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The History of Proceq: 70 years of Innovation in Manufacturing NDT Solutions

Proceq, a Screening Eagle brand and leading manufacturer of portable non-destructive testing (NDT) technologies, is proud to be celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Discover Proceq's incredible milestones that have helped shape the NDT industry.

Proceq 70 year anniversary

Infrastructure & Asset Inspection of Concrete Structures

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Discover Proceq's incredible milestones that have helped shape the NDT industry

Proceq, a Screening Eagle brand and leading manufacturer of portable non-destructive testing (NDT) technologies, is proud to be celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Founded on the 8th of April, 1954, by Antonio Brandestini, the name Proceq was derived from the words ‘processes’ and ‘equipment’.

“This signifcant milestone would not be possible without the passion and support from the entire Proceq team, our partners and customers, some of whom have been with us for decades. Our commitment to quality and innovation is relentless.” - Bruno Valsangiacomo, Executive Chairman and Co-founder of Screening Eagle Technologies.

Check out the milestones so far.

1954 - Proceq opened in Zurich, Switzerland with the Schmidt, the world’s first rebound hammer, as its pioneering product.

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The first Schmidt rebound hammer

1975 - The Leeb hardness testing method was invented at Proceq by engineer Dietmar Leeb and Dr. Brandestini. Soon after, Proceq launched Equotip as the official brand name for their portable hardness testers.

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Equotip receives its first official recognition in 1977

1980’s - This was a significant decade for rebar detection and concrete cover assessment as Proceq launched the first Profometer rebar locator and cover meters to the market with great success.

1994 - Proceq was first certified to ISO 9001 standards that guarantee the quality of processes, products and services.

2004 - The Canin corrosion analyzing instrument was manufactured by Proceq for the measurement of corrosion potential and electrical resistivity – a big step in the industry.

2007 - Proceq launched the next generation NDT concrete rebound hammer, the Silver Schmidt, for compressive strength testing of concrete.

 

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Next generation rebound hammer for concrete, the Silver Schmidt

2008 - Proceq launched the Profoscope, a portable rebar detector and cover meter combined, with a mid-point feature that was unique to the market at the time.

2009 - Proceq aquired Pundit and later launched the popular Pundit Lab and Pundit Lab+, that were the first Proceq products to be developed using a new generation and design-protected Touchscreen Unit.

2013 - The Resipod family, a complete solution for concrete durability testing, was launched this year by Proceq. The same year, the company launched the DY-2 family of pull-off adhesion testers which have since become indispensable for diagnosing structural damage to buildings and testing concrete repairs.

2014 - Proceq introduced the Rock Schmidt rebound hammer specifically for rock testing. The company also delivered yet another solution to a growing problem with the launch of Carboteq, the world's only handheld device to measure the wear of carbon ceramic brake discs.

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Carboteq carbon ceramic brake disc wear tester

2016 - Proceq launched the world’s first full Internet of Things (IoT) portable hardness testing solution, Equotip Live. This was the biggest innovation in hardness testing since the initial launch of Equotip.

2017 - The Proceq Global Summit marked a significant advancement in ground penetrating radar (GPR) with the announcement of the Proceq GPR Live. For the first time in the industry, the Proceq GPR Live solved some of the most challenging pain points including limited detection, ease-of-use, and portabillity.

2018 - Proceq acquired Zehntner GmbH Testing Instruments, a leading Swiss-based manufacturer of retroreflectometers for road marking and sign visibility testing, glossmeters and other surface testing products.

2019 - The Chairman of Proceq’s parent company Tectus Group, Bruno Valsangiacomo, and founding partner of Tectus Dreamlab, Marcel Poser, founded Screening Eagle Technologies- a platform revolutionizing infrastructure asset assessment- with a mission to protect the built world with sensors, software and data.

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Marcel Poser and Bruno Valsangiacomo

Screening Eagle Technologies, together with its two subsidaries, Proceq and Dreamlab unveiled not one, but six new solutions during 2019; including the Pundit ultrasonic concrete imaging system, Proceq GP8800 compact GPR and GS8000 subsurface mapping system, Proceq UT8000 flaw detector, Silver Schmidt OS8200 rebound hammer, and Zehntner ZG8000 gloss meter.

2020 - Screening Eagle’s Proceq expanded its paper testing portfolio with the takeover of sales for Tapio paper testing instruments. The company also launched AI-powered INSPECT software to digitize the entire asset inspection and management process, with seamless integration of Proceq sensors.

2021 – Industry leading GPR data post-processing software, GPR-Slice joins forces with Screening Eagle to complement Proceq GPRs. In the same year Proceq expanded their concrete inspection portfolio with three new products: the world's most powerful yet lightest multi-channel ultrasonic imaging system, Pundit PD8050, a compact pile integrity testing solution, PI8000, plus the Proceq GP8100 GPR for scanning large areas. 

2022 - Screening Eagle’s Proceq officially became a Swiss Confederation Accredited Calibration Lab according to ISO 17025 audited by the Swiss Accreditation Service (SAS). The formal recognition confirms that Proceq have and use the proper tools, knowledge and processes to provide the highest standard of quality and services in calibration of their equipment. Proceq has also won several awards including the SIQT Top Innovator award for 2020/2021 and 2021/22.

2023 - With their continuous commitment to quality and staying ahead of the curve, Proceq updated their Profometer cover meters and corrosion sensors, and developed new multichannel GPRs for subsurface mapping – all complete with state-of-the-art software.

2024 – The company officially released the revolutionary GS9000 multichannel subsurface GPR array with 3D visualization in real-time.

"Nowadays there aren't many companies that celebrate 70 years!" - Koichi Oba, CEO of Proceq Switzerland

To this day, Proceq remains commited to excellence and still achieves certification of ISO 9001, ensuring their equipment and processes meet the highest industry standards.

Long-standing customers and partners of Proceq from all around the world shared their thoughts on the 70th anniversary and what the company means to them. 

"Proceq products have been partners all of my life." - Ana Pires, Scientist-astronaut and researcher at INESC TEC.

Screening Eagle's Proceq marked this platinum jubilee anniversary with a memorable 2-day celebration event in Zurich, Switzerland. The company will also be hosting special events and activities throughout the year.

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