# Medi ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Founded | 1951 | | Origin | Germany | | Headquarters | Bayreuth | | Owner | medi SE & Co. KG | | Status | Active | | Previous names | WeCo | | Manufacturing | Germany, USA | | Distribution | Pharmacy | | Website | https://www.medi.de/ | Medi is a German family-owned manufacturer of medical aids, based in Bayreuth, best known for medical compression stockings. The company, which writes its name in lower case as "medi", was founded in 1951 as WeCo by Wolfgang Weihermüller and his cousin Günter Voigtmann [4]. Its product areas today are compression, bandages, orthoses and orthopaedic insoles, alongside the sports brand CEP and the fashion and shapewear brand ITEM m6. Medi is not a cosmetics house, but it sells a small line of leg skin care designed for people who wear compression stockings every day. The company celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2026, the same year it converted its legal structure to an SE & Co. KG. It remains active and in the hands of the founding family's third generation. ## Origin & founders The company's roots lie in Saxony. According to Medi's own history, Albert Weihermüller and Berthold Voigtmann set up the firm Weihermüller & Voigtmann in Pausa, in the Vogtland region, around 1920 [2]. The two families produced hosiery and corsetry there, and the knowledge built up in that business became the starting point for what followed. In 1951, Wolfgang Weihermüller left the German Democratic Republic, the socialist East German state. The company tells the story in some detail: he crossed the border at night near Rudolphstein, carrying components of a valuable knitting machine in his rucksack. Medi's history page notes that taking production machinery out of the GDR could have cost him his freedom. The German Wikipedia account agrees in outline, describing how he moved parts of the knitting machines from his parents' business into West Germany [9]. In Bayreuth, he and his cousin Günter Voigtmann founded WeCo. According to the company, their starting capital was three knitting machines and a working knowledge of elastic knitting. They began producing medical "rubber stockings" in a former dance hall. Production later moved into the company's own premises, and its first building, in the Bayreuth district of St. Johannis, was completed in 1958, largely through the company's own labour. ## History & milestones The first major product came in 1964. That year the company launched the medi stocking, which German Wikipedia describes as the first seamless, highly elastic compression stocking on the market [9]. Medi's own timeline adds a technical detail: the stocking used an uncovered weft thread, meaning the elastic yarn running across the knit was not wrapped in a second fibre. In 1975 followed medi 75, which the company presents as the first compression stocking with a sheer, transparent look. It was developed over the following decades into the present-day mediven elegance line. Expansion abroad began in 1982 with the founding of medi USA, the company's first foreign subsidiary. In 1986 orthopaedics joined phlebology, the medical field dealing with veins, as a second business area. In 1991 the company changed its name from WeCo to medi, and with the new name came a unified umbrella brand across its products. The 1990s and 2000s brought a series of products that Medi describes as firsts. In 1998 it launched the Spinomed back orthosis, which it calls the first back brace with a scientifically proven effect against osteoporosis. In 2000 came mediven travel, presented by the company as the first clinically tested travel stocking. In 2004 Medi introduced fashion colours for medical compression stockings for the first time. These are the company's own descriptions and have not been independently confirmed [2]. From 2007 Medi moved beyond the medical market. That year it launched CEP, a sports brand built on the idea that compression can support performance and recovery. In 2009 the designer Wolfgang Joop showed Medi products in his "Hurt and Heal" show at Paris Fashion Week, the start of a collaboration that lasted several years. In 2011 the company introduced ITEM m6, a fashion brand for hosiery and shapewear. A year later, in 2012, igli carbon insoles came under the Medi umbrella and a new Footcare division was created around them. The company does not state whether this was a purchase or another form of deal. In 2016 Medi went the other way and sold its prosthetics subsidiary, medi prosthetics GmbH, to Össur [2]. Other milestones include the founding of the non-profit medi for help in 2010, which supplies orthopaedic and vein-care aids to people in need in countries including Haiti, India and Rwanda. From 2013 to 2023 Medi was the main and name sponsor of the Bundesliga basketball team medi bayreuth. In 2023 the company opened the medi Tower, an office building in Bayreuth with space for 400 workplaces. In October 2024 it entered a partnership with terraplasma medical focused on the treatment of chronic wounds. The company marked its 70th anniversary in 2021 and its 75th in 2026. According to Medi, around 1,600 employees from Germany and the international subsidiaries gathered at the Bayreuth site for the 2026 celebration. ## Ownership Medi has remained an independent family company since its founding. The second generation was represented by Dr. Michael and Stefan Weihermüller. The third generation began moving into management in 2020, and in 2024 Philipp Schatz and Marcus Weihermüller joined the executive management. Since 2025, according to the company, leadership has again been entirely in family hands, with Philipp Schatz, Marcus Weihermüller and Miriam Weihermüller. The legal form and leadership structure are described differently depending on the source. Medi's legal notice names the operating company as medi SE & Co. KG, with medi Management SE as general partner and a board consisting of Philipp Schatz and Miriam Weihermüller [5]. The company's timeline dates this change to 2026 and adds that Marcus Weihermüller joined a newly created supervisory board. German Wikipedia, by contrast, lists the company as a GmbH & Co. KG with Philipp Schatz, Marcus Weihermüller and Miriam Weihermüller as managing directors [9]. The Wikipedia entry appears to reflect the structure in place before the 2026 conversion. The company is not part of a larger group. It operates three brands of its own: medi for medical products, CEP for sport and ITEM m6 for fashion. ## Philosophy & positioning Medi's brand line is "ich fühl mich besser", German for "I feel better", a phrase it has used in its anniversary campaigns alongside "Since 1951". The company describes its purpose as improving quality of life through medical products and care concepts, and speaks of aiming for the best possible therapy outcomes in medicine and a distinctive body feeling in its sport and fashion lines. Family identity runs through the company's self-presentation. Its board says a family company embodies culture, cohesion and mutual trust, and calls passing these values on to employees "our mission as a family". Medi names pioneering spirit, courage, appreciation and respect as values shared by the founders and the later generations. Co-CEO Philipp Schatz has described innovation as part of the company's DNA rather than a trend. According to the company, 21 percent of its employees have been with Medi for 20 years or more, and more than half for at least ten. Medi also presents itself through sport. The company describes itself as the official health partner of the German Ski Association, a medical cooperation partner of the German national ski teams and the official medical partner of the Olympic training centre in Bavaria. The company frames ITEM m6 as its move into beauty and wellness. It says the brand's compressive hosiery and shapewear visually firm the silhouette and lift the seat while worn, and that collaborations with well-known designers took the products onto major fashion runways. ## Products & innovation Compression remains the core of the business. Medi's medical range covers compression stockings for vein conditions, compression garments for lymphoedema and lipoedema, thrombosis-prevention stockings, bandages, orthoses, orthopaedic insoles, donning aids and digital health applications. German Wikipedia lists the strategic business areas based in Bayreuth as phlebology, orthopaedics, lymphology, wound care and footcare. The company says it holds around 200 product brands and patents. The company's link to personal care is a small leg skin care line for vein and oedema patients. Medi says the products contain ingredients chosen specifically to suit compression therapy [6]. The range has four products: - **medi night**, a skin care product with witch hazel, intended for overnight use - **medi day**, a cooling skin care product with horse chestnut - **medi soft**, a skin care product combining horse chestnut and urea, a common moisturising ingredient - **medi fresh**, a refreshing spray with menthol The company explains the reasoning behind the line on its advice pages. Wearing compression stockings every day can leave the skin dry and itchy, and people with lymphatic conditions have particularly sensitive skin that is prone to dryness, irritation and infection. Medi suggests a cooling gel during the day and a regenerating cream at night, and states that the range should only be used on intact skin. The products are sold through medical-supply specialist retailers. On the technical side, Medi points to several developments. In 2004 it introduced the medi Liner RELAX, a patented silicone liner for amputees that the company calls the world's first silicone liner against phantom pain. That product belonged to the prosthetics business later sold to Össur. In 2020 Medi launched medi Rehab one, a compression stocking designed to prevent and reduce swelling after orthopaedic injuries and operations. In 2021 it presented bow, an insole concept based on the natural windlass mechanism of the foot, a function the company calls new in insole care. Medi has also developed medi vision, a digital tool for taking measurements for compression stockings with almost no physical contact. Medi manufactures in two plants of its own, one in Germany and one in the United States; German Wikipedia places the American plant in North Carolina. The company says it exports to more than 90 countries. ## Recognition Medi's timeline records two dated awards. In 2018 its campaign "Starke Wirkung für starke Frauen" ("Strong effect for strong women"), fronted by the television presenter Barbara Schöneberger, won the Health Media Award [2]. Schöneberger had become brand ambassador for medi and ITEM m6 in 2017. In 2020 the company received the "Top Job" seal, which each year recognises attractive employers among German mid-sized companies. The company's awards page also lists the Red Dot Design Award, the iF Design Award, the German Brand Award, the German Innovation Award and the Plus X Award, without naming the year or the product each was given for [8]. For the 75th anniversary in June 2026, the trade journal MTD (Medizintechnischer Dialog) published an anniversary portrait of the company, according to Medi's own anniversary page. ## Controversies On 25 September 2023 Medi held its first works meeting, a formal all-staff assembly under German labour law, in the company's history. According to German Wikipedia, around 1,350 employees gathered in the Oberfrankenhalle to discuss introducing a works council, an elected body that represents employees in dealings with management. A motion to appoint an election board for a works-council vote received 497 votes and did not win a majority [9]. ## Current status Medi is active. The company reports around 1,800 employees at its Bayreuth headquarters and about 3,000 worldwide. The size of its international network is given differently by source: Medi says it has 25 international subsidiaries [3], while German Wikipedia refers to branches in 24 countries [9]. Alongside its own subsidiaries, the company works with a network of distributors. The most recent documented activity dates from 2026, with the conversion to medi SE & Co. KG, the 75th-anniversary celebration in Bayreuth and the MTD portrait published that June. The company is led by co-CEOs Philipp Schatz and Miriam Weihermüller. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 1920 | Albert Weihermüller und Berthold Voigtmann legen mit der Firma Weihermüller & Voigtmann in Pausa / Vogtland den Grundstein für eine erfolgreiche Zukunft. | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ | | 1951 | Wolfgang Weihermüller und Günter Voigtmann gründen in Bayreuth die Firma WeCo. | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ | | 1964 | Der medi Strumpf wird geboren – als erster, nahtloser, hochelastischer Kompressionsstrumpf mit unumsponnenem Schussfaden. | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ | | 1975 | medi 75 ist der erste Kompressionsstrumpf in transparenter Optik. | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ | | 1982 | medi USA wird gegründet. | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ | | 1986 | Zur Phlebologie kommt der Geschäftsbereich Orthopädie hinzu. | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ | | 1991 | Mit der Umfirmierung in "medi" ändert sich der gesamte Auftritt und die Dachmarke entsteht. | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ | | 2004 | Zum ersten Mal gibt es bei medizinischen Kompressionsstrümpfen von medi Trendfarben. | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ | | 2007 | Leistungssteigerung und schnellere Regeneration für Sportler: CEP, die Sportmarke von medi, wird ins Leben gerufen. | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ | | 2009 | Wolfgang Joop präsentiert medi Produkte in seiner Show „Hurt and Heal“ auf der Pariser Fashion Week – eine mehrjährige, Aufsehen erregende Kooperation beginnt. | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ | | 2011 | ITEM m6, die Fashionmarke von medi, erobert die Modewelt. | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ | | 2012 | igli Carbon-Einlagen gehören jetzt zu medi – der neue Geschäftsbereich Footcare wird gegründet. | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ | | 2016 | Verkauf der medi prosthetics GmbH an Össur. | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ | | 2017 | Die beliebte TV-Moderatorin Barbara Schöneberger wird Markenbotschafterin für medi und ITEM m6. | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ | ## Awards {#belagg-awards} | Year | Awards | Category | Source | |---|---|---|---| | 2018 | Health Media Award 2018 | Campaign 'Starke Wirkung für starke Frauen' with Barbara Schöneberger | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ | | 2020 | Top Job-Siegel 2020 | Employer | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ | | — | Red Dot Design Award | | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/auszeichnungen/ | | — | iF Design Award | | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/auszeichnungen/ | | — | German Brand Award | | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/auszeichnungen/ | | — | German Innovation Award | | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/auszeichnungen/ | | — | Plus X Award | | https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/auszeichnungen/ | ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **mediven elegance (compression stocking)** — medi 75 ist der erste Kompressionsstrumpf in transparenter Optik. Er wurde weiter entwickelt bis zum heutigen mediven elegance. — https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ - **medi day®** — Kühlende Hautpflege mit Rosskastanie — https://www.medi.de/produkte/kompressionsstruempfe/zubehoer/hautpflege/ - **medi night** — Hautpflege mit regenerierender Hamamelis — https://www.medi.de/produkte/kompressionsstruempfe/zubehoer/hautpflege/ - **medi soft** — Hautpflege mit Rosskastanie und Urea — https://www.medi.de/produkte/kompressionsstruempfe/zubehoer/hautpflege/ - **medi fresh** — Erfrischendes Spray mit Menthol — https://www.medi.de/produkte/kompressionsstruempfe/zubehoer/hautpflege/ ## Key ingredients {#belagg-ingredients} Hamamelis (witch hazel) · Rosskastanie (horse chestnut) · Urea · Menthol Source: https://www.medi.de/produkte/kompressionsstruempfe/zubehoer/hautpflege/ ## Proprietary technologies & patents {#belagg-tech} - medi vision (digital tool for near-contactless measuring for compression stockings) · bow (insole concept based on the foot's windlass mechanism) — https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ - medi Liner RELAX (patented silicone liner, 2004) — https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ ## Mentioned in {#belagg-press} - **MTD – Medizintechnischer Dialog (trade journal)** (2026) — Anniversary company portrait for medi's 75th birthday in the June 2026 issue (reported by medi's own site, not fetched). — https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/jubilaeum/ ## Sources 2. (T1) https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/historie/ 3. (T2) https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/ 4. (T2) https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/jubilaeum/ 5. (T2) https://www.medi.de/impressum/ 6. (T2) https://www.medi.de/produkte/kompressionsstruempfe/zubehoer/hautpflege/ 8. (T2) https://www.medi.de/unternehmen/auszeichnungen/ 9. (T3) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medi --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-09-30 Please cite with a link to the article URL.