1968 was the year SEA launched the first prototype of an optical colour sorter for rice onto italian market. Its immediate success led sea to search for new markets in Europe and to develop sorting machines for other product as well, ranging from dried fruits to legumes and other products, even non-foodstuffs.

In 1989, the newly developed technologies paved the way for access to the recycling industry, which resulted in the manufacture of sorting machines specifically designed for plastic and glass. Since 2004 the separator by resonance has been a new feature of SEA's production, and has found increasing favour with the markets that have been approached.

SEA SRL, focusing on the development and production of sorting machines working in monochrome, bychrome, IR, UV, resonance and others, has come to be a fundamental reference point for an increasing number of operators in different production fields all over the world.