At the celebration, there were several activities planned, including 3D printing demos; drone demos; cigar rolling; whiskey tasting; guided facility tours; a visit from The Agile Mobile Robot from Boston Dynamics, known as Spot the dog; and an open bar and buffet. Seiler Instrument's sales, technical, and service staff was on hand to answer questions, show some tips and tricks, and provide insight in what is happening in their industry today.
In addition to the staff at Seiler Instrument, the Seiler family was also on hand to greet customers and friends. Tom Seiler, Executive Vice President of Seiler Instrument, said the entire family was excited to be able to celebrate 75 years with everyone attending. When asked what the secret was to the company’s longevity, in addition to the products and services they offer, he said, “I think the legacy of our family is treating the customer with the respect and the excellence that they deserve and expect. We just have such a great team and a bunch of great relationships with our customer partners across the United States and the world, and we’re just blessed to have such a good thing going.”
Founded in 1945 by Eric H. Seiler and his wife, Dora L. Seiler, Seiler Instrument began as a small survey instrument repair shop on Pine Street in St. Louis. Since then, it has grown into a multi-division company specializing in manufacturing military equipment, distributing surveying instruments and supplies, microscopes, night vision scopes, and planetarium projectors throughout the United States. Over the years Seiler went from just a few employees to over 200, and has earned numerous awards and certificates of achievement including the U.S. Small Business Administration's Administrator's Award for Excellence.
Today, Seiler Instrument is still a family owned and operated business with Eric (Rick) Seiler Jr., President/CEO; Tom Seiler, Executive Vice President, Geospatial and Medical Divisions; and Louise Seiler Schaper, Director of Compliance, Planetarium Division Manager.
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“I saw the company when it was first started," said Eric P. Seiler, former President/CEO of the company. "And outside of a couple tours of duty in the service, I’ve grown with it until about 10 years ago when I turned it over to our three children. ... My oldest son is running the company now, and my youngest son is running the geospatial part of it, which is about half of our business. My daughter is involved in the compliance part, which is such a big thing now because of the amount of new rules and regulations, especially when you work with the military. I’m really so proud of the three kids — it’s incredible. And now we’ve got grandkids coming up, so it’s truly a family business. That’s what my dad wanted, and that’s what I want, and I’m sure my sons and daughter want the same thing.”
Seiler Instrument is a contract manufacturing company specializing in high precision machining and optical instrument assembly. In addition, Seiler is a distributor of surveying software and instruments, microscopes, and ZEISS Planetarium equipment. The Seiler foundation is made up of several main business segments, including manufacturing, geospatial, medical, and planetarium.
