The Rogers Company history

Rogers Corp.'s success prompted an unusual move in 1954, when the city of Goodyear, Connecticut, changed its name to Rogers, Connecticut.

In 1958 sales had grown to $5 million annually and Rogers reached a major milestone with its first international partnership, granting licensing rights for some of its molding materials to Vynckier N.V. of Ghent, Belgium.

A second milestone--producing circuitry in 1959 needed in a new computer built by IBM--soon propelled Rogers into the forefront of the electronics market.

He followed his father's footsteps in his first big business deal, purchasing radio station CHFI-FM in 1960 while studying for a law degree at Osgoode Hall Law School.

A 35,000-square-foot addition was built onto the firm's plant in Connecticut in 1963 and three years later, the company bought a new manufacturing facility in Chandler, Arizona.

His entry into FM radio broadcasting had proved to be an insightful move, the first of his successful efforts to broaden the appeal of existing communications technology, but when he was awarded Canada's first cable franchise in 1965 his abilities produced success of a much higher magnitude.

Rogers also bought proprietary technology from Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1966, which turned into a goldmine.

In 1968 the company bought another plant in Connecticut and initiated plans for a new R&D laboratory.

Two years later, in 1973, sales had leapt to $43 million and Rogers had seven operational manufacturing plants in the United States, as well as those in Mexico, Japan, and Belgium.

In 1978 he made an aggressive move to bolster his company's position further when he acquired Canada's second largest cable company, Canadian Cablesystems Limited, in an unfriendly takeover.

Soladyne Inc., a San Diego-based microwave circuit builder, was acquired in 1980, while a new licensing partner for Nippon Mekton was established in Germany, and a sales office was opened in Japan to service the growing Asian markets.

In 1981 Rogers targeted UA-Columbia Cablevision Inc. as his next acquisition, offering his family's five radio stations, owned by a private company named Rogers Telecommunications Ltd., and his extensive cable television interests for a loan to secure UA-Columbia's 450,000 cable subscribers.

Prompted by recent developments in cellular telephone technology, Rogers began exploring the possibility of entering the business in 1982.

Rogers then invested $2 million of his own money to launch the venture, which was incorporated in May 1984 as Rogers Cantel Mobile Communications Inc.

A new joint venture in 1988 with 3M Corporation, the Durel Corporation, took Rogers into electroluminescent lighting for use in the dials and display illumination of watches, clocks, medical equipment, and sporting goods.

Four years later Rogers tried again, but first he made an uncharacteristic move by selling his United States cable properties to Houston Industries, Inc., in February 1989 for $1.58 billion.

In June 1992 Unitel received permission from the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission to compete against the telephone companies in the public long-distance market, making the company one of the largest of the long-distance companies in the country, trailing only Bell Canada.

Despite mounting losses, Rogers Communications concluded a pivotal deal in 1994 when it acquired Maclean Hunter Limited for an enormous $2.5 billion.

To gain regulatory approval, Rogers also had to divest Maclean Hunter's CFCN-TV, which was sold to Shaw Communications Inc. in September 1995.

In April 1996 Rogers entered into partnership with RadioShack Canada Inc. to open and operate about 100 shopping mall stores across Canada which would sell Cantel products and services along with RadioShack products and accessories.

By 1997 Rogers was spending around $10 million in R&D annually, which led to higher performing products, increased sales, and further expansion.

In June 1998 Rogers Communications exited from the local phone market by selling Rogers Telecom to Calgary-based MetroNet Communications Corp. for $600 million in cash and 12.5 million nonvoting shares of MetroNet worth an initial $400 million.

Rogers stepped up its alliance strategy in 1999, entering into deals with some of the biggest names in communications.

In the new millennium Rogers left the American Stock Exchange and was granted listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ROG. Sales and profits had been growing steadily for several years and 2000 did not disappoint.

In 2001 Rogers formed a joint venture with Chang Chun Plastics Company, Ltd., based in Taiwan, to produce flexible circuit boards for the booming Taiwanese market, and acquired the intellectual property and foam product lines of Cellect LLC to complement its growing High Performance Foams Division.

Combined sales for 2002, however, climbed to $286.7 million while income rose slightly to $18.6 million despite international and domestic economic pressures.