50 years of excellence under pressure

KELLER Pressure first opened its doors in Winterthur, Switzerland, in 1974. Physicist Hannes W. Keller, inventor of the integrated silicon measuring cell, founded the company. In 2024, KELLER can look back with pride on over half a century of history, technological development, and experience providing pressure sensors of the highest quality.

Back in 1974, when West Germany won the World Cup, bell bottoms were considered fashionable, and a group of young Swedes won Eurovision with a song called ‘Waterloo’  Hannes W. Keller founded «H.W. KELLER dipl. phys. ETH Druck- und Kraftmesstechnik», known today as «KELLER Druckmesstechnik AG»,

It is safe to say that the company's early years were not plain sailing. Tobias Keller recalls his father using his bemused mother’s oven for hours on end to test his sensors’ operation at different temperatures.

At times, he struggled to pay the wages of his few employees due to a lack of orders. Banks refused to help as they had little faith in Herr Keller’s innovations, ever catching on. Luckily, financial help from Tobias’s grandfather enabled Hannes to keep KELLER afloat through these challenging times.

Hannes W. Keller was renowned for his remarkable resilience and persistence, which eventually paid off. KELLER survived and thrived; the company became a respected OEM pressure transducer supplier, and by the 1980s Herr Keller’s company was a global force in the pressure transmission market.

Hannes W. Keller’s sons, Tobias and Mike Keller have been at the helm of company since 2019; they still see independence, healthy and organic growth as the company’s key components. The company’s global headquarters and production site is still in  Winterthur, where 1,3 million measuring cells are manufactured annually.

Today, the company has 500 valued employees. There are currently 13 KELLER subsidiary branches and approximately 30 distribution representatives worldwide. The «KELLER Pressure» brand is a highly reputable, international symbol of high-precision pressure measurement technology and proudly boasts the «Made in Switzerland» seal of quality.

Today, the KELLER range consists of some of the most sought-after pressure transducers and transmitters, gauges, level probes, data loggers, remote transmission units, and pressure calibrators. The portfolio is as diverse as the multiple fields of application.

KELLER’s pressure sensors can be found in dive computers, coffee machines, and laboratories. They are used in groundwater and level measurement, in engine test benches; they regulate aircraft cabin pressure, monitor pressure peaks in the oil and gas industry; and provide protection in explosive applications such as hydrogen production. In short, if pressure needs to be measured, KELLER can provide the solution.

The KELLER company will continue playing to its strengths. As before, the high level of vertical integration and modular structure of KELLER’s products provide OEM customers with great flexibility. Thanks to complete on-site production, tailored, customer-specific solutions are catered for– even in small production runs.

In 2023, KELLER made a name for itself in the semiconductor industry thanks to its sensors' high product quality and precision.

The ‘Diamond’, a new 12’000 m2 main building where all production will be housed at new workstations, is scheduled to open in 2026, still in the town of Winterthur. 

KELLER is also fully committed to digital transformation, another crucial element in the next chapter of the KELLER story.