ABOUT THIS COMPANY

ABOUT THIS COMPANY

Incorporated in 2000 as a subsidiary of Tyco International, and spun off as a separate entity in June 2007, Tyco Electronics is a world leader in engineered electronic components, network solutions, wireless systems and undersea telecommunication. Don't let the phrase "spin-off" distance you from an appreciation of the company's size or strength, however; with 94,000 employees producing some 500,000 precision-engineered components for customers in more than 150 countries, it's hardly the unwanted stepchild in the Tyco family. Indeed, with those components pulling in some $15 billion in revenue through fiscal 2008, the company has never been so popular with its customers.

Of the four operating segments at TE, the largest by far is electronic components, which pulled in near 75 percent of revenue in 2008. By comparison, the next-largest segment is network solutions, which accounted for just 15 percent of revenue that same year, while the wireless systems and undersea telecommunications wings pulled in just 7 percent between them. The company is the global market leader in components for the automotive industry, computers and peripherals, and industrial uses, while it is ranked second in component production for telecom and data communications.

A precise history

Despite being "created" as recently as 2000, TE's history actually stretches much further into the past, and along two separate branches. The first branch extends back to 1941, to the founding of electronics giant AMP, which came into being following the discovery of a method to improve the connection between electrical components and wire without soldering. For the rest of the 20th century, the company expanded its abilities (and size), focusing mainly on connectors. The other branch, meanwhile, started with the founding of a company in 1957 that is known as Raychem, a firm that specialized in radiation chemistry technology, and which produced -- among other things -- aircraft wire, casings and tubings. Both companies had a history of innovation, and both represented a significant opportunity for manufacturing conglomerate Tyco (profiled separately) at the end of the 20th century. The firm snapped them both up in 1999, creating Tyco Electronics when it purchased AMP for some $12.2 billion in April that year, before adding on Raychem a little later following its acquisition for around $2.9 billion.