Aesculap works

Aesculap
legal form	Division of B. Braun Melsungen AG
founding	1867 as a production workshop for surgical instruments
Seat	Tuttlingen , Germany
management	Joachim Schulz, CEO
Number of employees	<12,600 (2018)
sales	EUR 1,968.2 million (2019)
Branch	Medical technology company ( surgical instruments )
Website	www.aesculap.de

The Aesculap AG is with its approximately 3,650 employees at its headquarters, the largest company in Tuttlingen , providing medical devices and medical technology , specifically for the surgery ago.

The company is part of the B. Braun group. In the 2019 financial year, sales of 1,968.2 million euros were generated, an increase of 7.9% compared to the previous year.

Aesculap is a partner for operative and interventional therapy concepts in inpatient and outpatient care. Abdominal surgery, cardio-thoracic surgery, interventional vascular diagnostics and therapy, neurosurgery, orthopedic joint replacement and regenerative therapies, spinal surgery and sterile goods management are at the center of Aesculap's business activities.

history

1867 to 1914

Company building at Tuttlingen train station

In 1867 Gottfried Jetter set up a workshop in Tuttlingen, began manufacturing surgical instruments and thus laid the foundation for today's company AESCULAP. In 1873, Jetter and other cutlers from Tuttlingen exhibited their products at the Vienna World Exhibition . By 1878 the workforce had grown to 120.

AESCULAP logo on a surgical instrument

In 1887 Jetter made his two brothers-in-law Wilhelm and Karl Christian Scheerer equal partners. The company was now called Jetter & Scheerer . In 1889 the first branch was opened in Berlin , at the same time the snake stick with crown was registered as a trademark. In 1893 the New York City branch was established. The transformation of the company into a stock corporation for precision mechanics, formerly Jetter & Scheerer , was completed in 1895. In the same year the opening of an agency in London was established. From 1898 to 1899 the new factory, which still exists today, was built on the western outskirts of Tuttlingen. In 1899 the brand name AESCULAP was registered. In 1914 the mail order turnover was 5.3 million marks. 1,751 people were employed.

1914 to 1946

During the First World War , production was partially converted to war material. The workforce fell to around 1,000 as a result of convictions. Nevertheless, in 1915 the factory area was expanded for the 50th anniversary of 1917. In 1923 the factory premises were further expanded with the construction of company apartments and a siding. In 1929 the expansion phase reached its peak with sales of 7.6 million marks , 1,800 employees and an export quota of 73.14%. Due to the global economic crisis, the number of employees decreased to around 1,100 by 1932 and people only worked two days a week. From 1939, after this depression, sales were increased by German military orders. In addition to surgical instruments for the medical sector, Aesculap also produced parts and assemblies for the weapons industry, such as B. gun parts, engine parts or bayonets. From 1945 to 1946 the plant was occupied by French troops.

1946 to 1999

The company struggled to survive in the 1950s. It was not until well into the 1960s that the company recovered from the cuts of the Second World War , and it was not until the 1970s that the war camouflage was removed from the main buildings. In 1969 the "Aktiengesellschaft für Feinmechanik" was renamed "AESCULAP-Werke Aktiengesellschaft formerly Jetter & Scheerer". In 1973, in response to cheap products from Pakistan , Aesculap opened a manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia . 179 employees work there. Sales rose by 18.2% to DM 87.9 million. In 1976 B. Braun Melsungen AG became the majority shareholder. A year later, AESCULAP Instruments Corp. founded in South San Francisco . In 1983 Michael Ungethüm , previously Aesculap's Chief Research Officer, was appointed Chief Executive Officer, who played a key role in the modernization of the company.

After AESCULAP Japan Co. Ltd. was founded in 1986 . in Tokyo the group had 2,676 employees.

In the following years the group continued to grow: Meditec, a laser company, and two surgical manufacturers in England were added. The company was now called AESCULAP AG . In 1994 the shares in B. Braun Melsungen AG were transferred to its 100% subsidiary B. Braun Surgical GmbH (BBS), Melsungen. Three years later, the former Aesculap AG was changed into AESCULAP AG & CO. By entry in the Tuttlingen Commercial Register on March 17, 1997 . KG converted.

1999 until today

The shareholding of B. Braun Surgical GmbH was increased to around 99.5%, with which Aesculap was fully integrated into B. Braun . In 2001 the company opened the so-called Benchmark Factory in Tuttlingen . In 2008, the entry in the Stuttgart Commercial Register was transformed into AESCULAP AG . In 2009 Michael Ungethüm handed over his office to his successor Hanns-Peter Knaebel . In 2015, the then Federal Minister of Health Hermann Gröhe inaugurated the largest investment project in the company's history - the Innovation Factory . On April 12, 2017, B. Braun Melsungen AG published a press release that Knaebel had resigned from his positions on the board of B. Braun Melsungen AG and Aesculap AG for personal reasons. The chairmanship of the board of directors of Aesculap AG was given to Dr. Joachim Schulz handed over. Dr. Jens von Lackum has been Deputy CEO since July 2018. In addition, since August 1, 2018, Dr. Katrin Sternberg is the deputy member of the Aesculap AG Board of Directors for Research & Development.