Teklogix
Encyclopedia
About The Company
Teklogix (more fully, Teklogix International Inc.) was created in 1967 by Lawrence Cragg together with a small group of engineers.The company focused on mini computer applications. It designed and built complete systems based upon DEC's PDP-8 computer, DEC's logic modules and purpose built logic. Many of the company's projects involved control of material handling systems and this led to the development of radio linked terminals for installation on fork lift trucks complete with multiplexers to interface to a variety of main frame computer systems.In September 2000 Teklogix was acquired by U.K.-based Psion PLC, and became Psion Teklogix
Psion Teklogix
Psion Teklogix Inc. is the operational business of Psion, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange.Psion Teklogix is a global provider of solutions for mobile computing and wireless data collection...
Inc., in operation today.
The Founders
The founders are: Rod CouttsRod Coutts
Rod Coutts was born in Cookstown, Ontario. He graduated from University of Waterloo in 1964 with a Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Electrical Engineering....
, Lawrie Cragg, Al Vanderburgh, Cliff Bernard and Pete Halsall.
The group met while working at Ferranti
Ferranti
Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. Known primarily for defence electronics, the Company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but ceased trading in 1993.The...
International's Canadian division, Ferranti-Packard
Ferranti-Packard
Ferranti-Packard Ltd. was the Canadian division of Ferranti's global manufacturing empire, formed by the 1958 merger of Ferranti Electric and Packard Electric...
Electronics. The engineers worked on projects related to FP6000 (Ferranti-Packard 6000
Ferranti-Packard 6000
The FP-6000 was a second generation mainframe computer developed and built by Ferranti-Packard in the early 1960s. It is particularly notable for supporting multitasking, being one of the first commercial machines to do so...
, which became the ICL 1900
ICT 1900 series
ICT 1900 was the name given to a series of mainframe computers released by International Computers and Tabulators and later International Computers Limited during the 1960s and '70s...
), ReserVec
ReserVec
ReserVec was a computerized reservation system developed by Ferranti Canada for Trans-Canada Airlines in the late 1950s. It appears to be the first such system ever developed, predating the more famous SABRE system in the US by about two years...
, Back Up Interceptor Control (BUIC) for the United States Military, as well as Ferranti-Packard
Ferranti-Packard
Ferranti-Packard Ltd. was the Canadian division of Ferranti's global manufacturing empire, formed by the 1958 merger of Ferranti Electric and Packard Electric...
's drum memory
Drum memory
Drum memory is a magnetic data storage device and was an early form of computer memory widely used in the 1950s and into the 1960s, invented by Gustav Tauschek in 1932 in Austria....
systems. The group left Ferranti-Packard
Ferranti-Packard
Ferranti-Packard Ltd. was the Canadian division of Ferranti's global manufacturing empire, formed by the 1958 merger of Ferranti Electric and Packard Electric...
and formed Teklogix.
Did you know?
- The founding members managed to collect $10,000 in initial subscribed capital, with an additional $8,000 provided by Pete Halsall, when he was made a full partner in the early 70's.
- In the year 2000, the company was purchased by Psion for £240 million, or $544 million (CDN).
History
1967 - on September 20, Teklogix was formed by a group of 5 engineers. The first contract came from I. P. Sharp AssociatesI. P. Sharp Associates
I. P. Sharp Associates, IPSA for short, was a major Canadian computer time sharing, consulting and services firm of the 1970s and 80s. IPSA is particularly well known for its work on the APL programming language, an early packet switching computer network known as IPSANET, and a powerful...
(another Ferranti
Ferranti
Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. Known primarily for defence electronics, the Company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but ceased trading in 1993.The...
offspring) that involved the interface of a DEC PDP-8 computer to an X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
spectrometer
Spectrometer
A spectrometer is an instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically used in spectroscopic analysis to identify materials. The variable measured is most often the light's intensity but could also, for instance, be the polarization...
and reagent
Reagent
A reagent is a "substance or compound that is added to a system in order to bring about a chemical reaction, or added to see if a reaction occurs." Although the terms reactant and reagent are often used interchangeably, a reactant is less specifically a "substance that is consumed in the course of...
feeders in a copper, lead and zinc mill. The objective was to analyze the mine head (ie, what was coming out of the mine) using on-line X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
spectroscopy
Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative...
and, then, using mathematical algorithms developed by University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, add the appropriate amounts of reagent to optimize mineral recovery.
1972 - Teklogix was awarded a contract from Canada Post
Canada Post
Canada Post Corporation, known more simply as Canada Post , is the Canadian crown corporation which functions as the country's primary postal operator...
to control a tilt-tray mail sorter system. The company went on to be a primary supplier of sortation and conveyor control systems for the next decade.
1980 - Teklogix introduced wireless real-time data collection solutions.
1981 - Company is awarded a contract with U.S. Defense General Supply Agency (DGSC) to develop a real-time on-board pick information system for 37 Raymond pick vehicles. The next few years attracted more high-profile clients, such as General Motors, Digital Equipment Corp., General Dymanics, Avon and Owens Corning.
1988 - Teklogix opened its first U.S. office.
1992 - Teklogix was expanded to Europe and Pacific Rim. In the summer of 1992, Teklogix produced its 10,000th terminal.
1993 - An executive, principal engineers, and several other Teklogix employees resign and start a competing company, WaveLink Technologies, which is subsequently bought by Amtech Corp. of Dallas, Texas.
1994 - Teklogix launches a $7.8 million lawsuit against WaveLink and Amtech for improper use of confidential information, theft of technology, and misappropriation of business opportunities.
1995 - Teklogix announced its IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange is the largest stock exchange in Canada, the third largest in North America and the seventh largest in the world by market capitalisation. Based in Canada's largest city, Toronto, it is owned by and operated as a subsidiary of the TMX Group for the trading of senior equities...
.
1996 - In June, Teklogix has relocated its office to the current Psion Teklogix
Psion Teklogix
Psion Teklogix Inc. is the operational business of Psion, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange.Psion Teklogix is a global provider of solutions for mobile computing and wireless data collection...
corporate office, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
1997 - Company acquired Badger Mobile Computing.
1998 - Teklogix was expanded to South America.
2000 - In September 2000 Teklogix was acquired by U.K.-based Psion PLC, and became Psion Teklogix
Psion Teklogix
Psion Teklogix Inc. is the operational business of Psion, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange.Psion Teklogix is a global provider of solutions for mobile computing and wireless data collection...
Inc.
2011 - Psion has shortened its operating company name, removing the name “Teklogix”.