personally involved in the development and improvement of glasses for pH measurement until the sale of his company.

Private (1949–1995)

In 1966 Werner Ingold became an Active Life Member of The New York Academy of Sciences.

Werner Ingold married Irene Ingold (née Martin) in 1962. The couple had three children. The family moved from Zurich to Uitikon-Waldegg in 1969. After the sale of Ingold AG, Werner Ingold acquired the "Haus Paradies" hotel in Ftan in the Lower Engadine and planned and financed the modernization of the hotel complex.

Werner Ingold died on June 24, 1995 in Uitikon-Waldegg.

Research work

Company foundation and development (1948–1986)

In 1948 Werner Ingold began to manufacture glass electrodes for pH measurement as a one-man business at Huttenstrasse 24 in Zurich. Before he devoted himself entirely to the commercialization of pH electrodes, however, he built a microanalytical laboratory at Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) Plastics Division in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire (UK) from 1949 to 1950 .

From 1950 Werner Ingold promoted the establishment of the production of measuring sensors for pH value measurement in Zurich. The first salaried employees were added in 1952. In the same year he founded the Dr. W. Ingold GmbH in Frankfurt am Main (converted into Dr. W. Ingold KG in 1960). In 1954 he converted the Zurich sole proprietorship into a stock corporation, in which Dr. W. Ingold AG.

In the early 1950s, the invention of the combination electrode, a combined pH glass and reference electrode, marked the decisive step towards becoming one of the world's leading companies in the field of pH measurement. Werner Ingold recognized the need for high-quality and robust pH electrodes in biotechnology early on, e.g. B. for the production of penicillin , where all sensors and fittings must be sterilized under high temperatures and pressures. Therefore, when developing new pH electrodes, a lot of attention was paid to the robustness and fast response time of the sensors in demanding environments (important are stable zero point and slope at 130 ° C and 25 atmospheres). The brands Argenthal (high temperatures, high pressures), Equithal (compensation of temperature differences) and Xerolyt (without pressure compensation) came onto the market. Robust pH electrodes were also valued in the chemical industry. In addition, micro, puncture and surface electrodes were developed and commercialized for applications in the food market.

As early as 1955, the company developed armatures for the introduction of the sensors in the piping and tank systems of the customers in order to allow the use of the sensors in the industrial environment. In the 1970s and 1980s, sensors for measuring liquefied oxygen and carbon dioxide as well as ion-selective sensors (e.g. for ammonium and nitrate) were developed based on pH electrodes . To complete the offer, measurement electronics from third-party suppliers were also sold.

The company moved several times in Zurich (1956 from Huttenstrasse 24 to Pfluggasse 6 and 1961 to Scheuchzerstrasse 71). Finally, in 1974, a production building was built and moved into in Urdorf. Together with Thomas A. Rosse from Instrumentation Laboratory Inc., Werner Ingold founded the joint venture “Ingold Electrodes Inc.” in 1966. in Andover (Massachusetts) (USA), for production and sales in the American market. In 1970, the sales and service office "Ingold Technique" was opened in Paris for the French market, and in 1978 the now international company was established with the opening of the production facility "Ingold Industria e Commercio Ltda." in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

While Werner Ingold, as head of technology and as chairman of the board of directors and management, pushed ahead with the expansion of the product range, Dr. René Baumann as head of sales, as a member of the board of directors and member of the management team, responsible for the commercial development and the international sales network. The board of directors was represented by Dr. iur. Hans Hüssy completes. In the mid-1980s, the company had around 200 employees and supplied customers in 44 countries. In 1986 Werner Ingold sold the company to Mettler Instruments AG, which at that time was owned by Ciba Geigy . The business continued largely unchanged under the leadership of René Baumann and developed well in the new environment. Today PO Ingold is a prosperous division within the Mettler-Toledo Group.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary for Hans Ingold-Santschi in the Solothurner Zeitung on August 28/29, 1965
  2. ↑ Diploma thesis ETH Zurich, Institute for Organic Technology, No. 1751, 1942.
  3. ↑ Diss. Techn. Wiss. ETH Zurich, No. 1457, 1950. Speakers: L. Ružička, V. Prelog
  4. ↑ L. Ružička, O. Jeger, W. Ingold, Helv. Chim. Acta 27, 1862 (1944)
  5. ^ W. Ingold, Helv. Chim. Acta 29, 1929 (1946). "For the microtitration of organic acids"
  6. ↑ Good summary of contemporary Jon Bergsland: Diss. Techn. Wiss. ETH Zurich, No. 1327. Speakers: WD Treadwell; G. Trümpler.
  7. ↑ Dr. W. Ingold, Chimia 5, 196-203 (1951): "Electrodes for potentiometry and their applications in laboratories and technology".
  8. ^ Obituary in the NZZ from June 25, 1995.
  9. ↑ W. Ingold, Dechema-Monographien 43, 153/60 (1961): "pH measuring transducer for pressures up to 25 atü and temperatures above 100 ° C"
  10. ↑ Interview in Swiss Chem 6 (1984) No. 8a, 68–76 "Dr. W. Ingold AG, CH-8903 Urdorf-Zurich - pH measurement technology 3x10 years Ingold, quality celebrates anniversary".
  11. ↑ 15.3.1957: English Patent - Measuring assemblies for the determination of ion concentrations and redox potentials, particularly suitable for carrying out measurements at elevated temperatures. Patent No. 850177.
  12. ↑ Dr. A. Fiechter, Dr. W. Ingold and A. Baerfuss, Chemie-Ingenieur-Technik 10 (1964) 1000-1004: "The pH control in microbiological process engineering".
  13. ^ E. Puhar, A. Einsele, H. Bühler and W. Ingold, “Steam-Sterilisable pCO2-Electrode”, Biotech. Bioeng. 22 (1980) 2411-2415.
  14. ^ Reports in the NZZ on May 26th, 1975 and Die Tat Nr. 123 on May 27th, 1975 about the inauguration of the new building on May 22nd, 1975.
  15. ↑ Company's own brochure "pH electrodes, industrial sensors, sensors" (approx. 1984)
  16. ↑ Interview in Swiss Chem 6 (1984) No. 8a, 68–76 "Dr. W. Ingold AG, CH-8903 Urdorf-Zurich - pH measurement technology 3x10 years Ingold, quality celebrates anniversary".
  17. ↑ Company's own brochure "pH electrodes, industrial sensors, sensors" (approx. 1984)
personal data
SURNAME Ingold, Werner
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss chemist and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH February 20, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Lueterkofen
DATE OF DEATH June 24, 1995
Place of death Uitikon