Since the company was founded in 1992, IL Metronic Sensortechnik GmbH has been a reliable and innovative supplier of UV sensors and glass feedthroughs. At the company’s location on the Vogelherd in Ilmenau, the business started with 9 employees. Over the years, the company has hired more employees, invested in new equipment and machinery and expanded the production area to now 3 buildings. The two managing directors Dr.-Ing. Horst Hansch and Dipl.-Ing. Rolf Kirchhoff are proud of their team of 75 employees.

IL Metronic has written a successful company history in Unterpörlitz. This location has proven its worth in the many years since its founding — a sign of down-to-earthiness and solidarity with the region. Il Metronic is a true family business where the workforce is thought of as a family. For the managing directors, the successful continuation of the company is particularly important, which is why the handover of the company to the next generation was initiated at an early stage.

In a relatively short time, the company also made a name for itself internationally with customised solutions and gained high recognition among its customers and partners for expertise, creativity and product quality. Our joint work on research and development topics with renowned universities and scientific institutes underlines the innovative capacity of the team of engineers and highly qualified specialists. The logical outcome of the last few years’ positive business development was the expansion of our production capacity, our infrastructure and the number of employees.

With the move to Ilmenau-Unterpörlitz and the new company buildings in 2001, 2008 and 2014, the production conditions improved significantly. New technologies, such as a conveyor belt melting furnace for the effective production of pressure glass and adapted glass feedthroughs, a nickel-aluminium electroplating plant for the partial finishing of housing components, a dosing and pouring machine for the assembly of glass feedthroughs or a CNC automatic lathe for precision parts, were put into operation. New applications in the medical sector or in corrosive environments use titanium or Inconel as turned part materials in addition to stainless steel. In 2004 was a technology to produce ceramic feedthroughs for high-pressure applications was newly developed, followed in 2011 by the melting technology for titanium-aluminium alloys and in 2016 by a 3D printing technology for sintered glass bodies.

The UV and Moisture Sensors business unit develops and manufactures UV sensors, measuring windows, UV display and reference measuring devices for the UV disinfection of drinking, service and ballast water on ships.

Glass feedthroughs or power feedthroughs are specially developed and produced according to the customer’s specifications. They are used in medical, measurement, energy and safety technology as well as aerospace.

Many prizes have already been awarded to IL Metronic and its founders for their work, e.g. “Thuringian Entrepreneur of the Year 2009”, “South Thuringian Company of the Year 2010” or “Grand Prix of Medium-Sized Businesses” in 2013, as well as the “IHK Education Fox” in 2020.

This Education Fox was awarded to the company for extraordinary efforts as a recognised training company — for the “Best Training Company” and the “Best Industrial Mechanic”. We are strongly committed to recruiting skilled workers and vocational training, and trainees are offered a wide range of opportunities within the company. Qualified and experienced trainers supervise students individually in the following apprenticeships: Surface coater, electronics technician for devices and systems and industrial mechanic.

A work placement can also provide initial insights into working life, helping you find your ideal profession.
The company also regularly offers the student enterprise workshop. Here, pupils can experiment with machines and tools and become familiar with metal as a material. To this end, we cooperate closely with a number of schools in the Ilm district to make future trainees aware of the training opportunities on offer.

Together with partners, IL Metronic Sensortechnik GmbH has already installed a UV disinfection system in both the former swimming hall at Stollen and the new swimming hall in Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse. The UV sensors and control units are used to monitor and control the function of the UV disinfection system. Thanks to the use of UV disinfection, the use of chlorine can be significantly reduced. This creates a clean and healthy environment swimming pool for staff and users. The waste heat from the UV lamps stays in the bathing water and helps save energy.

The company has been certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001 since 1996 and certified according to DIN EN ISO 50001 since 2019.

For the future of IL Metronic, the managing directors hope that the company will keep developing as before and that the business can be run successfully.