CD Aero - Intelligent Capacitor Solutions history

Aerovox Mill View a larger version of this image.The Aerovox building was a 450,000 sq. ft. building used for electrical component manufacturing beginning in 1938.

Butler had experience in the semiconductor industry: in 1957 he cofounded Alloys Unlimited Inc., which sold components and other materials to semiconductor makers.

Rockford Register-Republic 6/7/1968 files. newspaper releases

After the business was sold to a British company, Plessey Co., in 1970, Butler stayed on as president of the Plessey subsidiary, but after three years he had a falling out with the corporate parent over strategy and quit.

He was replaced as CEO by Benedict P. Rosen, who had been with AVX since 1972, holding a number of executive positions.

1973: Marshall Butler is named CEO and chairman.

In April 1979 AVX formed a subsidiary with Japanese partners to enter the Japanese market.

Beginning in 1981, the facility was subject to various state and federal administrative cleanup actions due to the presence of, among other things, PCBs in the soil and groundwater.

In 1983 the company recorded sales of $160.9 million and net income of $8.7 million.

Business remained strong through most of 1984, when AVX produced $235 million in revenues and net income topped $15 million, but by the end of the year semiconductor sales began to slump.

Kyocera had some regulatory hurdles in Japan to overcome, but in January 1990 Kyocera completed the $267 million stock purchase of AVX.

Butler continued to act as CEO until he retired in 1993, although he stayed on as a member of the board.

For most of 1995 capacitor manufacturers could not keep up with demand, but as had been the case 20 years earlier, appearances proved deceptive.

In 1997, EPA conducted an inspection for compliance with the Toxic Substances Control Act, which regulates PCBs, and found widespread PCB contamination within the building.

Revenues in fiscal 1998 reached $1.27 billion and net income improved to $137.8 million.

Although the price of palladium, a key raw material, was high, AVX was able to post strong results for fiscal 2000.

2001: Sales total $2.6 billion, and net income amounts to $567.5 million.

When fiscal 2002 was completed, the balance sheet revealed a drop in revenues of more than 50 percent over the previous year to $1.25 billion.

Revenues improved slightly to $1.14 billion in fiscal 2004, but because of a number of restructuring charges the company took during the year, AVX posted a loss of $109.4 million for the year.

2010 Action Memorandum for a Non-Time Critical Removal Action (PDF) (206 pp, 5.5 MB) at the site which selects building demolition and capping with offsite disposal of building debris, along with land use restrictions and long-term maintenance and monitoring in compliance with TSCA.