Spectrum Industries history

Cygnet changed its name to Spectrum Industries Inc, in June 1969.

By 1985 annual sales had reached $22 million.

1986: SFE Technologies is acquired.

1988 – The first prototype laser wire marking system using excimer laser and mask technology was developed by British Aerospace Airbus Filton Division with Sowerby Research Centre.

1989 – Admiral Sir Raymond Lygo and the Board of British Aerospace authorise the start-up of Spectrum Technologies as a spin.

Venable stayed on as chairman but at the end of 1990 he left the company to pursue other business opportunities.

In June, 1991, Hubbard Scientific was sold.

In 1992 Spectrum bought assets--inventory, tooling, drawings, and customer order backlog--for the electronic filter products produced by Murata Erie North America, Ltd.

1993 – Introduction of the CAPRIS 100, Spectrum’s 2nd generation excimer laser marker, developed as a derivative of the 555 model, with the launch customer being Smiths Industries (now GE) based in Cheltenham, UK.

Orion was launched in November 1994.

In 1996 sales rose to $57.3 million and net income totaled $3.4 million, the result of increased demand from the telecommunications industry.

When sales to this sector fell off in 1997, Spectrum saw its revenues recede to $56.5 million, although net income improved to nearly $4 million.

Also in 1998 Spectrum established a control products division.

The Signal acquisition came early enough in 1999 that it made a major contribution to Spectrum's balance sheet that year.

Rhodri Morgan, undertook the official opening of the Company’s new Bridgend factory on 16 November 2000.

Then in early 2001 the bubble burst in the telecom sector, which accounted for some 60 percent of Spectrum's sales.

Sales continued to fall in 2002, declining to $57.2 million, but cost-cutting measures paid off as the company lost only $737,000 for the year.

The addition of FSY helped Spectrum to reverse the trend on declining sales in 2003.

2004 – Spectrum introduced CAPRIS 60-200 which was the fastest, highest performance, solid state UV laser wire marker in the world at that time.

2006 – The engineering and production of all SIENNA products was transferred from Phoenix, AZ, USA and consolidated into Spectrum’s Bridgend, UK operation.

2007 – Spectrum opened a Hong Kong based sales and service office to support the expanding customer base in Asia Pacific.

On October 14, 2009 Spectrum Technologies celebrated its 20th birthday.

2010 – Spectrum Technologies USA INC moved to a new larger Texas facility to support the continuing growth of the company’s North American operations.

2011 – Spectrum Technologies’ Shanghai branch office moved to new, larger premises to accommodate the growing demands of this increasingly important region for aerospace manufacturing as well as its established electronics manufacturing industry.

2012 – Spectrum Technologies introduced Nova MaX: a measure and cut system for processing high performance wire and cable for aerospace, defence and other industries as part of the process of wire harness production.

2014 – Spectrum Technologies was selected by Bombardier Transport North America to supply a high performance wire processing system for use in the manufacture of the rail cars for a major new North American project.

2016 – Spectrum Technologies launched the new, improved and updated Nova 800i Series UV laser wire marking systems in 2016.

2018 – Spectrum Technologies announced its latest product release: SIENNA 1000 – a state-of-the-art new laser stripper.