Raychem

Raychem Corporation

Industry	Aerospace, Automotive, Telecommunications
Successor	Tyco Electronics
Founded	1957
Founder	Paul Cook, James B. Meikle, and Richard W. Muchmore
Defunct	1999
Headquarters	Menlo Park, California, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Radiation chemistry, Heat-shrink tubing, Touchscreens

Raychem Corporation was founded in Menlo Park/Redwood City, California in 1957 by Paul Cook, James B. Meikle, and Richard W. Muchmore.^[1]

History

The original name of the company was RayTherm Wire and Cable and later formed a subsidiary named RayClad Tubes. The company changed names to avoid confusion with Raytheon. The company was a spin-off from SRI International, and their founding technology was wire and cable that used radiation cross-linked polymer insulation targeted at military and aerospace applications.^[2] This was the first known use of radiation chemistry for commercial products. The company soon invented heat-shrinkable tubing also targeted at electronic applications.^[3]

By 1980 the company had expanded to over 30 countries, including a major branch in Swindon, UK and made the Fortune 500 list.^[4] It was recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in the United States at that time. The company had only four CEOs until the company was acquired by Tyco International in 1999. Those CEOs were Paul Cook (Founder), Bob Halperin, (Cook's second-in-command almost from the beginning), Bob Saldich (a long-time Raychem executive, who also ran a Raychem subsidiary, RayNet) and Dick Kashnow, who was responsible for the sale of Raychem to Tyco International.

At the time of the sale the company had reached sales exceeding $2 billion and was operating in over 60 countries globally. The company invented many breakthrough technologies, including PolySwitch PPTC circuit protection devices, and the touchscreen, popular today and branded under the name Elo TouchSystems. The company's alumni now populate many CEO and president positions in a variety of industries. The major market segments where Raychem operated were aerospace and defense, automotive, telecommunications, energy networks, consumer electronics and transportation.

Legacy

Many products today still carry the Raychem brand; however, confusingly, two different companies sell them: Tyco International split into three companies in 2007: Tyco International, TE Connectivity (Formerly Tyco Electronics) and Covidien. In 2012, Tyco International sold Tyco Thermal Controls to Pentair plc. Renamed Pentair Thermal Management, this group continues to provide customers with the Raychem brand name for industrial, commercial and residential trace heating solutions. TE Connectivity sells the other original Raychem products (shrink tubing, wire and cable PolySwitch Devices, Elo TouchSystems, SolderSleeve Devices, etc.) under the Raychem brand name. TE Connectivity has multiple R&D Sites which include China & India. It operates in India through Raychem RPG, a 50:50 JV with 18000Cr + RPG Group. This Joint Venture specialises in Connection technologies up to 1200kV & has also introduced Speciality Low loss Transformers.^[5]

References