The foundations were laid almost 70 years ago: Today, SICK AG, headquartered in Waldkirch, is a globally active company: a family business and technology group that uses tradition and innovation to offer customers the best possible solutions.
Founded in 1946 by Dr.-Ing. E. h. Erwin Sick and based in Breisgau near Freiburg, the company developed into a global supplier over the following decades intelligent sensors and solutions for industrial automation technology. Today's SICK AG is one of the technology and market leaders and is present around the globe with over 50 subsidiaries and holdings as well as numerous agencies.
In the 2014 financial year, the company employed around 7,000 people worldwide and generated consolidated sales of almost EUR 1,100 million. Sensors and sensor solutions today, SICK creates the perfect basis for safe and efficient process control, for protecting people from accidents and for preventing environmental damage.
From radio to light curtain
The history of today's SICK AG began shortly after the end of the Second World War. As early as 1945, Erwin Sick took the plunge into self-employment. In a barrack in Vaterstetten near Munich, where he lived with his wife, he doggedly pursued his technological development goals to become the company he is today. Manufacture of optical-electronic devices. Erwin Sick financed his family's livelihood by making radios himself.
It all began with the licensing by the US authorities in September 1946: Erwin Sick founded the company on 26 September 1946. Among other things, he built radio receivers, but was already pursuing the idea of using optical-electronic devices for peaceful purposes.
In combination with precise optics and intelligent electronics, light solves a multitude of tasks. Erwin Sick recognised this potential early on. He acquired his first orders in 1949 at the „ACHEMA Exhibition Conference for Chemical Apparatus“, which was held in Frankfurt after a long interruption.
SICK presented the first wooden model of its light curtain at the „German Inventors“ and Innovations Fair„ held in Munich in June 1951 and received a diploma for “special creative achievement". On 20 October, a patent application was filed for the light curtain invented by Erwin Sick. Light curtain according to the autocollimation principle.
This application signalled the technical breakthrough and the basis for an entire range of devices. At the „Second International Machine Tool Exhibition“ in Hanover in 1952, SICK presented the first production-ready Accident prevention light curtain. The orders that followed enabled the first series production and finally the economic breakthrough of the company.
From Bavaria to Baden-Württemberg
In the years that followed, the economic situation of Erwin Sick's company, which now employed ten people, continued to improve. A print mark control device developed by him and the light curtain became established on the market.
A trade fair in Brussels brought further orders for the light curtain. As the company expanded, the family's hut was soon no longer sufficient. In 1954, Erwin Sick endeavoured in vain to obtain a construction loan from the Free State of Bavaria. When Baden-Württemberg granted him a loan of DM 25,000, he moved from Munich to Oberkirch in Baden. At the new location, the employees produced the print mark control unit and the light curtain in small series. In addition to German companies, customers from France, Italy and Switzerland also appreciated the products at this time.
Just two years later, in 1956, the company and its 25 employees moved again, this time to Waldkirch. In October of the same year, SICK was granted the patent for a new type of Retro-reflective sensor which would later become one of the company's best-selling products. In 1958, Erwin Sick applied for a patent for a device used to monitor smoke. It was intended to help prevent damage to health caused by smoke. This device was the starting point for the company's activities in the field of environmental measurement technology. As with the light curtain, SICK was also a pioneer in this field.
The company continued to grow in the following years. Erwin Sick managed the company he founded in Munich in 1960. Institute for Automation, where new technologies were developed. The plant in Waldkirch was responsible for production. At the company's 25th anniversary celebrations in 1971, which took place in the Waldkirch town hall, Erwin Sick was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class. „There's no doubt that we don't need more technology, but better and sensible technology,“ says Erwin Sick in his speech.
From a German SME to an international group
At the beginning of the 1970s, the company began its international expansion and subsidiaries were founded in France and the USA. In 1976, the company, which had previously been run as a sole proprietorship, changed its name to Erwin Sick GmbH Optik-Elektronik and invested ten million DM in a new building in what was then Sebastian-Kneipp-Straße in Waldkirch. In 1977, administration, production and social facilities were accommodated on over 13,000 square metres. The employees managed the move themselves - with only a brief interruption to production.
The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Munichln November 1980, Erwin Sick received the Doctor Engineer in recognition of his contribution „to the scientific and constructive development of optical devices with electronic signal evaluation“. Erwin Sick was delighted to receive this honour, as he had acquired this skill without studying at university. Two years later, in December 1982, Erwin Sick also received the Diesel medal in gold „for his many inventions in optoelectronics“.
On 3 December 1988, Dr Erwin Sick dies at the age of 79 following a heart attack. Immediately after her husband's death, Gisela Sick wrote a telegram to the management and employees in Germany. In it, she assured them that she would continue their life's work: „Under the proven and technically sound leadership of our managing directors and with your active co-operation, we will succeed together in continuing to lead Erwin Sick GmbH successfully into the future.“ To this day, Gisela Sick continues to run the company as the main shareholder, now as Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
In 2009, Gisela Sick received the Medal of Merit of the state of Baden-Württemberg. In the laudatory speech, her loyalty to the location, her courage and vision in continuing the company and her commitment to training and further education were honoured. This award was crowned in 2011 when Gisela Sick was made an honorary citizen of the town of Waldkirch. This award recognised her outstanding and lasting services to the town.
SICK AG: From the reorientation...
As part of increasing globalisation, subsidiaries were founded in Spain, Finland and Singapore. Erwin Sick Engineering GmbH, based in Dresden, was also founded at this time. In order to keep pace with the new requirements and remain competitive under the changed conditions, Erwin Sick GmbH was renamed a public limited company in 1996. The company, now trading as SICK AG, issued employee shares in Germany and abroad for the first time in 1999, but is still not listed on the stock exchange.
The following years were characterised by technical innovations, z. The company has expanded its technology portfolio through the acquisition of companies such as Maihak AG and the Donaueschingen-based encoder manufacturer Stegmann.
In 2002, Gisela Sick celebrated her 80th birthday and was honoured with the medal for special services to the economy of the state of Baden-Württemberg. In the same year, the new logistics centre in Waldkirch was opened.
On the company's 60th anniversary in 2006, the SICK Group employed over 4,000 people worldwide. With more than 40 subsidiaries and holdings, SICK was present in over 20 countries at that time. Sebastian-Kneipp-Straße was renamed Erwin-Sick-Straße in memory of the company founder and Dr Robert Bauer became Spokesman of the Executive Board.
Dr Robert Bauer joined SICK AG in Waldkirch in 1994 as Head of Development for Automation. In 2000, he took over the position of Chief Technology Officer and has been Chairman of the Executive Board since 2006. The initially small company has become a global player, generating sales of one billion euros for the first time in 2013.
...to the outlook
For 70 years, the name SICK has been synonymous worldwide with innovative products and solutions that set standards in sensor technology. Ingenious ideas and an extraordinary pioneering spirit have resulted in automation technology that has changed the world.
Ten years ago, SICK launched its corporate claim with „Sensor Intelligence“ was geared towards the changes in the world of automation that were only just beginning to be recognised at the time. Since then, this claim has formulated the focus on technical intelligence far beyond pure sensor technology. Sensor intelligence has already been successfully positioned in automation technology and is now an important component of Industry 4.0.
The ability to produce and deliver more efficiently, flexibly, resource-efficiently and with higher quality using a variety of data ultimately depends crucially on the reliability and robustness of the data that forms the input for many process chains. This is the starting point for being able to make autonomous decisions at all.„No transparent evaluation of data without sensors“, could be a short formula for this.
70 years of SICK means 70 years of innovation in sensor technology. With new, intelligent sensors, SICK will continue to set standards in sensor technology and continue its success story in the future.
