History

It started in a tiny workshop
The story of Haag-Streit began in a tiny workshop, in the city-center of Bern, in the year 1858. Two friends - F. Hermann and H. Studer - founded a small business for mechanical precision work.

The first remarkable success was achieved in 1867 when Haag-Streit won the contract to manufacture and supply meteorologic measuring instruments to the weather station of the central observatory in St. Petersburg, Russia.
A few years later the company made its first steps in the field of ophthalmology but success was, at first, slow to come. But then a collaboration with Prof. Dr. Hans Goldmann, from the University of Bern, brought the breakthrough. 

Goldmann, in cooperation with the Haag-Streit precision mechanics, developed measurement methods and specialist instruments, which still today rank high amongst the standard techniques and essential instruments of every ophthalmologist.

To provide a crucially needed presence in the US market, Haag-Streit founded in 1965 a subsidiary in New Jersey, USA.

In the early seventies Haag-Streit acquired an optical precision supplier, Spectros AG, Switzerland, to assure and improve their supply of the high quality optics integral to their slit lamps and other optical products.

Further acquisitions followed in order to complete the product range for medical professionals and improve access to the US market, especially to the Universities.

Today, eight production companies - Haag-Streit AG, Spectros AG, Möller-Wedel GmbH, Clement Clarke Int. Ltd., John Weiss Ltd., Ipro GmbH, Möller-Wedel Optical GmBH and Reliance Inc.- and four distribution units, in Europe and the USA, belong to the group and form the uniqueness of Haag-Streit.