Watkins-Johnson Company

Watkins-Johnson Company was a designer and manufacturer of electronic devices, systems, and equipment. The company, commonly referred to as "W-J", was formed in 1957 by Dean A. Watkins and H. Richard Johnson, and was headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Its products included microwave tubes, followed by solid-state microwave devices, electronic warfare subsystems and systems, receiving equipment, antennas, furnaces and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and automated test equipment.[1][2]

Watkins-Johnson Company
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryElectronics
Founded1957
FounderDean A. Watkins,
H. Richard Johnson
FateAcquired by TriQuint Semiconductor
SuccessorWJ Communications Inc.
HeadquartersPalo Alto, California
Key people
W. Keith Kennedy (former CEO)

History

Partial Corporate Timeline

  • December 1957: Watkins-Johnson Company was founded[1][3]
  • June 1963: Acquired Stewart Engineering Company, a manufacturer of backward-wave oscillators[1][3]
  • Fall 1967: Acquired Communication Electronics, Inc. (CEI) of Rockville, Maryland, producer of receivers and related equipment[1]
  • June 1968: Listed on New York Stock Exchange[1]
  • 1970: Acquired RELCOM, manufacturer of electronic components such as mixers[1]
  • 1970: Acquired antenna product line from Granger Associates
  • 1978: Opened plant in San Jose, California
  • April 1995: Microwave surveillance systems unit sold to Condor Systems, Inc.[4]
  • October 1997: Military devices and subsystem businesses sold to Stellex Industries[5][6]
  • July 1999: Semiconductor Equipment Group sold to Silicon Valley Group
  • August 1999: Telecommunications Group sold to Marconi North America[7]
  • October 1999: Wireless Products Group sold to Fox-Paine and Company[8]
  • August 2000: Initial Public Offering of WJ Communications, W-J successor, by Fox-Paine on NASDAQ[9]
  • March 2008: WJ Communications acquired by TriQuint Semiconductor[10][11][12]

The Watkins-Johnson plant in Scotts Valley, California was discovered to have soil and groundwater contamination in 1984. It was added to the EPA's Superfund list in 1990.[13]

References
  1. "Watkins-Johnson Company History". Funding Universe. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  2. Kenney, Martin (2000). Understanding Silicon Valley: The Anatomy of an Entrepreneurial Region. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. pp. 57–58. ISBN 0804737347.
  3. O'Laughlin, Terry (2016). H. Richard Johnson, in 'Memorial Tributes: Volume 20'. National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/23394. ISBN 978-0-309-43729-5. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  4. "Condor Systems, Inc. Purchases Microwave Surveillance Systems Unit from Watkins-Johnson". Business Wire. The Free Library. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  5. "Watkins-Johnson to Sell Military Related Divisions". The New York Times. 3 September 1997. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  6. "Watkins-Johnson Sells Division to Stellex". The New York Times. 1 November 1997. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  7. "Watkins-Johnson Selling a Unit to G.E.C. of Britain". The New York Times. 19 August 1999. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  8. "Fox-Paine to Buy Watkins-Johnson for $270 Million". The New York Times. 27 October 1999. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  9. "WJ Communications Inc (WJCI) IPO". NASDAQ. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  10. "Watkins-Johnson's legacy sold for $1 a share". siliconbeat. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  11. "WJ's Heritage". TriQuint Semiconductor. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  12. "TriQuint Acquires Ailing WJ Communications". Seeking Alpha. 10 March 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  13. "Superfund - Site Overviews - Watkins-Johnson Company (Stewart Division)". epa.gov. US Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 9 September 2017.


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