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Printronix history
Printronix company history timeline
Printronix was founded in 1974 by Robert A. Kleist and business partner Gordon Barrus, and David Mayne.
Based in Emenaker's garage, the new company built its first printer, the P300, in 1974.
1976: Printronix goes Public and trades on the Nasdaq.
In 1978, Printronix added a second printer, the P600, a line matrix printer capable of doubling the P300 print speed.
Going public in 1979, Printronix quickly built itself into one of the top ten printer makers, taking 15 percent of the market for medium-speed printers by the beginning of the next decade.
In March 1981, the company, which already saw foreign sales accounting for nearly 30 percent of total sales, formed a subsidiary in the Netherlands and began manufacturing printers there.
1981: Opens Holland manufacturing facility and expands global operations to Europe, Middle-East and Africa.
IBM introduced its first personal computer in 1983, sparking demands for new types of smaller, consumer-oriented, serial matrix printers.
In 1984, Printronix attempted to enter the new personal printer market with the acquisition, for $8.7 million in stock, of Anadex, Inc., a California manufacturer of serial matrix printers with about $30 million in sales.
Having grown to 1,200 employees, Printronix was forced to lay off more than 250 people in 1985.
1985: Operations expand into Asia-Pacific with the opening of the Singapore Facility.
In July 1986, Printronix introduced its first laser printers, a high-volume printer and a lower-priced desktop printer.
As sales slipped to $132 million, the company's losses, further deepened by the costs of moving its manufacturing operations overseas, reached $11.7 million for 1986, marking the company's first-ever annual loss.
But the company failed in that attempt; taking a $5.1 million inventory and equipment writedown, the company's revenues continued to sag, to $123.6 million, and Printronix again posted a loss in 1987, of $4.9 million.
By 1993, the company launched the fourth generation of its line matrix technology, allowing the company to seize back that market; over the next three years, its share of the market grew from 25 to 40 percent.
By 1994, sales were on the rise again, reaching $107.4 million, and the company showed a profit of $2.3 million.
The launch of the company's Chinese font set scheduled for 1997 was expected to tap strongly into a potentially huge market.
1998: Expansion into the China Market.
2001: Printronix acquires RJS and enters the scanner/ verifier market.
2008: Acquired by Vector Capital, Printronix becomes a Private Company.
2009: Printronix acquires TallyGenicom.
Werner Heid was appointed CEO of Printronix in 2015, taking over from Randy Eisenbach who retired from the board after a 6-year tenure.
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Printronix competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Datamax-O'Neil | 1977 | $46.0M | 350 | - |
| Integrated Circuit Systems | 1976 | $150.0M | 503 | - |
| Airborne Systems | 1919 | $850,000 | 30 | 6 |
| MIDWAY PRODUCTS GROUP | 1956 | $120.0M | 352 | 48 |
| FM Approvals | 1886 | $17.0M | 190 | - |
| RGBSI | 1997 | $100.0M | 710 | 14 |
| Perceptron | 1981 | $62.3M | 327 | - |
| RIX Industries | 1878 | $9.2M | 125 | - |
| Strix | 2015 | $79,000 | 5 | - |
| HID Global | 1991 | - | 4,000 | 1 |
Printronix history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Printronix, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Printronix. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Printronix. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Printronix. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Printronix and its employees or that of Zippia.
Printronix may also be known as or be related to Printronix, Printronix Auto ID, Printronix Auto-ID Inc, Printronix LLC, Printronix, Inc. and Printronix, LLC.