1868
Craftsman Ludvík Sigmund establishes a pump company in Lutín. He starts with the manufacture of wooden floor pumps. The company soon gains a reputation in the field of pump production, well drilling and the construction of water supply systems.
1922
Registration of the trademarks „SIGMA“ and „Neptunův trojzubec“. In the late 1920s, the company named Sigmund Pumpy is the largest manufacturer of pumping technology in Czechoslovakia, with branches in 24 countries around the world.
1935
With the war looming, the Sigmund family founds a new company in Lutín called Chema, s.r.o., which is engaged in the research, production and sale of products for protection against war gases and anti-aircraft protection products. They specializes in the production of breathing masks, protective filters for masks and filtration devices.
1938
Chema acquires a status of special importance for the defence of the state in civilian and military protection against gases. The daily production of protective filters is up to ten thousand pieces. The product range is expanded with disinfectants, sanitation aids, chemical warfare detectors, plastics and vulcanizing agents. New production halls and laboratories are built in Lutín. Branches in France and Jugoslavia begin to operate.
1948
During the German occupation administration, Chema was merged with a pump company for arms production, and the company Sigmund – Chema was established, which was nationalized after the war; as a national company, Sigma resumed the production of pumps and protective filters under the SIGMA brand in 1948. In 1954 it also began producing breathing masks, and in 1956 the Research Center for Respiratory Technology in Prague was incorporated into the filter and mask production department.
1962
Production begins in a new production hall for respiratory technology. Sigma now only specializes in the production of protective filters, and it begins mass production of a new series of small protective filters (MOF) with a body made of sheet metal, which provide protection against unpleasant war gases and industrial organic and inorganic chemicals in various modifications.
1976
A structurally new, 4th generation MOF-4 protective filter with a light body made of AlMg5 alloy and a combined filter insert for protection against a wide range of solid, liquid and gaseous substances is created.
1997
The latest generation of the combined protective filter MOF-6, with protection extended to gaseous substances containing sulfur oxides and ammonia, enters serial production. This generation has a new plastic body, and it uses top-notch filtration components that meet all applicable European standards.
1998
Based on the requirements of the Army of the Czech Republic, a new type of protective filter for military use labelled OF-90 is developed. The light and highly durable plastic filter contains a unique filtration material that provides protection against a wide range of unpleasant war gases, bacteria and viruses. The filter meets all requirements for use in NATO armies.
2003
Production of the P3 particle protective filter (in the P3 R variant it can be reused) begins; this filter is primarily intended for the civilian sector. The hydrophobic filtration insert in a slim, light plastic body provides protection against dust, pollen, aerosols, bacteria and viruses.
2006
The production of top-notch protective filter OF-02 CBRN begins. This is an improved version of the filter MOF-6 with extended protection against mercury gases and vapours.
2013
Research and development of frame filters for stationary ventilation and filtration units with a capacity of 40-50 m3/h is conducted; these filters are intended for collective protection of persons in rooms and buildings against chemical and biological substances in the air (including radioactive substances) affecting the civilian population, e.g. as a result of environmental accidents, combat or terrorist attacks.
2020
A new comfort filter bodies with a unique shape is developed and OF-90 NBC filter, based on the OF-90 military protection filter is certified.
2023
The new + series for extremely low breathing resistance, which is up to 35% lower compared to conventional filters.