Our History of Innovation
Seco has its roots firmly planted in Swedish history. It all started with the formation of Fagersta Bruks AB in Fagersta, Sweden in 1873.Seco’s roots are firmly planted in Swedish history. Our company’s origin can be traced back to the formation of Fagersta Bruks AB in Fagersta, Sweden in 1873. In its early years, Fagersta Bruks manufactured steel wires and pipes, rifle barrels and springs for railway cars. In 1932, small-scale production of a cemented carbide product commenced. The product was named Seco, which means “I cut” in Latin.
Throughout the following decades, Fagersta Bruks invested heavily in tungsten carbide, acquiring several carbide manufacturers to become one of Europe’s three largest tungsten carbide enterprises. In 1974, the company hived off Seco as an independent cemented carbide unit. Since then, Seco has maintained continuous growth through strategic acquisitions and organic market share gain via highly successful products.
Many of Seco’s products have become extremely well-regarded within the metal cutting industry, such as Minimaster™ replaceable tip end mills, Turbo Mill indexable cutters and Perfomax™ Drills. In 2006, we introduced Duratomic®, a revolutionary process involving manipulating oxygen and aluminium at the atomic level. Creating an entirely new class of coating for carbide inserts, Duratomic continues to benefit manufacturers around the world and Seco has constantly improved the technology since its introduction.
In 2012, Seco became a wholly-owned part of the Sandvik Group, operating as part of its Sandvik Machining Solutions business area. Today, Seco operates in more than 75 countries, continuing to build upon our rich history of supplying manufacturers with the solutions needed to optimize their productivity.
SECO ORIGINATED FROM AN ANCIENT TRADITION: THE SWEDISH MINING INDUSTRY.
| 1611 | | Fagersta Bruk’s cradle (a helve hammer) is established by the river Kolbäcksån. |
| 1873 | | Fagersta Bruks AB is founded. |
| 1932 | | Fagersta Bruks AB introduces a product named Seco. |
| 1936 | | Seco is established as a separate unit. |
| 1974 | | Seco Tools AB is formed as an independent company. |
| 1974 | | The first sales units in France and Italy are established. |
| 1989 | | Seco Tools AB is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. |
| 2009 | | Strategic consolidation and investments in sales units with technical centers and support organizations. |
| 2012 | | Sandvik acquires 100% of Seco Tools AB. |
| 2019 | | With more than 40 sales units and a large number of agents and distributors, Seco Tools is present in more than 75 countries. |
PRODUCT INNOVATION HISTORY
1960-1980
1990
2000
2010
