SECUMAR – unique through consistent research and innovation
Many companies have made safety at sea their area of work. However, hardly any of them have approached the subject with such high requirements and with such sound scientific knowledge as Bernhardt Apparatebau GmbH & Co from Holm, near Hamburg, Germany which for more than 50 years now has manufactured the most innovative lifesaving equipment under the brand name of SECUMAR. Logically consistent research and demand for top quality has helped Bernhardt Apparatebau attain a world leading position in this field.
The starting point for this unique development was the foundation research carried out by the company’s founder, Jost Bernhardt. His father Karl Bernhardt had been manufacturing diving equipment since 1926, so Jost Bernhardt decided to turn to the area of emergency sea rescue equipment after the war.
The tragic loss of the training sailing ship “Pamir”, with the loss of 80 men, even though some were wearing lifejackets, had left its mark on him, so in 1957 Jost Bernhardt intensified his research into the physics of the principle of floating. His publications “Zur Problematik der Schwimmweste” and “Der Mensch im Medium Wasser” (1958/1959) analyzed the techniques known at that time, uncovered their weaknesses and formed the basis for the construction of far more effective lifesaving equipment. The first milestone came in 1958 with the introduction of a lifejacket that could protect its wearer from drowning even when unconscious.
There followed a period of research and development which was just as consistent as it was continuous and led to constantly improved and innovative products. In 1964 there was a significant thrust forward when the German Navy decided on the SECUMAR MRS 3 as their standard lifejacket. The German Army and Naval Forces of many other nations have shown confidence in SECUMAR lifejackets ever since.
Likewise the research efforts brought a further outstanding event, the licensing of the SECUMAR BS 8, a compact, fully automatically inflated lifejacket that was activated through contact with water. Initially developed for inland waterway navigation, this concept also lead to a breakthrough in leisure boating use.
As a result, the technology of the lifejackets has become more and more refined: the construction of the automatic release mechanisms, already in their fifth generation, has become more robust and by means of a ‘traffic-light system’ increasingly fool-proof. The buoyancy chambers have become more durable due to new materials and processes and their airtight properties more reliable and the complete lifejackets have become more efficient because of shape, design and additional components such as emergency beacons and spray hoods.
The company is certified in accordance with ISO 9001:2008, has a team of 100 specialists and an annual turnover which amounts to a double-digit million-Euro figure. Through its cooperation with international sea rescue services and many industrial, commercial and leisure users, it has not only an intensely thorough view of present practice, but also places great demands for the future on research, development and design of all product components.
The company’s philosophy is to continuously develop tailor-made solutions in lifesaving equipment to meet existing and future customer requirements for equipment to protect them from drowning in any given situation.
There is never a 100 percent guarantee when one is exposed to the powers of nature. However, Bernhardt Apparatebau strives constantly to obtain the closest possible proximity to this 100 percent target.
Virtual tour secumar
A walk through the production facility.
A picture says more than a thousand words – so we invite you to have a look over the shoulder of our production staff as they go about their business.
Welcome to our company headquarters in Holm, near Hamburg, Germany.
The warehouse, where all the parts and materials for the manufacture of lifejackets are checked and stored.
Every CO2 cylinder is automatically and individually checked before fixing it into the lifejacket firing mechanism.
Many small parts comprise the lifejacket firing mechanism. Here the manual and automatic features are being 100% quality controlled.
Tailors and technical experts work in the R&D department to develop the optimum lifejacket.
A human replica test dummy is lowered into the test pool …
… to see if the inflated lifejacket will hold the casualty above water.
Measuring the flotation potential of the inflated bladder in Newtons (N).
Extremely abrasion resistant laminated cloth for the swim bladder is CNC cut for added accuracy.
The finished welded swim bladders have reflective strips attached and are then test inflated for 16 hours.
The first phase of the destructive burst test. Swim bladders are inflated in a sound-proof chamber until …
… they burst! Sensitive measuring equipment tests the pressure at which they fail.
German quality at work! The firm employs its own sewing room.
A steady hand; the lifejacket outer cover is carefully stitched.
The firing mechanism is mounted on the swim bladder …
… using a computer-controlled torque wrench.
Servicing is important. The lifejacket is stripped to its component parts and individually checked.
Lifejackets during the test
Servicing: the firing mechanism is at the heart of every inflatable lifejacket – small metal discs are used to check the strength of the firing spring.
The lifejackets are folded and packed.
Lots of employees and lots of products but with only one goal – your safety on the water!
Quality Management DIN EN ISO 9001:2008
With the awareness that SECUMAR rescue equipment is to save life in an emergency, we at SECUMAR have always placed the greatest priority on reliability and quality of our products. Since 1994 the company has held the certification from the “Germanischer Lloyd Certification GmbH ” (GL) which sets the highest requirements for quality management systems, the DIN EN ISO 9001:2008. With the fulfillment of this standard SECUMAR possesses a forerunner position within the water sports sector.
The consumer who decides on a product from a company tested in accordance with DIN EN ISO 9001:2008 can be sure that this company has installed all the technical, organizational and staffing prerequisites not only in order to produce a flawless product which satisfies customer requirements, but also to provide good servicing and a good customer service.
Three examples of the large SECUMAR quality program:
- Already the suppliers are part of the quality cycle. Only with flawless components can you produce flawless lifejackets. To this end SECUMAR has an Incoming goods check kitted out with the most modern checking equipment where all component deliveries are subjected to a very exact test.
- Each newly developed lifejacket is, in the course of its development, subjected to a detailed developmental test program. In order to carry out these tests, we have at our disposal laboratory equipment such as a climate simulation cabinet, traction dynamometer, pressure gauge and spray water unit.
- The manufacture of SECUMAR-lifejackets is not only under constant supervision by trained testing staff, but also documented by a computer supported Quality Assurance Program (CAQ). Every important working and testing stage can also be proven years later by means of computer recorded data.
In order to determine whether the SECUMAR Quality Program is maintained in conformity with DIN EN ISO 9001:2008, GL and public institutions regularly carry out checks on conformity to standards.
Together with all our staff the SECUMAR Quality Program joins an ever developing Quality Circuit with the primary aim of placing our customers at the centre of all our efforts in accordance with our yardstick and company goal No. 1:
Satisfied customers through quality.
