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Our History

Birth of the SECO Laboratory 

 

SECO’s story began in the 1970s in a garage in Arezzo, Italy, where Daniele Conti and Luciano Secciani, just into their twenties, were – unbeknownst to them – getting ready to invent the future. 

 

Ever since childhood, they shared an innate passion for electronics and a distinct entrepreneurial spirit. As they grew up together, they realized that their hobby could become something bigger. An electronic car ignition kit sold to the local mechanic was hiding a revelation: there was a market for electronic solutions, an opportunity ready to be seized. And so, the first SECO electronics laboratory was born in April 1979. 

 

The days went by, full of new experiments and increasingly ambitious projects, from small systems for manufacturers of goldsmith’s machines to solutions dedicated to the world of transportation. It took just 10 years for Daniele and Luciano to become established producers in the electronics industry, but their ambition was great, and their gaze already set on new goals. 

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From SECO SYSTEM 210 to the First Industrial PC

 

Intrigued by Personal Computers arriving from overseas, Daniele and Luciano created SECO SYSTEM 210, the first computer with the SECO name which, showcased at the SMAU convention, was nominated for the "Best Design" award among the most innovative products. This was the springboard for SECO SYSTEM 210, which reached the market that same year. 

 

Determined to explore new territories, Daniele and Luciano abandoned the enterprise of a "PC Made in Italy" to follow a new insight: the world of computers and electronics were destined to merge. Thus, the idea of transferring the experience acquired with the PC to industry emerged, bringing about the creation of the planet’s first Eurocard-format industrial PC. 

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From Ellipse to UDOO

 

 

The years to come were studded with milestones.1999 saw the presentation of Ellipse, the first all-in-one touch PC designed to develop, create, and test product prototypes.  

 

In 2008, SECO consolidated its presence in the embedded market: together with Congatec and MSC, it founded the Qseven Consortium and the Qseven standard, which quickly became a worldwide de facto standard. In 2012 SECO was among the founding members of SGET (Standardization Group for Embedded Technologies) and, during the following three years, it initiated an internationalization process with the opening of new commercial offices in Germany, the USA, India, and Taiwan. 

 

Thanks to its partnership in 2013 with AiDiLAB, a spin-off of the Univerity of Siena dedicated to interaction design and IoT, whose acquisition by SECO group would be completed in 2019, SECO gave life to UDOO. UDOO is the open-source single-board computer designed for the world of makers and professional developers, around which a strong community of digital artisans from all over the world quickly developed. 

 

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New Investments and Managerialization

 

Following a significant managerialization process, Massimo Mauri - now CEO - joined the board of directors of SECO, accelerating the company's growth and internationalization. He played a strategic role in evolving the business model with the aim of creating greater value for customers. 

 

In 2018, the FII Tech Growth fund, promoted by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and managed by Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR, entered SECO with a €10 million investment with the goal of helping SECO grow in the hi-tech sector and consolidate its market both at home and abroad. 

 

In this context, the acquisition of Fannal Electronics in June 2019 was significant. Fannal is a Chinese company specializing in human-machine interaction technologies, particularly in the production of high-quality touchscreens, which are fundamental for creating industrial products that met the growing demand for integrated solutions. 2019 also marked the acquisition of InHand Electronics, a US-based company specializing in customized embedded hardware, software, and device solutions for portable, interactive, networked, and IoT applications. 

 

2019 also marked the Group’s 40th anniversary and saw the opening of the new Arezzo headquarters - nearly 97,000 square feet built according to the highest standards of innovation and energy efficiency. 

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Internationalization and business expansion

 

2021 was an eventful year for SECO. The convergence of IoT, data orchestration, and data analytics capabilities, strengthened by the recent acquisitions of Ispirata and Hopenly, gave birth to Clea, an IoT analytics software platform that enables customers to unlock the potential of data within their devices. Clea users can analyze data in real-time to increase their profitability and launch new business models based on value-added services. 

 

During the year, SECO further expanded its capabilities with the acquisition of the American company ORO Networks. This acquisition enhanced the Group's expertise in the development of Artificial Intelligence algorithms, contributing to increasing the value of the products and solutions offered to customers. 

 

In May, SECO completed its listing on the Euronext STAR Milan segment of the Italian Stock Exchange. With this historic step, the company aimed at raising funds for investment in growth and development, accelerating its mission to become a global industry leader. 

 

2021 closed with another strategic operation: the acquisition of the Garz & Fricke Group, specializing in the development and implementation of hardware and software solutions for the Industrial Internet of Things, with a strong expertise in HMI design. This operation aligned with the strategic plan to create a leading Group in the IoT-AI and edge computing world at the European and global levels, incorporating key competencies and technologies to continue delivering the highest quality and service standards to its customers. 

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Expansion of partnership network

 

In addition to corporate acquisitions, SECO expanded its network of partners to combine the specific expertise of leading companies in their respective verticals with its in-house edge, IoT, and AI development capabilities, with the goal of developing increasingly advanced technological products. Through the partnership with Camozzi Digital, SECO accelerates its growth in the Industrial Internet of Things market, offering solutions that enable industrial companies to incorporate value-added functionalities and real-time monitoring to their production lines. New collaborations extend the Group's offerings to the cybersecurity, sensor technology, and smart cities sectors. Intelligent infrastructure management and smart buildings, environmental monitoring, device and application security are just some of the goals of cooperation within the network, making digital innovation a driving force towards a more virtuous society, environment, and business model.

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Looking toward the Future of Innovation

The creative vision of electronics in the early 80s has turned out to be extremely far-sighted: today, SECO is a point of reference in the high-tech sector, developing and providing services and solutions that enable customers to accelerate their digital transformation by introducing Edge Computing, IoT, data analytics, and artificial intelligence into their businesses.

 

Today, the demand for innovation, object interconnection, and data analysis is shaping the behavior of companies and individuals at a speed that, until a few years ago, was inconceivable. This is just the beginning of a digital revolution that is destined to last for many years. SECO, with passion and determination, stands ready to seize the enormous growth opportunities that arise from it, to create added value for its customers, and to propel them into the future with new services and products. This is the future for SECO, who can find endless ways to reach it.

 

Much has changed since the 1970s in that garage, but today, just like in that April of 1979, the SECO team continues to passionately pursue the desire for innovation, looking towards a digital, sustainable, and intelligent future.