Company data
Legal form: GmbH & Co KG
Foundation: 1951
Founder: Alfred Gebauer
Registered office: Geneststraße 6-10, 10829 Berlin
Management: Sebastian Gebauer, Dr Niklas Gebauer, Dr Steffen Gebauer
Number of employees: around 500 (2023)
Sector: Medical technology
Telephone (head office): +49 (0)30 75 79 11-0
E-mail: Info@melag.de
The company
MELAG develops and produces devices for cleaning, disinfecting, sterilising and documenting the reprocessing of medical devices. The product portfolio includes thermal disinfectors, autoclaves, sealing devices, water treatment systems, software solutions and accessories for monitoring reprocessing processes.
The systems are used in the following areas of application in particular:
Dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery (maxillofacial surgery) and orthodontics (orthodontics)
General medicine
surgery
gynaecology
urology
Dermatology
Ear, nose and throat medicine (ENT)
Ophthalmology
orthopaedics
veterinary medicine
Podiatry and medical chiropody
Nail, beauty, tattoo and piercing studios
The products are primarily used in medical and dental practices, medical care centres, clinics and specialised hygiene areas.
The headquarters and the central development and production site are located in the Tempelhof-Schöneberg district of Berlin on an area of 25,000 square metres. Around 500 employees work there, including around 150 engineers in research and development. According to the company, MELAG products are supplied to more than 120 countries. To date, over 700,000 devices have been delivered worldwide.
History of the company
Foundation and early years (1951-1954)
MELAG goes back to the company Gebauer & Co. founded in Berlin on 1 May 1951. Founder Alfred Gebauer pursued the goal of specialising in hygiene in medical and dental practices. In the post-war period, the company focused early on technical solutions for the sterilisation of medical instruments.
Production of the first devices began as early as 1952. Due to the limited availability of materials, aluminium bread tins were used as housings. The first hot air steriliser "Type C1" was created on this basis.
The brand name MELAG was registered in1953. The name is made up of the words medicine, laboratory and equipment.
In 1954, MELAG developed the "Type R" autoclave, the first practice autoclave with automatic ventilation. This development was based on the transfer of hospital technologies to the private practice sector and led to the company's first patent.
Expansion as a family business (1973-1994)
In 1973, Dr Steffen Gebauer, son of the company founder, joined the management team after completing his training and working in other industrial companies. This ensured the continuation of the company as an owner-managed family business in the second generation.
In the following years, the focus was on the further development of sterilisation processes and specialisation in practice hygiene.
Technological development and internationalisation (1995-2009)
In 1995, MELAG introduced the "Vacuklav 31" practice autoclave. The device had a fractionated pre-vacuum for sterilising complex loads such as hollow bodies and textiles. A patented air-cooled vacuum system enabled operation without cooling water.
A new generation of autoclaves with patented double chamber technology followed in 2004, which enabled shorter cycle times with consistent steam quality.
Development into a system provider (from 2010)
After several years of development work, MELAG launched the "MELAtherm 10" thermal disinfector on the market in 2010. The company thus expanded its portfolio into a system solution for instrument reprocessing, consisting of autoclaves, washer disinfectors, water treatment, sealing technology and software for documentation and approval.
Market position and third generation (2015-2019)
In 2015, MELAG achieved a leading market position in the field of instrument reprocessing for medical and dental practices. The products were used in over 100 countries.
On 1 January 2019, the management team was expanded to include Dr Niklas Gebauer and Sebastian Gebauer. Since then, the company has been run by the third generation as a fully family-run business.
International expansion and new systems (from 2020)
In 2020, MELAG opened a branch in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to strengthen its presence in the Asian market.
In 2021, MELAG launched the "Careclave" system, which combines the process steps of cleaning, disinfection, care and sterilisation in one device. The development took around nine years and involved investments of over 22 million euros.
Dr Steffen Gebauer also celebrated his 50th anniversary as Managing Partner in 2023. Under his leadership, MELAG developed from a company with a turnover of around DM 2 million to an internationally active medical technology manufacturer with a turnover of around 100 million euros.
Products
MELAG's product portfolio includes, among others:
MELAtherm: Thermal disinfectors according to DIN EN ISO 15883
MELAseal: rotary and bar sealers
Vacuclave: Class B and S small autoclaves in accordance with DIN EN ISO 13060
Cliniclave: Large autoclaves in accordance with DIN EN ISO 285
Careclave: Combi autoclave for the preparation and care of contra-angle handpieces, ZEG tips and prophylaxis handpieces
MELAcontrol: Test specimens and test systems for autoclaves, sealing devices and thermal disinfectors
MELAdem: Water treatment systems for autoclaves and thermodisinfectors
MELAfol: Sterilisation packaging according to EN 868-5 as rolls and pouches
MELAstore: Sterilisation containers and containers for instrument sets
MELAtrace: Software for documentation and approval
MELAprint: Printer for labelling packaged instruments
