On 1 May 1961, the company's founder, Walter Sarstedt, laid the foundations of the company, which rapidly developed over the next few years. In Rommelsdorf, a district of Nümbrecht, he started production in a small Workshop.
(Picture: Mr Walter Sarstedt)
The first product was a plastic container for tablets for Bayer Leverkusen. Over time, this replaced the aluminium and glass containers that had been used previously.
As a further development of the tablet containers, a round bottom tube with a stopper for use in laboratories was added to the product range.
Just 10 years after founding the company, the first European branch was established in Leicester, in the UK, laying the foundations for further international expansion.
The first venous blood collection system, the predecessor to today's S-Monovette®, is presented. It is available in three sizes with various preparations.
The laboratory product range is extended to include a diverse range of reaction tubes with attached lids.
Sarstedt was one of the first companies to introduce a plastic cuvette. As it was no longer necessary to clean the glass cuvettes, the processes in the field of photometric measurement were made considerably shorter and simpler.
Foundation of the first North American branch in Princeton, USA, near New York.
Subsequent further development of the original Monovette® from 1971 led to the development of the Luer Monovette® which enabled blood sampling in a pre-prepared tube and further processing in the laboratory in just one product.
With the development and introduction of screw cap micro tubes, Sarstedt established a new class of safe screw cap tubes. The combination of stable polypropylene tubes and extra-safe screw closure with an O-ring seal has proven its worth time and again. Today, screw cap micro tubes are essential for research and diagnostics.
Six years after the introduction of the Luer Monovette®, the S-Monovette® and the corresponding cannulae comprised the first closed all-plastic blood sampling system. Blood collection was revolutionised: for the first time the user could decide between two sampling techniques using the S-Monovette® (vacuum or aspiration principle).
Central to our history is the company's 25th anniversary, the expansion of the company and the funding of science.
To highlight just one of the events, on the occasion of the company's 25th anniversary, the Sarstedt research prize was awarded for the first time on 4 February 1986. This award, which included 50,000 Deutsche Mark in prize money, was advertised internationally and awarded for significant work in the field of diagnostic methods for the early recognition of diseases. The first prize winners were Prof. J. Klose and Prof. P. H. O'Farrell, who received this award for the development of high-resolution, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The Sarstedt research prize has been awarded a total of six times up to 2007.
(Pictured, from left: Prof. P.H. O'Farrell, Mr Walter Sarstedt and Prof. J. Klose)
Foundation stone laid for new head office
The continually strong growth of the company calls for additional capacity. In 1986, Walter Sarstedt and his son Jürgen laid the foundation stone for the new head office in Nümbrecht/Rommelsdorf. Here, Setting the course for the future expansion will take place.
Taking into account the continually growing US market, the American company office in Princeton was relocated to Newton, NC, and the first production site was put into operation there.
As a leading producer of consumables for medicinal and scientific use, we seek to develop innovative products and customised solutions. In order to realise this in optimal manner and environment, our dedicated R&D Centre in Rommelsdorf was opened-an investment for a successful future.
The innovative blood sedimentation systems Sedivette® and Sediplus® were developed to ensure considerably more hygienic and convenient working methods for determining blood sedimentation rates.
The reunification of Germany opened new doors for the company, which proceeded to take over two former publicly-owned companies in Saxony: MPL in Weigmannsdorf and Injecta in Klingenthal.
MPL expanded the product portfolio with medical devices, such as urine drainage systems.
Injecta, as a manufacturer of medical cannulae, needles and precision tubes, also contributed a new product segment.
With the acquisition of the company Disposable Products (dp) – a manufacturer of laboratory and medical devices – in Adelaide, the first production site in Australia as well as the sales organisation for this continent was taken over from dp.
For successful in vitro cultivation of cells, Sarstedt introduced cell culture bottles, dishes and plates made from polystyrene for adherent and suspension cells.
By introducing the Multi-Safe disposal boxes, Sarstedt contributed towards the safe and user-friendly disposal of sharp and hazardous objects for the in-patient and out-patient sector.
In order to meet the highest standards in research and diagnostics, Sarstedt developed the Biosphere® quality seal. Clean room conditions, trained personnel in protective clothing as well as optimised production processes are the prerequisites needed to ensure the certified absence of biomolecules.
Pre-analytical laboratory automation systems were developed in order to support our customers in establishing optimal and efficient processes in the medical laboratory.
The main focus is to make the processes of pre-sorting, aliquoting, opening and closing of samples containers safer, more accurate and more efficient.
The former sole proprietorship Walter Sarstedt becomes a limited share company (AG). This change takes account of the dynamic development of the company and creates the foundations for the generational succession. Walter Sarstedt's children, Doris and Jürgen Sarstedt, who already held active postions within the company become shareholders and members of the newly formed Supervisory Board.
(Picture: Mrs Doris Sarstedt and Mr Walter Sarstedt)
The foundation of the first sales branch in Sao Paulo, Brazil, was another milestone reached in the company's successful global expansion.
In the same year, the Microvette® was introduced – an ideal system for capillary blood collection, with two sampling techniques (using the end-to-end capillary or the special rim).
The first step towards expanding into Asia was made with the foundation of the branch in Tokyo, Japan.
Following the takeover of French company Rhodiaval in Besançon in 1990, the newly constructed modern manufacturing site for the production of laboratory products was opened.
Safety and hygiene for patients and users have always been of paramount importance to the company. In the field of blood sampling, a significant improvement was made in the prevention of needle puncture injuries with the introduction of the Safety-Needle and Safety-Multifly® to the market.
The blood mixing & weighing device TOPSWING was developed for mobile and stationary blood donation. It was well received with its innovative, three-dimensional mixing motion and convenient data transfer/storage.
The Bulkloader BL 1200 set a new standard for front end laboratory automation. Unsorted, bulk sample tubes are automatically recognised by the system and put in corresponding racks for further processing.
After the huge previous success of the Sarstedt research prize, which has been awarded a total of six times, the German Association for Clinical Chemistry awarded a prize of 50,000 euros for bioanalytics for the first time. By 2015, this prize sponsored by Sarstedt has been awarded four times – more will follow.
Fifty years of Sarstedt – a success story
Foreword to the anniversary catalogue:
Fifty years of Sarstedt
This means fifty years of hard work and reliable collaboration with customers and staff.
From the start, we have endeavoured to meet the needs of our customers. This is not something that can be achieved purely through personal dedication; above all, it requires motivated and engaged employees.
Our success is the result of strong product development, a great range of high-quality production on a national and international level, and our own global sales organisation.
I would like to thank all of our customers for their confidence in Sarstedt and all our employees for their relentless support.
I aim to ensure that we endeavour to deliver high-quality, innovative products to our customers in the future.
Walter Sarstedt
With the new location in the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, the expansion of the global sales activities continued into the Middle East.
Upon the death of the company's founder, Mr Walter Sarstedt, we lost a great and exemplary employer and a highly esteemed man. His dedication for innovation and his personal interest in the well-being of both customers and employees was remarkable. In-recognition of his entrepreneural performance and his social engagement he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in 1993. Walter Sarstedt has written a significant part of economic history and has built the Sarstedt Group to become a leading medical technology enterprise. The company will continue to be run as a family business in the future, with the same entrepreneurial spirit of Walter Sarstedt.
The cell culture product portfolio has been improved and expanded. The result is a wide range of high-quality cell culture products which are optimised to meet the needs of the user.
At our headquarters in Nümbrecht, our technical centre is being expanded, with a new building dedicated to production technologies and the development of new products ready for series production.
This investment ensures and improves the company's culture of innovation and further development, and firmly reinforces our expertise in technology, as well as our commitment towards Germany as our main business site.
On 24 September 2015 the acquisition of the companies MPL and Injecta 25 years ago was commemorated with a Customer Day at the MPL premises in Brand-Erbisdorf.
Among the almost 250 guests were a considerable number of long-standing customers, business partners and staff members honouring this special anniversary.
The Sarstedt Group acquires the direct customer business in the field of lab automation of m-u-t GmbH, Wedel/Germany.
With this acquisition, Sarstedt strengthens its wide portfolio of pre- and post-analytical solutions on the sector of laboratory automation and expands its market position as a global solution provider in this segment.
The transaction includes the takeover of the production of and global direct sales activities for the HCTS2000 MK2 and MK3 units by the international sales organisation of Sarstedt AG & Co., as well as the service activities in Germany and the USA.
