Seca GmbH

Infobox Company
company_name = seca GmbH & Co. KG.
company_type = GmbH & Co. KG
company_slogan = seca - Precision for health
foundation = 1840
owner = Robert Vogel
Sönke Vogel
num_employees = > 300
industry = Biomedical Engineering and Life Science
location_city = Hamburg
location_country = Germany
products = Medical scales and measuring instruments
homepage = [http://www.seca.com http://www.seca.com]

seca GmbH & Co. KG. is looked upon as being the leaderfact|date=April 2008 in the sector of medical weighing and measuring. seca develops, produces and sells weighing scales and measuring instruments. Its products are exported to more than 110 countries. The company’s headquarters is in Hamburg and it has branches in Austria, France, England, Switzerland, Japan, China, Mexico and the USA.

Foundation and history

In 1840, locksmith A.C.C. Joachims set up on his own in Hamburg and began to build scales. He had acquired the necessary know-how from the Strasbourg mechanic and monk Quintenz who had invented the decimal scale in 1821. In the course of the next thirty years, the locksmith’s workshop developed into a small factory. However, the business stagnated when Joachims died in 1874. Things started to improve again when Frederik Vogel, a young businessman, purchased the scales factory in 1888. He expanded the product range and introduced the brand name seca which he had registered in 1897.

The company survived World War One and the Great Depression in the 20th century and then Frederik Vogel passed the management over to his son Robert. Robert Vogel steered the company through World War Two and began with the successful reconstruction immediately after the end of the war. When Robert Vogel died in 1966, his son Sönke joined the company.

In 1970, Sönke Vogel decided in favour of a new corporate concept. Since then focus has been on medical measuring and weighing, on products which are needed for diagnosis and therapy purposes in medicine in order to determine the precise weight of a patient. The product portfolio has been consistently expanded and is available on all international markets. Initially, seca was a supplier among many but is now market leader for these products.

Corporate structure

seca GmbH & Co. KG. has the following subsidiaries:

* seca France, Semur-en-Auxois, France
* seca United Kingdom, Birmingham, Great Britain
* seca Schweiz, Reinach, Switzerland
* seca Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
* seca North America West, Diamond Bar, USA
* seca North America East, Hanover, USA
* seca Nihon, Chiba City, Japan
* seca Zhong Guo, Hangzhou, China

Products

The range includes:

* Baby scales
* Column scales
* Flat scales
* Multifunction and wheelchair scales
* Bed and dialysis scales
* Height measuring and measuring instruments