Seiler Instrument & Mfg. Co. is a manufacturer specializing in optical fire control equipment as well as a major distributor of surveying software and instruments, microscopes, and Zeiss planetariums. There are several main divisions within the company which include Manufacturing, Geospatial-Survey, Medical, Seiler Design Solutions, LLC., and Planetarium. The company is headquartered in
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, Missouri with Geospatial-Survey sales offices located in
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
,
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, and
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
.
History
Seiler Instrument was founded in 1945 by Eric H. Seiler and his wife Dora L. Seiler. Seiler had been trained in the field of optical design and construction by the Zeiss Jena School of Fine Optics in Jena, Germany. He had originally worked for Zeiss Jena, the first incarnation of what is now
Carl Zeiss AG
Carl Zeiss AG (), branded as ZEISS, is a German manufacturer of optical systems and optoelectronics, founded in Jena, Germany in 1846 by optician Carl Zeiss. Together with Ernst Abbe (joined 1866) and Otto Schott (joined 1884) he laid the f ...
, but continued to work in the optical field for the David White company in Wisconsin after emigrating to the United States. Seiler began his own optical company at 922 Pine Street which specialized in repairing existing survey instruments. Since this time, the company's focus has shifted toward designing or retailing survey, military, medical, and planetarium systems.
In 2010, Seiler Instrument admitted that some parts were improperly certified as compliant with the Buy American Act. The pretrial diversion agreement stated that Seiler would pay $1,500,000.00 in forfeiture. The agreement reflects that Seiler Instrument took measures to fix the problems and has agreed to a compliance program to be monitored by the Department of Defense.
In 2021, Seiler Instrument was awarded a maximum $23,475,982 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for M119A1 Light Towed Howitzer panoramic telescopes.
In 2022, Seiler Instrument acquired the assets of Precision Midwest to provide Trimble Geospatial products for the state of Iowa, all of northern Illinois, and the northwest counties of Lake and Porter, Indiana.
Manufacturing
Seiler Instrument’s Manufacturing Division specializes in manufacturing precision optical instruments and components primarily for the
United States Military
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
. Seiler is the Original Equipment Manufacturer of the optical fire control used on all United States howitzer and mortar systems as well as many howitzer systems used around the world. From start to finish, Seiler is responsible for the machining, assembly, and testing of all components of the optical fire control system. Along with manufacturing optical instrument assemblies, Seiler also specializes in refurbishing artillery optical fire control equipment which can extend the life of a weapon system.
Geospatial-Survey
Seiler Instrument’s Geospatial-Survey Division is segmented into various industries: Survey, Architecture, Engineering, Design Build Construction, and Mapping GIS/GPS. Seiler specializes in product sales, training, implementation, support, rentals, and repairs. Seiler is an Authorized Autodesk Training Center, Autodesk Consulting Specialized, and AIA CES provider. There are seven office locations across the Midwestern United States. Seiler Instrument is also a Trimble Preferred Service Provider with authorized service and repair centers located in St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Milwaukee.
Seiler Design Solutions, LLC
Seiler Design Solutions provides architecture, engineering, and construction software with sales, training, technical support, and implementation, as a
Bluebeam Gold Partner. Also, under this umbrella falls the Seiler GeoDrones business segment, providing custom
drone
Drone most commonly refers to:
* Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg
* Unmanned aerial vehicle
* Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft
* Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone
Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to:
...
s for those who are focused on Geospatial (Survey/GIS) applications, including agriculture, forensics, inspection, mapping/survey, mining, construction, and public safety.
Medical
Seiler Instrument’s Medical Division was created in 1950 when Seiler formed an agreement with Carl Zeiss (Jena) to distribute their microscope line in North America. After many successful years as a North American dealer for Zeiss, Seiler and Zeiss parted ways. This split allowed Seiler to create a new microscope to compete with the Zeiss product line and to develop partnerships in Germany, South America, and Asia. Seiler’s Microscope Division provides optics and services to the medical and dental industry. Seiler offers a line of medical microscope products including: Colposcopes, Ear Nose and Throat (ENT), Audiology, Compound and Laboratory Microscopes, Multidisciplinary Surgery Microscopes and Surgical Loupes. They also offer dental microscopy products including: Surgical Microscopes, Dental Loupes, Loupe Lights, and Dental Stools.
Planetarium
In 1987, Seiler Instrument and Carl Zeiss reunited through their planetarium line, and the Seiler Instrument Planetarium Division was created. Seiler Instrument is the sole distributor and first point of contact for sales, service, and repairs on all Carl Zeiss Planetariums in the United States and Canada. Over 600 Zeiss Planetariums around the world have been installed to date for the purposes of simulation, education, and entertainment. Seiler has installed and serviced these projectors in planetariums and science centers such as the Noble Planetarium at the
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is located on 1600 Gendy Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76107 in the city's Cultural District. It was opened in 1945 as the Fort Worth Children's Museum and moved to its current location in 1954. In 1968, t ...
.
References
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Optics manufacturing companies