SICK

Manufacturer information and published contact details

SICK contact details

Head office

Erwin-Sick-Str. 1
79183 Waldkirch
Germany

Telephone +49 7681 202-0

Website sick.com/gb/en

SICK (UK) Ltd

Waldkirch House, 39 Hedley Road
St Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 5BN
United Kingdom

Telephone +44 1727 831121

Email info@sick.co.uk

Web sick.com/gb/en/sick-united-kingdom/w/sick

Show SICK headquarters on the map Open in Google Maps →

Contact details as published by SICK AG, checked 2026-10-30. Specify Motion is not affiliated with SICK AG.

SICK product lines

Who SICK is

SICK AG is a German maker of industrial sensors, headquartered in Waldkirch near Freiburg in south-west Germany. The group is best known for photoelectric sensors, safety laser scanners, light curtains and LiDAR, but it is also a major name in motion control feedback: rotary and linear encoders, and motor feedback systems that servo motor makers build into their motors. For OEM engineers, SICK is often encountered twice: once as the encoder on a standard servo motor, and again as the encoder specified on an axis or measuring wheel.

History and ownership

SICK’s own history traces the company to Erwin Sick, born in Heilbronn in 1909. He became self-employed near Munich in 1945, making opto-electronic devices, and the company that became SICK AG was founded on 26 September 1946. Key steps since then:

• 1954: move to Oberkirch in Baden; 1956: relocation with 25 employees to Waldkirch, still the headquarters.
• 1972 and 1976: first foreign subsidiaries, in France and the USA.
• 1988: Erwin Sick dies and his widow Gisela Sick becomes the primary shareholder.
• 1996: Erwin Sick GmbH converts to an Aktiengesellschaft, SICK AG.
• 1999: first employee shares issued.
• 2011: the EKS/EKM36 motor feedback system with the digital HIPERFACE DSL interface is introduced.

SICK still calls itself an independent family business. Its 2025 results release reports 10,158 employees at 12 December 2025 and 63 subsidiaries and affiliates.

Motion control portfolio

Our series records below give the published figures from the SICK data sheets we read.

Absolute encoders

• The AFS/AFM60 is SICK’s 60 mm absolute family, AFS for single-turn and AFM for multi-turn. The PROFINET version gives 18-bit single-turn and 12-bit multi-turn resolution, 9,000 rpm, IP67 housing and -40 to +85 °C.
• The AHS/AHM36 is the compact 36 mm family for tight spaces and mobile machines. The CANopen version gives 14-bit single-turn and 12-bit multi-turn resolution and IP66/IP67.

Incremental encoders

The DFS60 is a programmable 60 mm incremental encoder. Pulse count (up to 65,536 per revolution), TTL or HTL output and zero-pulse width can all be set after purchase, so one part number can cover several machine variants and act as a spare for many existing encoders. The blind-hollow-shaft version is rated -40 to +100 °C.

Motor feedback systems

The EKS/EKM36 is a compact motor feedback system with HIPERFACE DSL, a purely digital interface that lets the feedback share the motor’s connection (SICK’s version uses a 4-pin connector). It offers 18 or 20-bit single-turn resolution and, in the EKM36, 4,096 revolutions of multi-turn, with operation to 12,000 rpm and -20 to +115 °C. Versions ending “-2” are certified to SIL2 and PL d. HIPERFACE DSL is widely used on one-cable servo motors, so check that your drive supports it before choosing this route.

Technologies and standards

SICK is closely associated with the HIPERFACE family of motor feedback interfaces, and especially HIPERFACE DSL, which reduces the motor connection to a single cable. Other encoder makers, such as RLS with its AksIM-4 HIPERFACE DSL version, now offer the interface too. SICK’s safety-rated motor feedback (SIL2 / PL d) lets drives run functions such as safe speed and safe stop without a second encoder. On the automation side, the data sheets we read cover PROFINET, CANopen and programmable TTL/HTL incremental outputs, and SICK’s AFS/AFM60 family is sold in dedicated Ethernet versions. Our guide to absolute vs incremental encoders and the servo vs stepper guide explain where each fits.

When replacing an existing SICK encoder, quote the full type code and part number from the label (for example DFS60A-BDPC65536, part 1036815), because the code fixes the mounting, shaft, interface and resolution and is the fastest route to a like-for-like match.

Industries served

SICK’s sensors are used throughout factory, logistics and process automation. Its encoders and motor feedback systems appear in servo motors, packaging and printing machines, conveyors and intralogistics, cranes and mobile machinery, and robotics, alongside SICK’s safety and vision products in the same cells. Relevant market pages include packaging and food and AGV/AMR intralogistics.

Global and UK presence

From Waldkirch, SICK runs 63 subsidiaries and affiliates and numerous agencies worldwide. In Britain, SICK (UK) Ltd is one of the oldest subsidiaries: registered on 7 November 1973 as Erwin SICK Optic Electronic Ltd, it began in Radlett, moved to St Albans in 1979, opened its current building in 1985, was renamed SICK (UK) Limited in 2005 and marked its 50th anniversary in 2023. UK engineers can buy SICK encoders from SICK (UK) directly or through its regional sales network.

What to send when specifying a SICK encoder

Give the mounting (face mount, servo or clamping flange, solid or hollow shaft and diameter), single-turn or multi-turn, resolution, interface, supply, speed, IP and temperature. For motor feedback, add the motor shaft (taper or bore), the drive’s feedback protocol and any safety integrity level needed.

Specify Motion is independent of SICK. Our engineers can help source SICK encoders or propose equivalents from our supply network on published figures; see find a replacement or the encoders hub.

SICK history: key dates

1. 1946Company founded by Erwin Sick on 26 September, near Munich
2. 1956Moves with 25 employees to Waldkirch
3. 1972First foreign subsidiary founded, in France
4. 1973UK company registered as Erwin SICK Optic Electronic Ltd
5. 1996Erwin Sick GmbH converts to SICK AG
6. 2005UK company renamed SICK (UK) Limited
7. 2011EKS/EKM36 motor feedback system with HIPERFACE DSL introduced
8. 2025Group reports 10,158 employees at 12 December 2025

SICK encoders

Optical absolute encoder

AFS/AFM60

60 mm single-turn (AFS) and multi-turn (AFM) absolute encoder family; the PROFINET version gives 18-bit single-turn and 12-bit multi-turn resolution, 9,000 rpm, IP67 housing and -40 to +85 °C.

Optical absolute encoder

EKS/EKM36

Compact HIPERFACE DSL motor feedback system with 18 or 20-bit single-turn resolution and 4,096-revolution multi-turn (EKM36), 12,000 rpm, -20 to +115 °C, and SIL2 / PL d safety versions.

Optical incremental encoder

DFS60

60 mm programmable incremental encoder with up to 65,536 pulses per revolution, switchable TTL/HTL output and programmable zero-pulse width; the blind-hollow-shaft version is rated IP67 housing, 6,000 rpm and up to +100 °C.

Magnetic rotary encoder

AHS/AHM36

Compact 36 mm single-turn (AHS) and multi-turn (AHM) absolute encoder; the CANopen version gives 14-bit single-turn and 12-bit multi-turn resolution, IP66/IP67, 6,000 rpm and -40 to +85 °C.