1934 - Swiss born Emil Siegrist founded company to manufacture rubber sleeves for finishing cables located in Berners Street, central London.
1935 - Siegrist introducted specialist sleeving tools
1946 - Company changed its name to Siegrist-Orel
1959 - Expansion of the business was hampered by cramped conditions so the business re-located to Windmill Street, a few hundred yards away.
1964 - Attained ARB (latterly CAA) approval
1975 - Attained MOD Defence Standard 05-24 approval
1982 - Attained BS 5750 approval by British Telecom
1989 - Pioneered development of mass-transit low fire hazard products for London Underground
1990 - Became the de facto producer of London Underground cable markers
1993 - Developed unique printing process for PTFE markers without need for pre-etching
2001 - Attained BS EN ISO 9001:2000 approval
2004 - Attained AECMA-EASE AS9100 approval
2005 - Introduced iTAG; the new computerised marking system
2006 - Attained IIP Standard (Investors In People)
2008 - New office opened in Hong Kong and China
2010 - New office opened in Toulouse, France
2012 - Merger with Sumitomo Electrical Industries (SEI) of Japan
2015 - Siegrist-Orel changed its name to SEI Identification Solutions
The Company originated in the 1930's when Mr.E.Siegrist realized there was a requirement for `finishing' untidy cable terminations. He set up the Company, E.Siegrist Ltd., and began supplying rubber sleeves from premises in Berners Street, central London. Three-prong sleeving tools were exhibited and sold as early as 1935, with an improved version having interchangeable prongs introduced in 1938.
The entrepreneurial Mr.Siegrist diversified in many products and was particularly interested in chronometry, one such product being a biorhythm clock!
The Swiss term ‘orel' is defined as the nomenclature associated with clock faces and dials, subsequently in 1946 the Company was re-named Siegrist-Orel Limited.
In 1955, Mr.Siegrist was joined by his son-in-law Mr.Bill Glover, and a sister company, Silent Gliss Ltd., was set up at the same location to manufacture high quality curtain track. Production in both expanding businesses was hampered by cramped conditions at the Berners Street location, so in 1959 the Companies re-located, a few hundred yards away, to Windmill Street.
Miss G.Lee-Marson had worked as a personal assistant to Mr.Siegrist for several years, taking control of the Companies in 1959 when Mr.Siegrist died.
The next major move occurred in 1963 when the Companies moved out of London to Margate. By this time the range of products had been increased, several types of materials were being used to produce sleeves and cable markers to various standards. A great deal of the work was Ministry related, so in 1964 Siegrist-Orel attained approval to the A.R.B., now the Civil Aviation Authority, and to the relevant Ministry Standards at that time, progressing as a quality orientated company. Registration and approval to Ministry of Defence Def.Stan. 05‑24 ensued in 1975.
Towards the end of the 1970's a decision was made to split the two Companies; Silent Gliss remaining at the Margate site, whilst Siegrist-Orel moved into a brand new factory on the Pysons Road Industrial Estate. This move took place in the early part of 1980, Miss Lee-Marson continuing to manage Siegrist-Orel but relinquishing the reigns of Silent Gliss.
During the latter part of 1981 Miss Lee-Marson retired from service. Mr.Siegrist's grandson, Rodney Glover, who was previously the Company's Financial Director, took over the Managing Directorship at this time.
In 2012, Siegrist joined forces with Sumitomo Electrical Industries (SEI) of Japan, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-quality heat-shrink tubing. Three years later, Siegrist-Orel changed its name to SEI Identification Solutions.