Siko celebrates 60 years in sensors and positioning systems

Sensors and positioning systems supplier Siko GmbH is celebrating 60 years of history in 2023. The company based in Buchenbach, Germany, was founded in 1963 and has grown to include five global subsidiaries with its products sold in more than 30 countries.

Siko administration building with electronics production at the Bad Krozingen, Germany, site. (Photo: Siko)

The company’s roots date back to 1963, when its founder, founder Günther Wandres decided to become independent, selling the drive technology company that he had managed until that time. He took over a small product group from the previous company – handwheels with position indicators – which were mainly used for speed control on continuously variable transmissions. He also took over Süddeutsches Industrie Kontor (South German Industrial Office), an industrial agency for geared motors, and from which the name Siko was derived.

Given the production growth, the company moved from Unteribental, Germany, to a new production facility in neighboring Buchenbach, which continues to serve as its headquarters.

The product portfolio continued to develop from the mid-1970s onward, when digital position indicators joined the mechanical position indicators currently offered. The company also developed electronic measuring systems for path and angle measurement, including the first geared potentiometers at the end of the 1970s and the first optoelectronic hollow shaft encoder in 1982, Siko stated. At the beginning of the 1990s, under new managing director Horst Wandres, the youngest son of the Siko founder, linear measuring systems were added to the product portfolio, eventually become one of the segments with the highest turnover.

Siko launched the positioning drives product division in 2001. The compact drives for automated axle adjustment paved the way for Industry 4.0-capable sensor and positioning systems.

Starting in 1980, the company expanded its market territory with the founding of its U.S. subsidiary. This was followed in 2001 by another subsidiary in Italy, and in 2005 by a subsidiary in Shanghai, China. The subsidiary in Switzerland, which is responsible for the development and production of the MagLine encoder systems, was added in 2008. Another sales office was established in Singapore in 2013.

Siko now has three business divisions as well as a German production and administration site in Bad Krozingen, Germany. Its products include robust sensors designed for mobile machines, positioning systems for mechanical engineering and encoders for drive technology. The company employs 250 worldwide with 200 employees at locations in Germany.