History

PCB Piezotronics, Inc. was established in August of 1967 by Robert W. Lally and James F. Lally. The focus of their technical efforts was primarily on the development and application of integrated circuit technology to piezoelectric sensors. Beginning with the creation of sensors to measure cylinder combustion pressure, PCB's product line quickly expanded to include vibration and force sensors.

Other products such as impact hammers, multichannel signal conditioners and actuators followed to meet increasing customer demand. It was this flexibility in design / manufacturing, coupled with PCB's commitment to "Total Customer Satisfaction", that is responsible for the success of PCB®.

A timeline of the significant events in PCB's history is shown below:

1967

ICP® (Integrated-Circuit-Piezoelectric) sensors developed and marketed.

1971

Development of the 100,000 g high-shock, ICP®, quartz accelerometer completed.

1972

Introduction of Impulse Hammers to excite structures for resonance searching and troubleshooting applications.

1973

The first rugged, industrial-grade, ICP® accelerometer produced to serve the emerging machinery health monitoring market.

1975

PCB® recognized as the largest U.S. manufacturer of quartz, ICP® sensors.

1977

Employees brave driving snow storms to continue sensor production during the "Blizzard of 1977".

1982

Structcel® Modal Array Sensing System developed to ease sensor installation and reduce set-up time on large scale modal surveys.

1983

Modally-Tuned® Impulse Hammers win IR-100 Award as one of the top 100 technical developments for the year.

1984

128 Channel Data Harvester provides sensor power and speeds modal analysis by offering automatic bank switching capability.

1986

A milestone in precision vibration measurements as the first commercial, quartz, shear-structured, ICP® accelerometer is developed.

1992

IMI (Industrial Monitoring Instrumentation) Division of PCB® established to concentrate on the expanding predictive maintenance market.

1992

AVC (Active Vibration Control) Division of PCB® established to concentrate on noise and vibration control products.

1993

Worlds smallest, all-welded, hermetically sealed, ICP® single axis and triaxial accelerometers developed.

1995

Underwriters Laboratory certifies PCB® to the International Quality Standard ISO-9001.

1996

OST (Oceana Sensor Technologies, Inc.), a PCB® Group Company, produces first, automatically fabricated, piezoelectric sensor.

1997

PCB® introduces several new technologies: capacitive accelerometers, multi-component load cells, piezo strain gages, ICP® microphone preamplifiers, Modular electronic series.

1998

14 new direct domestic and international sales offices are opened.

1998

PCB® manufacturing facility expands to 100,000 sq ft. at Depew, NY campus.

1999

PCB® Group acquires Larson Davis acoustic division to supplement acoustic product offerings.

2004

PCB® purchases Now-Tech, a privately owned machine shop, to make parts for other companies. Shortly thereafter, Now-Tech changed the name to PCB Machining Solutions Inc.

2004

PCB® opens the San Clemente office, advanced design engineering center focusing on DC and MEMS applications.

2005

PCB® expands manufacturing capability through construction of a new production facility in North Carolina that focuses only on stock products.

2008

PCB Piezotronics, Inc. announces Lifetime Warranty Plus.

2008

PCB® sensors are featured on Discovery Channel's "Mythbusters" program.

2009

PCB® acquires assets of RS Technologies Ltd, a leading supplier of load cells, torque transducers, wheel force transducers, and fastening/assembly test equipment.

2010

PCB® purchases the Wine Merchant building in Depew, NY, which later becomes the machining center.

2010

Larson Davis Vibrameter awarded Gold award at the Sensor Conference in Chicago.

2011

PCB® adds 52,000 sq.ft. machining center at Depew, NY campus.

2011

PCB® launches Platinum Stock Products program to emphasize its most popular models with lifetime warranty and in-stock guarantee.

2012

PCB® obtains international accreditation for Test and Measurement Acoustic Products from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), a signatory to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA).

2012

PCB® enhances acoustic design capability with the new anechoic chamber, a state-of-the-art environment for testing new microphone designs.

2016

PCB Group, Inc. was acquired by MTS Systems Corporation in July 2016. The combination positions MTS as the leading global supplier of high-performance test systems and positional sensors, and now a leader in dynamic sensing technologies. The PCB portfolio of sensors for research and development and machinery health monitoring complements the broad range of positional sensors from MTS Sensors, a division of MTS Systems Corporation.

2017

NADCAP approved.

2019

PCB® completed the acquisition of the Endevco test and measurement product line from Meggitt PLC significantly expanding PCB's sensor portfolio, especially in the automotive and aerospace and defense industries.

2020

Crystals facility opened in July 2020. PCB expands its piezoelectric ceramic and quartz crystal manufacturing operation to a brand new facility; boasts electroless chemical plating capability, custom electrical testing equipment, and machining of complex shapes with tight tolerances.

2021

Amphenol (NYSE: APH) completes acquisition of MTS Systems. At the same time, Amphenol has entered into an agreement to sell the MTS Test & Simulation business to Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW).