Radiall
 Logo of Radiall company. | |
| Industry | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1952 |
| Founder | Yvon and Lucien Gattaz |
| Headquarters | Aubervilliers, France |
Key people | Pierre Gattaz (Chairman) |
| Products |
|
| Owner | Gattaz family (89%) |
Number of employees | 2,987 (2014) [1] |
| Website | www.radiall.com |
Radiall is a company that designs, develops, and manufactures connectors and associated components for use in electronic applications. The company offers interconnect components, including radio frequency/coaxial connectors and cable assemblies, antennas, fiber optic connectors and cable assemblies, microwave components and cable assemblies, microwave switches, and multipin connectors. It serves the aerospace, defense, industrial, instrumentation, telecom, space and medical markets. The company markets its products worldwide through a network of agents and distributors.
Co-founded by Yvon and Lucien Gattaz in 1952, it is headquartered in Paris, France. The Radiall Corporate entity is currently listed on Eurolist by NYSE Euronext, but 89% of Radiall's shares are owned by its founders (The Gattaz Family). In 2014, Radiall's revenue was 280 million euros with a growth of 21%. Total net profit was 33.9 million euros with a growth of 83%, compared to 2013. Radiall invested approximately 7% in Research and Development, which is significantly above the industry standard.
History
1952–1962
In the spring of 1952 two brothers, Yvon and Lucien Gattaz, founded Radiall. Yvon Gattaz was the entrepreneur who took care of the commercial and financial aspect of the business. Lucien was the inventor. He was more interested by the technical aspects of research and production. In 1953, they bought their first workshop in Paris, France. A slogan had already been found: "Speed & Quality".
At that time, France intended to be a world leader in television by using higher frequencies through its SECAM standard. The antenna had to be linked to the TV monitor with a coaxial cable. Yvon and Lucien worked hard to invent a cheap and easy-to-use interconnect that would fit the application. By 1954, Radiall was producing 100,000 connectors per month.
1962–1972
In November 1963, Yvon and Lucien inaugurated their first factory at Voiron in Isere, France, of 2,500 m2 (27,000 sqft). That same year, the company launched the coaxial connector Mini Quick. Five years later, in 1968, Radiall built its headquarters at Rosny-Sous-Bois. This 4,000 m2 (43,000 sqft) two story building (the third floor came after), is made only of glass and foil.
By 1967, opening itself to Europe was already in Radiall's mind, so they created a subsidiary in Staines, England: Radiall Microwave Components Ltd. In 1969, they opened another office in Germany (at Buchslag, close to Frankfurt): RGmbH with the goal of developing a European sales network.
1972–1982
In 1972, Lucien Gattaz had identified the company Sogie as a competitor to Radiall in the connector business. It was for sale and showing a deficit, so Radiall made its first acquisition and it only took a few years to make it profitable. Buying Sogie showed Radiall's desire to continue specializing itself in Multipins Connectors.
That same year, the company also started getting interested in Aerospace and Fiber Optics. A new facility was built in 1977 in Voreppe, France. A year later, a new factory is created, to produce hyper frequency components for military use, at l'Isle d'Abeau, which was visited by France's Prime Minister on June 6, 1980.
1982–1992
1982 was the year in which Radiall got its first Computer-Assisted-Design equipment. During the 80s, Radiall expands worldwide with offices in the United States (Stratford, Connecticut), Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) and Asia (from Hong Kong) In 1984, arrived the long awaited first qualification by Boeing for connectors that comply to ARINC 600. This is also a period of inventions, as 15 patents were obtained from 1984 to 1986. Radiall also entered the French stock market in 1989 selling 20% of its capital to the public.
1992–2007
In 1992, Pierre Gattaz, son of co-founder of Radiall Yvon Gattaz, becomes the new CEO of the company. In order to become a major US player in the Multipins Connectors business (concerning mostly the Aerospace industry), Radiall acquired Jerrik in May 1995, located in Tempe, Arizona. Then, Radiall continued its expansion in the USA with the acquisition of Larsen - a company based in Portland, Oregon, which was specialized in antennas for military purposes. In1994 the company continues to expand in Asia with Radiall Protectron, located in Bangalore, India. Later on, Radiall creates a presence in Japan when it opened Radiall Nihon. In 2005, Radiall acquired Applied Engineering Products (AEP) located in New Haven, CT and the AEP product line was integrated into the Radiall portfolio. Finally, in July 1997, Radiall Shangai is inaugurated, which officially creates a Radiall entity in China. Radiall's goal was to reach sales of one billion francs by the year 2000, a goal that was actually reached three years before, in 1997. 2001 was a tough year for the company, due to the telecommunication crisis and the September 11 aftermath, forcing the company to reduce its manpower by 30% in two years, due to a 40% activity loss.
2008–present
On January 8, Radiall announced an increase in its shareholdings of the start-up D-Lightsys [2] to 95 percent.
On June 1, Radiall AEP Inc [3] and Radiall USA Inc were consolidated into one company Radiall USA, Inc. doing business as Radiall and covering the North American territory were Radiall currently has 3 sites: Tempe, AZ; New Haven, CT, and Obregon, Sonora, Mexico. The total number of employees is about 470.
2012 saw the creation of the automobile subsidiary "RAYDIALL"
On July 29, 2015, Radiall announced the acquisition of VAN-SYSTEMS, an Italian company that designs and manufactures circular electrical connectors for Industrial applications.
Governance
Radiall is governed by two boards, a Supervisory Board and an Executive Board. The Supervisory board is composed of 7 people, who oversee the operation of the organization. The Executive Board, includes 3 members and obtains assistance from the Supervisory Board in creating the organizations strategy and overall management of the company.
Locations
Radiall is headquartered in France with expertise centers and manufacturing locations on 3 continents and 13 countries. Radiall's 9 manufacturing plants are located in the United States, Mexico, France, China and India. More than 87% of sales are generated outside France.