The Company

History

1973/74: I first got in contact with electro acupuncture at the suggestion of an acquainted medical student. I soon developed my company philosophy: Manufacturing of durable high quality products without wasting resources like material, energy, time and manpower. This has proved to be successful until today by keeping the customers satisfied. First-generation devices are still in use, functioning failure-free. When we tried to buy some back in order to pass them on to "newcomers", it didn't work. We received comments such as "I'll never give this machine back."

Until 1975: First tangible developments of EAP devices.

1st January 1975: Founding of the company Eberhard Bäuerle Medizintechnik CUTATEST Elektroakupunkturgeräte in Mühlacker. Place of production is the neighbouring village Lomersheim.

Until 1979: Selling and distributing the equipment by ourselves.

From 1981 (till today): Worldwide distribution by Reckeweg.

1985: Development and production of the electro acupuncture device CUTATEST 3B. Self-organized distribution and distribution by a dealer who, among other countries, supplied the South American market. Friends are working as mechanics producing electrode accessories and manufacturing other mechanical parts. I myself have been doing development, purchasing, production, quality control, customer contacts etc. until today.

1986: Development and production of the CUTATEST LED searching and measurement stylus.

1988 Outsourcing the assembly of printed circuit boards. (You can't do all by yourself.)

Until 1992: Construction of miscellaneous products for individual customers, small series of pocketable magnetic field measuring devices, LED point searching and measurement styluses, stimulation current devices designed to be used with acupuncture needles, high voltage field devices, etc.

13-6-1998: "Key date" of the so-called Medizinproduktegesetz (medical products law). From now on only such devices may be sold by dealers that have already been put in circulation. There is a transitional period of 2 years. This causes an intense increase of production during spring 1998, followed by a sudden stop for the well-established 2A and 3B devices and for all individually customized products.

1998: Development of the new 1A machine. The intention is to produce a computer aided all-rounder. Initially a DOS software is being developed. A new and complicated legal situation has to be taken account of, with serious consequences for the company: Two years of "non-profit" work plus two mighty folders of the required product documentation of "certified specification". This is followed by an "ISO certification" according to the medical products directive EN 46003. All has to be done on our own account with little (but expensive) assistance.

From 1999 onward: Mechanical parts like electrodes are being manufactured by the Life Aid organisation in Mühlacker-Lomersheim, a local organization that helps disabled persons.

2000: The CUTATEST 1A is introduced to the market in cooperation with the Dr. Reckeweg Company. My nephew Michael creates the first home page. In 2000 you still have some freedom of how to handle a business. This will change soon, see below.

2002: In spring the new Windows software for the CUTATEST 1A has been completed.

2003: Development of the "smaller brother" of the CUTATEST 1A, the CUTATEST 3A. This machine is the successor of the above mentioned 2A, but developed according to the new legal requirements. Now follows the "small task" of a product documentation of some 350 pages. Increased bureaucracy and regimentation have changed the situation completely. It is no longer possible to keep the production going without a major amount of paper work. I am making a digression, but I want to mention the fact that many medical enterprises have to limit down their product variety or even completely close down. Thus some 30.000 naturopathic specialties have disappeared from the market, meaning irreversible damage.

2004: Moving with the company, the new address is: Eckenweiherstr. 27 in 75417 Mühlacker.

2005: This new homepage is being created.

New production place. This is where the Cutatest electro acupuncture devices are being manufactured.

Responsible author: Eberhard Bäuerle