The ripeness of fruits and vegetables at the grocery store, the comfort of contact lenses, and the durability of car tires, all utilize advanced material testing devices to measure hardness. Bareiss is a world leader in manufacturing advanced material testing devices which are influential in the making of finished products that are used in everyday life.
The Bareiss Company was founded in 1954 in Upper Swabia, Germany, by Heinrich Bareiss. Bareiss is a family business, and since 2017, it’s been run by the third generation of owners, Katrin Shen and Oliver Wirth, who are the Grandchildren of Heinrich Bareiss. They continue to lead the future as their Grandfather did when he founded the business more than six decades ago. Bareiss has seen rapid growth over the decades, and along with their office in Germany, they now have locations in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, and of course Stouffville. Bareiss devices are primarily used in the food, pharma (e.g. soft gel capsules, contacts, cosmetics), and plastics & elastomers (e.g. rubber) industries.
Quality has always been one of the most important pillars of Bareiss. Bareiss has been selling products in North America for more than 40 years. Bareiss guarantees reliability and repeatability – that’s why their customers like their products, it’s because they get the same results. All products are handmade at their newly opened, state-of-the-art production building located in Oberdischingen, Germany – there is no subcontracting in any of the manufacturing process of Bareiss products. Even raw materials brought into the production building are machined in house. Some of the more well-known Bareiss customers include: Proctor & Gamble (pharmaceuticals); Adidas (manufacturer of athletic wear); Pirelli and Goodyear (tire manufacturers); Apple, Samsung, Huawei, and Infineon (electronic/semiconductor industries); and BMW, Porsche, Suzuki, Audi, and Rolls-Royce (automobile manufacturers).
Bareiss produces a variety of material testing devices, that are versatile in their uses and applications, and if required can be non-destructive to the items being tested. To reduce food waste Bareiss has developed a range of test anvils belonging to the Fff (fruit firmness tester) range – which is used by food wholesalers, supermarket chains, producers and research institutes worldwide. This product has become an industry standard device utilized in the fruit industry. The Fff testing device, is used to test the hardness of a fruit to find the exact timing of when to pick fruit, get it on shelves, and then put it on sale. The advantage of this range is that it can assess the firmness of fruit and vegetables in a non-destructive manner, without peeling or cutting – the fruits remain suitable for consumption even after the testing is done. Testing anvils are offered for a variety of foods including: avocados, mangoes, apricots, peaches, plums, cherries, grapes, berries, pears, citrus fruits, carrots, potatoes, broccoli, eggplants as well as for meat and tofu. The most notable customers of the Bareiss Fruit Firmness Tester are Apeel Sciences and Walmart.
The largest area of future growth in the advanced material testing industry is expected to be in plastics and elastomers. Historically, most consumer products were made of metal, but with it becoming increasingly expensive, many industries are turning to high-quality plastics as an alternative. New plastic and elastomer materials are constantly being introduced to the market, and their applications are being explored by a variety of industries. With Bareiss’ extensive research & development and patented industry standard methods, they can come up with comprehensive solutions to meet client needs in material testing.
Bareiss North America opened their location in Stouffville in 2021 to manage and support its customers in Canada, USA, and Mexico. Umair Waheed, COO of Bareiss North America, said Stouffville was chosen as the regional office for North American operations for a number of reasons. On a macro level, Stouffville was chosen for its proximity to millions of people, high ranking universities, skilled talent, and large international airport; and federal policies which provide significant support for new companies and SME’s.
On a micro level, Stouffville was chosen because of the rapid growth, which has brought with it new infrastructure, buildings, schools, etc. A key value of Bareiss is customer satisfaction. Bareiss expects their customers to have the best experience, so the idyllic approach (with little congestion) into Town and the macro and micro considerations played into why Stouffville was chosen as a new Bareiss office location. Currently, the Stouffville office is operating as a North American distribution centre for the Bareiss products which are manufactured in Germany, but there are bigger plans. The Stouffville office is getting their lab ISO 17025 certified, which will allow them to calibrate Bareiss products. Umair, also wants to make their location an Experience Centre. The Experience Centre will have a host of Bareiss instruments, which will allow customers to bring their samples to the site and have a real time experience with Bareiss material testing solutions. Bareiss is more than just about selling products, but about selling solutions in the growing and diversified industries of food, pharma, and plastics & elastomers.
