E2v

Company History

The company began in the early 1940s as a part of the Marconi group, manufacturing magnetrons for defence radar systems. The company was first registered as a separate company in Chelmsford, Essex in 1947 under Semyon Aisenstein. Its initial name was the Phoenix Dynamo Co Ltd, though it immediately changed its name to English Electric Valve Company Ltd. In 1959 Bob Coulson established Traveling-wave tube and Microwave tube sections and they were producing ceramic hydrogen thyratrons as well. By this time EEV was the largest hi-tech manufacturing company in the UK. A year later they won an EMMY award for outstanding contribution to Electronics Technology in developing the 4½"orthicon tube. In 1961 they acquired Associated Electrical Industries Valve business based in Lincoln. Sir Charles Oatley was a director of the company from 1966 to 1985. In 1962, EEV opened its first office in America in Buffalo, NY. The company has received 13 Queen's Awards for Technology in its history, most recently in 2006 for low light imaging devices and in 2004 for thyratrons for cancer radiotherapy treatment. Also, in 1972, they opened an office in Paris, France and in 1977 they opened another office in NY but this time in Elmsford. Keith Attwood, e2v's CEO from 1999 to 2013 led e2v through a short period as Marconi Applied technologies, and then in 2002 he led a management buy out supported by 3i following the collapse of the Marconi group. Following further growth under 3i, in 2004 the company floated on the London Stock Exchange.

Awards

The company has received 13 Queen's Awards for Technology in its history, most recently in 2006 for low light imaging devices and in 2004 for thyratrons for cancer radiotherapy treatment. Hugh Menown, responsible for developing double-cathode and hollow anode thyratrons, was awarded the MBE in 1982.

Acquisitions

In 2005, e2v purchased Gresham Scientific Instruments (renamed e2v scientific instruments), and sold in 2012 to SGX Sensortech. In 2006 it purchased the Grenoble, France facility from the Atmel Corporation in 2006 (now renamed e2v semiconductors) and MiCs Microchemical systems based in Corcelles Switzerland (renamed e2v Microsystems and sold to SGX Sensortech in 2012) and in October 2008 e2v acquired QP semiconductor, a US-based designer and supplier of speciality semiconductor components used in military and aerospace applications, establishing e2v’s first US manufacturing base.

In 2014 e2v acquired AnaFocus, based in Seville Spain, a designer and manufacturer of specialist CMOS imaging product.

Clients

In 2009 e2v’s CCD Imaging Sensors were fitted to the Hubble Telescope as part of an upgrade project. In 2010, The Company announced the establishment of the e2v microwave engineering centre in Lincoln, UK as part of a restructuring that saw the move of operational capabilities to the Chelmsford facility. In 2013 e2v supplied the imaging array for the European Space Agency GAIA project to map the Milky Way. At 1 billion pixels this is the largest focal plane flown into space.

Major clients include:

Business profile

e2v’s annual sales are approximately £220 million and they are listed on the London Stock Exchange and the FTSE 4Good Index. The company employs approximately 1650 people, of whom a third are engineers and scientists. e2v has sales in over 50 countries and operates in 12 Global locations in Europe, US and Asia.

Global Operations

With its HQ in Chelmsford, Essex, England, e2v has two UK based design, development and manufacturing facilities (Chelmsford, Lincoln, one in Grenoble, France, one in Seville, Spain, and one in Milpitas, US. It also has an operational base with customer support facilities in Beijing, China, Over 30% of the staff are engineers or scientists. e2v also has sales, service and technical support offices in the UK, North America, France, Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong:

RF power

High performance imaging

High reliability semiconductors