Hoenle AG marks 50th anniversary

Hoenle AG is marking its 50th anniversary in 2026, having grown from a Munich-area startup founded in 1976 by Prof Dr Karl Hönle and Dr Günter Schmid into one of the world's leading providers of industrial UV technology and adhesive systems.

The company was established with a focus on developing irradiation technologies for industrial and medical applications and has since built a vertically integrated portfolio spanning UV lamps, LED systems, complete system integration and application-specific adhesive products that use UV radiation for curing.

Its technology is used across electronics manufacturing, automotive production, medical technology, semiconductors and display manufacturing, as well as for chemical-free disinfection of surfaces, air and water.

'UV light is invisible, but its effects are not,' said Dr Franz Richter, CEO of Hoenle AG. 'We make these effects precisely controllable, reproducible and economically viable. That was the founding idea in 1976, and it continues to guide our actions today.'

The anniversary coincides with the 225th anniversary of physicist Johann Wilhelm Ritter’s discovery of ultraviolet radiation in 1801.

The development of high-efficiency LED-UV technology represents one of the company's key strategic milestones over its five decades of operation, with LED systems now playing an increasingly central role in printing and packaging applications where reduced energy consumption and instant on/off operation are valued.