Laerdal is the company that made medical education different. Instead of 'see one, do one, teach one' future medical doctors today 'learn, practice, improve, repeat' – and all this without harming the real patients! It is here, in this company the world-wide used CPR mannequin Resusci Anne was born.

Elastolin was a trademark of O. & M. Hausser - a company founded in 1904 by Otto and Max Hausser in Ludwigsburg (Baden-Württemberg, Germany). In 1910, the company began producing parlor games and mass-produced figurines. These mostly depicted soldiers and other war toys and were made from ELASTOLIN - a paste of sawdust, casein, glue and kaolin with wire frames in tin moldes. In 1935 the company moved to Neustadt near Coburg in Bavaria. After the Second World War, production was gradually reduced and the company was finally closed down in 1983. The Elastolin figurines had an oval base (not rectangular like their competitor Lineol).

The company Hawksley and Sons was founded in 1869 by Charles Hawksley, in Oxford Street London. The talented founder invented Haemocytometer of his own design. The firm became was one of the of the founding members of the British Surgical Trade Association (today BHTA). It was focused on the Blood counting chambers, and early Blood Pressure devices. William Baum took over the company in 1916. In the post-war years the firm started to produce centrifuges.  

Lineol was one of the leading Germany toy-soldiers manufacturer. The figures were made of LINEOL – combination of linseed oil and tree resin. Besides of military troops there were an extensive collection of the medical personnel – surgeons, combat medics and nurses as well as wounded soldiers. In the 1930s, LINEOL AG employed 300 to 400 people. Today the company operates under the "Lineol Dirk Duscha" brand name.