About Brady (formerly MECCO)
Innovative Solutions for Mission-Critical Marking
Companies in life science and medical devices, aerospace and defence, automotive, and other regulated industries choose Brady when they need superior product marking and traceability solutions for demanding industrial environments.
As part of Brady Corporation, we make products that make the world a safer and smarter place. We are a global leader in safety, identification and compliance solutions for a diverse range of workplaces. From the depths of the ocean to outer space, from the factory floor to the tool room — we’re just about everywhere you look.
See our Success Stories.
As part of Brady Corporation, we make products that make the world a safer and smarter place. We are a global leader in safety, identification and compliance solutions for a diverse range of workplaces. From the depths of the ocean to outer space, from the factory floor to the tool room — we’re just about everywhere you look.
See our Success Stories.
Why Choose Brady
Our Innovations
We don’t just make products — we create partnerships that result in innovative laser and pin marking solutions. This approach has resulted in several industry patents, including SMARTmark® Safety Seal Enclosures, EtherMark® Integration Solution, and WinLase® Software.
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Our Quality
There is zero room for equipment failure. Our products are meticulously sourced and engineered with precision in the USA for ultimate durability.
Our Team
When we ask our team members what stands out to them about working at Brady, the most common answer is collaboration. For our customers, that means you benefit from our wide spectrum of knowledge and products that result in more holistic solutions.
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Our Story
Making Our Mark for Over a Century
A Part Identification Company is Born
MECCO was founded in 1889 as M.E. Cunningham Company and incorporated in 1906. The company produced rubber stamps/sundries until 1924, when Frank Speicher Sr. bought controlling interest and introduced steel stamp and other metal marking product manufacturing. After a fire destroyed the Pittsburgh plant and office in 1936, it was decided that the company would be rebuilt as a metal marking manufacturer. Influencing this decision was an exclusive license agreement obtained for the use of patented alloy shock steel for making steel hand stamps.
Safety Advances
In the 1940s, the “MECCO SAFETY” trademark was introduced for the special heat treat of the stamps, which provided a very important non-spalling and non-mushrooming of the heads. This line of products enabled the company to develop an excellent reputation as a manufacturer of top quality marking tools, and focus began to shift toward designing and manufacturing made-to-order marking fixtures and machines for special product applications.In the early 1950s, the company designed the 701-RCW, a slab and bloom marker that could be operated from a distance. Developed for the first computer-operated strip mill in the United States at the Jones and Laughlin Steel Plant in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, 701-RCW markers gained interest at the Iron and Steel Engineer’s Exposition and more than 125 would be installed in steel mills throughout the world.
Dot Marking Evolves
The 1980s and 1990s saw an evolution of dot marking technology, with the Bloom Marker and Dot-A-Mark systems for various steel mill applications. In the wake of the steel industry decline, MECCO introduced commercial designs of the Dot-A-Mark. In 1991, we were granted a patent for indenting a bar code into the surface of an object.
The development of dot matrix systems in 1991 included the X-Y operating systems which allowed for portable machine application, adaptation to manufacturing cells, and a variety of mounting procedures.
By 1992, a strategic partnership with Couth provided an important addition to the multi-pin Dot-A-Mark systems – single pin marking. Their MC-2000, a single pin, computer-operated marking system, was made available in North America through MECCO’s exclusive distributor rights for all Couth products.
Two years later, we partnered with Sensis Corporation to automatically scan and read Bumpy Bar Codes. The companies worked together to develop markets for this system, leading to installations at companies like John Deere, Caterpillar, and Cummins Engine.
Leading the Automation Evolution with Traceability
Through acquiring Sensis’ reader division in 2000, the company was able to create a patented indent marking package that included the SP-202 Barcode Marker and fixed-mount and hand-held bar code readers.Other direct part marking methods, including molding and casting, laser, embossing, and engraving, were added to the product mix. Combining these with the reader and data collection capabilities, the company was able to pioneer traceability solutions in harsh environments where other symbologies and technologies were unable to perform.
Taking Innovation to the Next Level
In 2025, MECCO was acquired by Brady Corporation, a global leader in safety, identification and compliance solutions for a diverse range of workplaces. With MECCO and Brady’s engraving solutions team, opportunity abounds as the demand from organizations to mark products continues to rise and spread to a wide range of industries.
On the product development front, we launched into a new era of marking and traceability technology advancements. Our first laser, the Safety Seal, which was granted a patent in 2014, created a space-saving solution to achieve Class I laser safety with a minimal footprint. This innovation paved the way for the expanded line of both laser and dot peen marking products that we offer today.
Our engineered solutions – customized and integrated turnkey systems for a variety of industries and production environments – make us truly unique, as does Brady's EtherMark. This revolutionary patented innovation is the first of its kind to enable marking devices to integrate via industry-standard EtherNet/IP protocol, eliminating the many hours of custom programming traditionally required.
These pioneering developments have earned Brady inational and global recognition. In 2014, we were accepted as a Rockwell Automation Technology Partner for our EtherMark-enabled products. In 2016, we were named Manufacturer of the Year by the Pittsburgh Business Times and also received a U.S. Department of Commerce's Export Achievement Award.
Envisioning the Future of Traceability
Since our founding, we’ve had the privilege of working with a number of steel mills and manufacturers to develop marking innovations that have resulted in several patents. Brady's extensive experience gives us a greater understanding of the marking needs of today while providing a unique vision for developing the technologies of the future.
Our Partners & Certifications
To be the best, you have to align yourself with the premier companies in your industry. We're proud to work with some of the best manufacturing companies in the world to deliver superior solutions for our customers.
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