The history of the company dates back to 1880.  Like many others, the Ströher family, owners of the Wella company, was hit hard by the expropriation of industrial facilities in central Germany. Immediately after the end of the war, they lost their newly established plant in Apolda/Thuringia and later, in the course of political developments in the Soviet occupation zone, lost their main plant, Franz Ströher OHG, in Rothenkirchen/Vogtland. 

After the end of the war, the Ströher family founded Ondal GmbH at the Hünfeld site. Here the family continued to manufacture former Wella products, including hood dryers, electric hair clippers and barber chairs. The company name Ondal, is derived from the technical term "ondulation" (meaning hair waves).  

In the mid-1950s, Ondal GmbH received a visit from a hairdresser from Würzburg who was looking for a solution for more flexible use of the equipment in his salon.  The drying hoods were fixed to the ACROBAT 57 wall bracket. Since the drying hoods were placed next to the customers, but could only be rotated up to a certain range without damaging the power supply, a possibility for non-stop rotation had to be found.

During the development phase of the 3-pin connector, a prototype dryer hood was installed in a hairdressing salon in Wächtersbach to test the functionality of the product. Coincidentally, there was an engineer who worked on lighting for operating rooms in the salon. 

In 1960, surgical lights were attached to floor stands, and operations were often marred by shadows due to the sub-optimal exposure of a single light source.  Inspired by the flexible Ondal carrying system, the engineer came up with the idea of ​​using a ceiling-mounted main and secondary light to minimize disruptive shadows. In addition, the high mobility of the support arms promised better controllability of the lighting conditions. 

An enormous success story developed from this idea. Wall and ceiling mounted lighting systems quickly began finding their way into operating rooms and medical examination rooms. 

The diameter of the front joint was defined to meet the cable passage requirements at the time: it amounted to 29.3 mm, which was an unusual dimension. Thanks to Ondal's pioneering work, this feature developed into the worldwide standard in operating rooms.  

At the end of the 1970s, Ondal was commissioned by the global company, Siemens, to develop and manufacture support arms with a load capacity of more than 25 kg, enabling electricity and gas supply. From this, the first ceiling supply units with hydraulically driven, height-adjustable arms for operating rooms and intensive care units were developed. This resulted in the world's first swivel stand, which soon became standard equipment in operating rooms around the world.  

Over the next 20 years, Ondal grew to become the leading OEM/ODM manufacturer in the medical device industry. Further developments such as supply brackets and bridges as well as the implementation of a quality management system in accordance with DIN ISO 13485 boosted our growth. 

In the mid-1990s, another pioneering product in medical technology was launched. With the ACROBAT 2000, a new spring arm was introduced that would find its way into 80% of all hospitals worldwide over the next 20 years. 

At the beginning of the 2000s, a new business field was developed: the first suspension arm installations in computed tomography were implemented, again in cooperation with Siemens. This product area grew rapidly in the following years and developed into another mainstay in the Ondal portfolio. 

In 2003, Wella AG was taken over by Procter & Gamble and a subsidiary was founded in Richmond, Virginia. With this expansion step, unrestricted access to the US market and the further distribution of Ondal products became possible. 

With the installation of a medical display system in the heart catheter laboratory of Berlin University Hospital, Ondal entered into the field of medical display systems. These have evolved over the years from surgical solutions to diagnostic solutions for X-ray, CT, angiography and even MRI.

Sustainability and environmental awareness have always been guiding principles of Ondal's work. These principles were officially anchored by the introduction of an environmental management system in accordance with DIN ISO 14001.

Another subsidiary was founded in Suzhou (China), thereby providing access to the rapidly growing Asian medical market.

In 2011, the market launch of the CEMOR monitor systems for the diagnostics sector took place, which played a key role in the ongoing growth of Ondal.  

The HDC system was introduced to enable secure HD/4K video communication.

The MediFamily product range was launched under the motto "Heavy-duty system of the next generation."

The introduction of the first phase of the VALiA support arm systems, the "light/medium-duty system of the next generation," began in 2016. VALiA was developed for simple and complex solutions in the demanding support arm system segment.

The revolutionary Vista monitor carrier was introduced. The ability to position large monitors precisely using very little manual force and with 100% stable position accuracy sparked enthusiasm among Ondal customers.

Today Ondal Medical Systems employs around 500 people at its three locations in Hünfeld, Richmond and Suzhou. All three locations are certified according to ISO 13485. Together with our customers, exciting growth areas are identified time and again and fulfilled with high-quality products.