Through
its constituent parts, Thales Optronics is one of the longest established optical
companies in the World. Throughout the Company's history significant
achievements have been made.
1888
Barr & Stroud established.
1917
First tactical periscope.
1966
Pilkington PE established,
a joint venture between Pilkington and Perkin Elmer.
1971
First MBT deployment
of a laser rangefinder.
1972
Perkin Elmer share of
PPE bought out.
1977
Barr & Stroud acquired
by Pilkington PLC.
First diamond-like carbon
coating.
1978
First thermal imaging
periscope.
1985
First thermal imaging
missile guidance platform.
Pilkington Optronics'
US offices opened.
1987
First holographic HUD
(F16).
1988
Pilkington Optronics
formed, which led to the accelerated restructuring of the business
.
1991
Thomson-CSF purchased
50% of Thales Pilkington.
1992
Pilkington Optronics
selected as design authority for EF2000 IRST.
1993
Pilkington Optronics,
Glasgow builds new £21m site, an award winning "Best Practice" Facility.
1994
Pilkington Optronics
sites achieve ISO 9001 certification.
Pilkington Optronics
achieves Investors in People (IIP) accreditation (a national award which recognises
excellence in people development and training).
1996
Pilkington Thorn Optronics
moved to new, modern facility in Staines, London.
PPEO installs new state
of the art diamond turning facility.
PPEO wins the UK "Best
Factory" award for Engineering industry.
1997
Pilkington Optronics
becomes a fully integrated company across its 3 sites.
1998
Pilkington Optronics
becomes part of the Thomson-CSF Optronics Business Group.
