GNR Ltd was established in 1984 in Milan. In the same year, GNR took over OPTICA Ltd, one of the first and most well-known European companies in the field of analytical instrumentation. Since then, GNR has grown into one of the foremost companies in the field, with a production of over 200 optical emission spectrometers a year.

In 2004, in keeping with the policy to consolidate and diversify the product line, GNR bought a significant stake in ORI Instruments Ltd and fully took over ITAL STRUCTURES Ltd in Riva del Garda (Trento). The latter is an important Italian company, established in 1966, and specialized in the production of x-ray analytical instruments. More than 2,000 units of ITAL x-ray equipment have been sold in the main international markets, in advanced research centers as well as in the metallurgical, chemical, pharmaceutical, electronic, environmental and food industries.