Emil Otto was founded in Magdeburg in 1901. At the turn of the century, the city was the centre of German heavy machinery and plant construction, which meant that there was an enormous demand for drilling oils, pickling, burnishing and polishing agents as well as fluxes for hard and soft soldering. As a result, materials such as iron and steel, brass, copper and nickel were processed there in particular. This background is the source of Emil Otto’s know-how and experience in the manufacturing of chemical products for the metalworking industry, as well as its extensive product range for a wide variety of applications.

Emil Otto’s roots lie in metal chemistry. The company is still known today for high quality and very innovative products that can be used in the metalworking industry, electronics manufacturing and the solar industry. “Since the company’s origins lie in metal chemistry, this is a particularly important area. At the same time, only very few people are aware of this because we have increasingly positioned ourselves in the electronics and solar industries in recent years,” explains Markus Geßner, Marketing and Sales Manager at Emil Otto GmbH.

Emil Otto supplies various sectors of the metalworking industry. The most important areas of application include etching, pickling and burnishing with a focus on marking and inscribing metallic surfaces. One of the best-selling products is a metal etching pen that can be used in a similar way to a ballpoint pen and can be filled with, among other things, burnishing agents from the NIGRIT series. Thanks to the pen, it is possible to easily mark and label metals and their alloys. These are permanent and lasting and can only be removed by mechanically processing the surface. “We can process the surfaces on stainless steels as well as titanium, copper, brass, bronze or even aluminium with our NIGRIT solutions,” Geßner continues. Furthermore, the burnishing solutions can also be used to colour workpieces black and thus provide them with a surface protection that prevents oxidation. Depending on the metal, different NIGRIT solutions are used. For weld seam testing, Emil Otto offers the Adler etching solution. This is applied to the weld in order to be able to detect cracks or structural weak points.

Emil Otto also operates in the field of radiator manufacturing. The company offers various fluxes for the production of radiators. In particular, materials such as iron, but also copper and brass are processed for truck and agricultural machine radiators, as these are characterised by very good heat conduction. Emil Otto offers a variety of specific fluxes for these metals, some of which are available as concentrates. This makes it possible to ship the flux concentrates D-101 and D-303 worldwide at reduced costs and to store them at the customer’s premises. The simple mixing of the flux is carried out according to the manufacturer’s specifications, which are described in the technical data sheet. In addition, Emil Otto offers various products for strip tinning of large metal strips made of copper or other alloys. This requires a stable connection between the metal and the tin. The strips must therefore be pretreated with the flux B-10000, for example. The tinned strips are then stamped and are used in the automotive industry, electronics industry or other areas.

Emil Otto also supplies the tool and machine building industry with chemical products such as marking inks, spotting pastes, rust removers or derusting agents. Marking inks and spotting pastes are also available in combination with alcohol- or water-based cleaning agents. Marking inks are used to apply coloured markings when scribing metallic workpieces in preparation for mechanical processing, when marking and applying cutting contours or when marking finished parts. The product portfolio of the opaque, ready-to-use EOSOL marking inks includes different colours and packaging units. The same applies to the spotting pastes. In addition, there are products for brazing and soft soldering. Furthermore, rust protection oils and rust dissolving sprays from Emil Otto can be used in production as well as in technical service. Polishing pastes of the EMOPOL series for the surface treatment of metals and plastics as well as heat protection pastes suitable for welding and soldering round off the tool and machine construction portfolio.

“We will continue to expand the individual product segments of metal chemistry because we have more ideas for innovative products. Many of our products have a unique selling point, such as our flux concentrates. Since these do not fall under the category of hazardous substances, it is possible to ship and store them at reduced costs. In future product developments, too, we want to continue to focus on more environmentally and user-friendly products. After all, we offer these not only to industry, but also for private use,” Geßner explains. So craftsmen as well as private and hobby users also use Emil Otto’s products. “We sell products and smaller packaging units to this target group mainly via Amazon. The commercial users or industry order directly from us,” Geßner explains further. Craftsmen and private users mainly use various rust removers, rust protection materials, etching and burnishing agents and products for soft soldering. But Emil Otto’s portfolio also includes cleaning media for demanding applications for industrial and private use. These are ecologically formulated on a water basis and can be used for cleaning agricultural machinery, bicycles, cars and motorbikes as well as in the maritime sector.