Keytronicems history

Once the company's keyboard design passed inspection, the first shipment of Key Tronic keyboards exited the company's rented offices in April 1970.

As the orders poured in, Key Tronic rapidly grew, increasing its payroll to 200 by 1972.

In 1978, the year Key Tronic gained recognition as the largest company of its kind in the world, the keyboard industry represented an $80-million business.

Annual revenues, which reached $80 million in 1983, experienced even greater growth as the company's line of mice, optical character readers, and other input devices entered the market and began to contribute to annual sales totals.

In 1984--a year in which more than 1.5 million Key Tronic keyboards were manufactured and sold--company sales jumped to more than $125 million.

In November 1987, Donald J. Meyers was named president of Key Tronic, leaving Zirkle, 72 years old at the time, with the chairman and chief executive posts.

In late 1989 Zirkle attempted again to hand the managerial reins of Key Tronic to another individual.

Key Tronic's board of directors, which included Zirkle, voted for a management change, hiring Stanley Hiller Jr. in March 1992 to lead the company away from the brink of failure.