Dr Balthasar Merk sets up a small chemical plant at today’s site, where he produces flexible abrasives. His remarkable inventive spirit sees him manufacture a variety of abrasive products, made from glass and emery with paper or cloth backing.

With this new name, the company pursues a clear vision: to become a brand of global importance. The company name SIA is intentionally multilingual: Swiss Industrial Abrasives, Schweizer Schmirgel- und Schleifindustrie AG, Sociéte Suisse Industrie Ermeri et Abrasifs SA, Società Svizzera Industriale dei Abrasivi SA

Demand begins to exceed production capacity. As a result, SIA increase production volumes through targeted investments in warehouses and production facilities, in which manual labour is replaced by automated processes. The technical expertise for this transformation comes from the company's own engineers.

“blue line” is the name of a product line developed by SIA, which answers the specific needs of tradespeople and strengthens the company’s market presence among trade professionals. Central to the success of this new concept is the sales training and customer training delivered at our very own training centre (SCC).

sia Abrasives expands its range of nonwoven abrasives by purchasing a specialist production facility.

The product portfolio expands again, this time in the field of “foam abrasives”, through the acquisition of a qualified plant.

sia Abrasives is integrated into Robert Bosch GmbH as a centre of excellence for sanding. On 6th July 2009, shares in sia are delisted from the Swiss stock exchange.

sia Abrasives commences operations in the “Maker 5”, its new production facility for flexible abrasives, located in Frauenfeld. This plant is one of the most cutting edge in the world and is key to the long-term expansion of Frauenfeld as a centre of excellence.

sia Abrasives commissions the first laser cutting machine for the production of complex hole patterns, such as multi-hole sanding discs. In another first, a material-guided robot is implemented in the testing, research and development of abrasives.

The warehouse operations are transferred from Frauenfeld to the IDC central European logistics centre in Worms, Germany. This speeds up delivery times, makes better use of synergies and reduces the CO2 footprint of logistics for the long term.

Manufacture of abrasives is relocated from Frauenfeld to the European manufacturing centre in Goleniów, Poland.

The company invests in FerRobotics Compliant Robot Technology GmbH as a partner for industrial robotic grinding in the field of sensitive automation. A leading supplier of industrial robotic grinding in the field of contact-sensitive automation.

The continuous strip shows an abrasive backing on which a high-quality abrasive is created in our production facility. The uninterrupted line represents our steady and impressive success story. Our commitment is shaping our future. The plus sign symbolises our intention to continue working with undiminished passion even after 150 years as an abrasives specialist. The Swiss cross symbolises our origins, of which we are very proud.