Davis and Geck Company.

The Davis and Geck Company was founded in 1909 by Charles T. Davis and Fred A. Geck. Geck was experienced in the marketing of sutures from his experience with another company, Van Horn and Sawtell . Charles Davis already owned his own medical supply company. The company's two other founders were Frank C. Bradeen, Vice President, and Benjamin F. Hirsch, as secretary. After only a few months, Fred Geck withdrew from the company as he did not have the requisite knowledge to assist in suture manufacture. Bradeen left the company after only two years. Benjamin Hirsch remained with the company up until the 1950s, and was responsible for much of the company's marketing strategy and for securing several patents. It should be noted that the company's first production facility was in the back room of a livery stable located on Carleton Avenue in Brooklyn, NY .

In 1909, the year that the Davis and Geck Company was founded, most hospitals were sterilizing their own catgut sutures, frequently through the use of a chemical solution. The process was imperfect, and frequently resulted in infections or operative delays. In 1913 the Davis and Geck Company introduced the Calustro-thermal process for the heat sterilization of suture tubes after the sutures were sealed inside. This provided hospitals with a reliable product, and saved time in the operating room as well.

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