COMPANYHISTORIES
NAIC 334410

Other Electronic Component Manufacturing

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

46companies1865–2001founding years40still active6no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedCrane Co.
1865
FoundedDai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.
1876
FoundedToppan Printing Co., Ltd.
1900
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedNortel Networks Corporation
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedMotorola, Inc.
1928
FoundedADC Telecommunications, Inc.
1935
FoundedNorthrop Grumman Corporation
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1946
TechnologyENIAC, the first general-purpose electronic computer, is unveiled.
FoundedAKG Acoustics GmbHFoundedTechnitrol, Inc.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedDover Corporation
1955
FoundedAmerican Locker Group Incorporated
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedHutchinson Technology Incorporated
1965
FoundedCeradyne, Inc.
1967
FoundedNam Tai Electronics, Inc.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
FoundedSolectron Corporation
1977
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
FoundedCreo Inc.
1983
FoundedCisco Systems, Inc.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
FoundedBroadcom Corporation
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Crane Co. →
Active · founded 1865
Crane Co.
Nokia Corporation →
Active · founded 1865 · Finland
Nokia Corporation is the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones, with a worldwide market share of about 27…
Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. →
Active · founded 1876 · Japan
Japan's first modern printing company, Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.
Marconi plc →
Active · founded 1886 · United Kingdom
The British company Marconi plc had been known as The General Electric Co.
CTS Corporation →
Active · founded 1896
Established in 1896 to make telephones and switchboards, CTS Corporation has become a leading manufacturer of passive…
Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. →
Active · founded 1900 · Japan
Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.
BMC Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1907
BMC Industries, Inc.
Nortel Networks Corporation →
Active · founded 1914 · Canada
Nortel Networks Corporation is one of the world's leading providers of networking products and services, with a…
FKI Plc →
Active · founded 1920 · United Kingdom
FKI Plc has evolved into one of the United Kingdom's major engineering groups.
Shure Inc. →
Active · founded 1925
Shure Inc.
Motorola, Inc. →
Active · founded 1928
Electronic communications pioneer Motorola, Inc.
Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG →
Active · founded 1933 · Germany
Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co.
ADC Telecommunications, Inc. →
Defunct · founded 1935
ADC Telecommunications, Inc.
Tosoh Corporation →
Active · founded 1935 · Japan
Tosoh Corporation is one of Japan's leading manufacturers of industrial and specialty chemicals.
Molex Incorporated →
Active · founded 1938
Late 1940s:Krehbiel's son, John H.
Northrop Grumman Corporation →
Active · founded 1939
Northrop Grumman Corporation is the number three defense firm in the United States, behind The Boeing Company and…
Tech-Sym Corporation →
Active · founded 1944
When Tech-Sym Corporation was purchased by Veritas Capital Fund L.P.'s Integrated Defense Technologies (IDT) unit in…
AKG Acoustics GmbH →
Active · founded 1947 · Austria
For more than five decades AKG Acoustics GmbH has enjoyed a reputation among professional recording engineers, sound…
Cohu, Inc. →
Active · founded 1947
Cohu, Inc.
EG & G Incorporated →
Active · founded 1947
EG & G Incorporated is a diversified technology company that develops and provides products for public and private…
Technitrol, Inc. →
Active · founded 1947
A fast-growing supplier to the data communications, telecommunications, housing, and automobile industries, Technitrol,…
Omron Corporation →
Active · founded 1948 · Japan
Omron Corporation is a world leader in the field of automation.
Winegard Company →
Active · founded 1954
Based in Burlington, Iowa, Winegard Company manufactures a wide variety of reception equipment for home, commercial,…
Dover Corporation →
Active · founded 1955
Dover Corporation is a diversified industrial manufacturing holding company composed of about 50 subsidiaries with…
General Atomics →
Active · founded 1955
General Atomics is involved in a number of high-tech ventures, including fusion research and gas-cooled nuclear…
American Locker Group Incorporated →
Active · founded 1958
Through its wholly owned subsidiary American Locker Security Systems, Inc., American Locker Group Incorporated ranks as…
National Semiconductor Corporation →
Defunct · founded 1959
National Semiconductor Corporation is a leading U.S.
Herley Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1965
Herley Industries, Inc.
Hutchinson Technology Incorporated →
Active · founded 1965
Late 1970s:Company refocuses on the disk drive market.
Anaren Microwave, Inc. →
Active · founded 1967
Anaren Microwave, Inc.
Ceradyne, Inc. →
Active · founded 1967
Ceradyne, Inc.
Spectrum Control, Inc. →
Active · founded 1968
Based near Erie, Pennsylvania, Spectrum Control, Inc.
II-VI Incorporated →
Active · founded 1971
II-VI Incorporated develops and manufactures optical and optoelectronic devices used in laser and sensor systems.
Nam Tai Electronics, Inc. →
Active · founded 1975 · Hong Kong
From its early days as a simple calculator manufacturer, Nam Tai Electronics, Inc.
Phoenix Mecano AG →
Active · founded 1975 · Switzerland
Phoenix Mecano AG produces a variety of electrotechnical and mechanical components.
Solectron Corporation →
Defunct · founded 1977
Solectron Corporation operates as the world's largest electronics manufacturing services company.
Micron Technology, Inc. →
Active · founded 1978
Micron Technology, Inc., is a holding company for subsidiaries engaged in the design and production of computers,…
3Com Corporation →
Defunct · founded 1979
3Com Corporation is the world's number two provider of computer networking products, systems, and services, trailing…
Creo Inc. →
Active · founded 1983 · Canada
Creo Inc.
Planar Systems, Inc. →
Active · founded 1983
Planar Systems, Inc.
Cisco Systems, Inc. →
Active · founded 1984
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Research in Motion Ltd. →
Active · founded 1984 · Canada
Research in Motion Ltd.
Cree Inc. →
Active · founded 1987
Cree Inc.
Broadcom Corporation →
Active · founded 1991
Broadcom Corporation is one of several companies contributing to the infrastructure that will bring high-speed Internet…
Agere Systems Inc. →
Defunct · founded 2000
Agere Systems Inc.
AU Optronics Corporation →
Defunct · founded 2001 · Taiwan
AU Optronics Corporation is Taiwan's largest producer of flat panel displays--that is, thin film transistor liquid…
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