What Streckeisen does

Streckeisen GmbH is a privately held Swiss precision-instrument manufacturer founded in 1979 by Gunar Streckeisen and Prof. Dr. Erhard Wielandt, headquartered in Pfungen near Winterthur, Switzerland. The company designs, produces, and trades broadband seismometers used by seismological research institutions, national earthquake monitoring agencies, and university observatories to measure seismic waves for earthquake research and exploration of the Earth's interior. Its product portfolio consists of three triaxial broadband seismometer models: the current flagship STS-2.5 (introduced 2010) with sub-450 mW power consumption and 10x improved pressure insensitivity versus its predecessor, the legacy STS-2 (produced 1991–2010, the world's first triaxial broadband seismometer), and the legacy STS-1 (produced 1981–1991, the first broadband seismometer commercially available). Revenue is generated through hardware sales of these instruments and supporting accessories (cables, host boxes, calibration certificates), with no public pricing disclosed.

Streckeisen's commercial model combines a direct sales channel (handled by a dedicated sales representative) with an exclusive strategic partnership with Kinemetrics Inc., which provides sales, technical support, and repair services through representatives in more than 30 countries worldwide. Customers are concentrated in the scientific-research vertical — including named reference accounts such as IRIS (US), the Swiss Seismological Service (SED/ETH Zurich), GFZ Potsdam (Germany), and CSEM (Euro-Mediterranean) — with purchase cycles characterized by long-deployment permanent stations that establish high switching costs. The company positions its instruments as the reference standard for performance and reliability comparisons in the broadband seismology market, a reputation built on four decades of category-defining firsts (STS-1, STS-2) and continuous incremental improvement of mechanical sensor design. No external funding rounds, acquisitions, subsidiaries, or significant leadership changes are disclosed, and the company remains a focused specialist operating from a single Swiss facility.

Name

Streckeisen

Legal name

Streckeisen GmbH

Website

https://streckeisen.swiss

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Pfungen

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Broadband Seismometer Sales: Streckeisen generates revenue through the sale of high-precision broadband seismometers. The product portfolio includes current models (STS-2.5) and legacy products (STS-2, STS-1). The company also sells accessories including cables, host boxes, calibration certificates, and replacement parts for existing instruments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Streckeisen GmbH designs, manufactures, and trades broadband seismometers used for the detection and study of earthquakes and vibrations of the Earth's interior. The portfolio centers on the STS-2.5 (current flagship triaxial broadband seismometer for permanent stations) along with legacy models STS-2 and STS-1, complemented by accessories such as cables, host boxes, and calibration certificates. Customers are scientific research institutions and national/international earthquake monitoring services, supplied via direct sales and through the Kinemetrics partner network spanning 30+ countries.

Product overview

Streckeisen GmbH is a Swiss precision instrument manufacturer specializing in broadband seismometers for scientific earthquake research and geophysics. Their product portfolio consists of three seismometer models: the STS-2.5 (current flagship), STS-2 (legacy, 1991-2010), and STS-1 (legacy, 1981-1991). These are precision 3-component sensors measuring seismic waves from the Earth's interior, used by seismological observatories and research institutions worldwide. The instruments are differentiated by performance class, power consumption, and temperature operating ranges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• STS-2.5 Broadband Seismometer Current flagship triaxial broadband seismometer in Galperin arrangement for permanent seismic stations. Very low self-noise, high clip-level, power-saving design (<450 mW), wide centering-free temperature range (±25 °C), and tenfold improved pressure-fluctuation insensitivity versus the STS-2. Includes RS-232 interface for control and diagnostics. Intended for universities, research institutes, and governmental earthquake monitoring services.
• STS-2 Broadband Seismometer (Legacy) Legacy triaxial broadband seismometer, produced 1991–2010, available in Standard, High Gain, and Low Power versions for permanent seismic stations. Limited support is offered; cables and host boxes are still sold while stock lasts. Used by seismological observatories and research institutions.
• STS-1 Broadband Seismometer (Legacy) Legacy first-of-its-kind broadband seismometer produced 1981–1991. A complete station consists of two horizontal and one vertical sensor with separate control electronics, designed for vault installations. Performance is only surpassed by the STS-6A. No support is offered for this legacy model.

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Kinemetrics Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKinemetrics serves as Streckeisen's strategic partner for global distribution and support. Through this partnership, Kinemetrics maintains representatives in more than 30 countries worldwide. The partnership encompasses sales, technical support, repair services, and access to documentation, manuals, and calibration certificates through Kinemetrics' support portal.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Geosig: Geosig is a Swiss manufacturer of strong-motion accelerographs and seismic monitoring instruments with overlap in earthquake monitoring and structural/seismic instrumentation, though its focus skews toward strong-motion rather than broadband sensing.
• ES&SG (Earthquake Safety Solutions / SYNERGIS): SYNERGIS and similar regional firms supply seismic monitoring hardware, dataloggers, and station installations that compete with Streckeisen for permanent observatory and network deployments in specific regions.

Broad incumbents

• Sercel: Sercel is a large, established seismic acquisition hardware vendor primarily serving oil & gas exploration, but its portfolio of geophysical sensors and seismic recording systems overlaps with the broader seismic instrumentation market in which Streckeisen operates.

Direct peers

• Güralp Systems: Güralp Systems is a UK-based designer and manufacturer of broadband seismometers and strong-motion sensors, directly competing with Streckeisen in the same product category and serving the same seismological research and monitoring customer base.
• Nanometrics: Nanometrics (now including the Trillium broadband seismometer line) is a Canadian manufacturer of broadband and strong-motion seismometers that competes head-to-head with Streckeisen for permanent seismic station deployments at research institutions and national networks worldwide.
• Kinemetrics: Kinemetrics is Streckeisen's strategic distribution and support partner, but is also an independent manufacturer of strong-motion accelerographs and seismic monitoring systems serving overlapping seismology and earthquake engineering customers.
• Reftek (Trimble): Reftek, now part of Trimble, manufactures broadband and strong-motion seismometers and dataloggers used by the same research institutions and seismic networks that purchase Streckeisen instruments, making it a comparable vendor in the same procurement decisions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Streckeisen