Since its incorporation in 1998 IONICON built more than 200 units of trace gas analyzers and just shipped the 200th PTR-MS to an overseas customer: a high-resolution, ultra-sensitive PTR-TOF 8000.
In the 1990s, a handful of dedicated scientists from the University of Innsbruck, Austria had a brilliant idea: after many years of ion molecule reaction studies at the Institute for Ionphysics and a first build of a VOC analysis instrument based on proton transfer from protonated water (H3O+), they called the method and their prototype “PTR-MS” (Proton Transfer Reaction – Mass Spectrometry) and founded the company IONICON Analytik GmbH in 1998.
Since then, the abbreviation PTR-MS became a worldwide known acronym for this type of instrument and IONICON became associated with being the world’s leading PTR-MS company.
In the last 14 years, IONICON was able to grow from a university spin-out with one employee to a small, but successful corporation with a staff of 20 specialists and a portfolio of trace gas analysis solutions based on PTR-MS and other technologies using quadrupole or time of flight mass spectrometers.
IONICON CEO Lukas MÄRK joined the company in 2005 and since then, has been part of the growing business: “Today we celebrate and thank everybody who contributed to this success, which we would have never imagined. My personal thanks go to all our customers and scientists using our equipment, to all co-workers and partners, to our families and friends and, of course, to our shareholders, who support our work every day.”
IONICON set itself challenging goals for the future and based on the successful past of high investments in product development, market explorations and customer satisfaction, wants to continue the successful growth.
IONICON is the world’s leading producer of on-line VOC detectors with market-leading, on-line and real-time, single-digit pptv-level detection limits using the unique proton transfer reaction – mass spectrometry PTR-MS technology. Since 1998 IONICON is serving leading scientists with VOC monitoring and quantification instruments in many different areas including environmental research, pollution monitoring, atmospheric chemistry, food & flavour science and illicit substances detection.
The IONICON product range comprises the PTR-QMS Series (IONICON High-Sensitivity PTR-QMS 500 with its market-leading detection limit of < 1 pptv; the IONICON PTR-QMS 300, a very robust and small VOC monitoring system with a very advantageous price) and the PTR-TOFMS Series (IONICON PTR-TOF 8000 providing a mass resolution of up to 8000 m/∆m and the IONICON PTR-TOF 2000 with its detection limit < 5 pptv).
IONICON also produces special monitoring solutions for various industrial applications, has a strong in-house R&D department and is partner of many international research projects with renowned academic partners.
IONICON has partners all over the world and a subsidiary in the United States: IONICON US, Inc.