About Sesotec History

History

Company history

Sesotec was established in 1976 under the name S+S electronic KG. Since then, its expertise and product range has grown steadily. It has created subsidiaries and branches around the globe.


The early years

S+S initially focused on developing and manufacturing inductive and capacitive sensors. In 1980, the company launched the first metal separator – the forerunner of the RAPID series and cornerstone for our leading position in the plastics industry.  

Throughout the 1980s, the company created systems for the glass-recycling, textile and packaging industries. This period also marked the onset of the use of digital electronics. In 1986, the first building was constructed at the company’s current headquarters in Schönberg, Lower Bavaria.


Product innovations from 1980 through today

  1. 1980
  2. 2000
  3. 2005
  4. 2009
  5. 2016
  6. 2020

  1. First RAPID metal separator

  2. First GENIUS control unit

  3. The first RAYCON X-ray scanner

  4. FLAKE PURIFIER sorting system

  5. Metal Detector INTUITY

  6. THiNK - our first software for metal detectors working with Artificial Intelligence


Change of ownership and international growth

In 1990, a majority stake in S+S was sold to Hoesch AG, an important German steel and mining company from the Ruhr region, which the Krupp Group acquired shortly thereafter.

In 1993, Karl Eibl, Helmuth Frisch, Paul Dittrich and Franz Greipl purchased the company – then called S+S Metallsuchgeräte und Recycling GmbH – from the corporation and proceeded to run it independently. Two of the new owners, Eibl and Frisch, had already held senior positions at S+S, and together, they took over the company’s executive management.

Under the leadership of the management duo, the company experienced steady growth and began expanding internationally ever more around the turn of the millennium. The first foreign subsidiary was established in 2001 in the United Kingdom. In 2004, S+S ventured into the Far East and established a subsidiary in Singapore, which was followed by the United States in 2007. Sales offices began to spring up in many other countries.

 

New construction and name change

In terms of engineering and manufacturing, however, S+S focused exclusively on products that were “Made in Germany” − an approach that Sesotec continues to follow today.

This meant extensive construction work at company headquarters in Schönberg in the early 2000s, which saw the addition of several production shops, a new administrative building, a shipping warehouse and the technology centre, where potential customers will find fully functional Sesotec systems and can test them using their materials.

As part of the international growth, the company’s name was also changed. From 2005 to March 2015, the company operated under the name S+S Separation and Sorting Technology GmbH. It has been called Sesotec since April 2015.

 

A new generation and further growth

Karl Eibl and Helmuth Frisch remained managing directors until 2013. Their retirement was capped by the company being named one of the winners in the “Bayerns Best 50” [Bavaria’s Top 50] competition. In order to prepare a succession plan, Eibl, Frisch, Dittrich and Greipl sold their shares as early as 2011 to Munich-based industrial holding company VTC, which invests in small- and medium-sized enterprises to facilitate long-term development independent of the group.  

Sesotec has meanwhile continued on its path to innovation and growth without interruption. In 2015, it established a subsidiary in Canada. That same year, Sesotec purchased ASM Advanced Sorting Machines, which is an Italian company specialised in food-sorting machines. Another subsidiary joined the ranks in 2016, this time in Thailand.

More about Sesotec

Mission und vision

Our philosophy

Innovation out of
passion

Our ambition

Global footprint

Our locations