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About MECCO

Innovative Solutions for Mission-Critical Marking

There are times when a mark is more than a mark. It's the difference between targeted recalls and catastrophic financial loss. It's ensured safety and compliance verses operational shutdown. Companies in life science and medical devices, aerospace and defence, automotive, and other regulated industries choose MECCO when they need superior product marking for demanding industrial environments.

We work with the world's top manufacturers to solve their toughest marking and traceability challenges. See our Success Stories.

Why Choose MECCO

Laser operations team conducting product management meeting

Our Innovations


The term “Innovative Relationships, Innovative Solutions” can seem broad, but it’s been the defining goal of our company. To us, the ideas are symbiotic – we are passionate about partnering with our customers to create novel solutions. This approach has resulted in over a dozen 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 that 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 MECCO, the most common answer is collaboration. For us, it means there’s always someone willing to lend a hand. For our customers, it means you benefit from our wide spectrum of knowledge as we work together to find more holistic solutions.

Meet our team

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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.

In 2002, a group of Pittsburgh business leaders purchased the company and consolidated its divisions into one new name: MECCO Marking & Traceability. Utilizing the company’s long history with high-quality marking equipment and cutting edge technology, MECCO experienced much growth through its focus on cost-effective laser marking and dot peen technologies for workstations, portable marking, and integrated production lines while offering world class customer support. 

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 MECCO’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 MECCO national 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 over 130 Years

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 over a dozen patents. MECCO’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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