Sanders Associates

Sanders Associates was an American defense-electronics contractor founded in July 1951 by eleven engineers and scientists who had previously worked at Raytheon. The company was initially established in Waltham, Massachusetts, and moved its operations to Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1952. Its relocation to a vacant mill building contributed to the economic revitalization of Nashua after the decline and southward migration of New England’s textile industry. The company’s principal business was the development and manufacture of sophisticated electronic systems for the United States government, particularly military and aerospace customers. Its best-known technical areas included aircraft self-protection systems, tactical surveillance and intelligence systems, microwave electronics, missile and space electronics, infrared imaging, and automated mission-planning systems. Sanders also manufactured complex flexible printed circuits and specialized wiring boards. During the 1960s and 1970s, its Flexprint activities supplied circuitry for military equipment, spacecraft, medical devices, and other commercial applications. Sanders technology was used in major American space programs, including the Saturn V launch vehicle and the Lunar Excursion Module. The Flexprint division was later sold, although the precise sale date is not established in the available material. Sanders also operated outside its core defense business. One commercial division developed intelligent terminals and terminal controllers that competed with systems associated with IBM, Honeywell, Univac, and Burroughs. These products supported mainframe data entry and included features such as light-pen pointing and selection, preceding the widespread adoption of the computer mouse. The terminal business was acquired by Harris Corporation in the late 1970s and subsequently integrated into Harris’s Data Communications Division. A separate and unusually influential chapter in Sanders’s history came from an internal research project led by engineer Ralph H. Baer. In 1966, Baer and colleagues developed the prototype of what became the first home video game console. Sanders did not become the consumer brand owner or manufacturer of the finished product: production rights were granted to Magnavox, which marketed the system as the Magnavox Odyssey. Nevertheless, Sanders’s research organization played a foundational role in the creation of the home-console industry. Sanders Associates remained primarily a government-oriented technology contractor until it was acquired by Lockheed Corporation in 1986. It then operated as Sanders, A Lockheed Company. After Lockheed merged with Martin Marietta in 1995, the Sanders activities were incorporated into Lockheed Martin Aerospace Electronic Systems. In July 2000, Lockheed Martin announced the sale of that group to BAE Systems for $1.67 billion. The business became part of BAE Systems Information & Electronic Warfare Systems and was later incorporated into BAE Systems Electronics & Integrated Solutions. Sanders Associates therefore survives as a historical corporate and technical lineage rather than as an independent operating company.

Sanders Associates was founded in July 1951 in Waltham, Massachusetts, by eleven engineers and scientists who had left Raytheon. The company took its name from Royden C. Sanders Jr., one of the original associates. In 1952, it relocated to Nashua, New Hampshire, and established operations in a vacant mill building. The move had significance beyond the company itself: Nashua had suffered from the postwar decline of New England’s textile industry, and the arrival of a growing technology contractor helped reuse industrial property and support the city’s economic recovery. Sanders concentrated on electronic systems for military and government customers. Its work covered aircraft self-protection, tactical surveillance and intelligence, microwave systems, missile and space electronics, infrared imaging, and automated mission planning. During the 1960s and 1970s, the company was also a major producer of flexible printed circuits and specialized printed wiring assemblies. Its Flexprint division supplied circuitry for United States military programs and space vehicles, including the Saturn V and Lunar Excursion Module, as well as for commercial and medical equipment. The division was sold in the late 1970s or early 1980s, although the available reference does not specify an exact date. The company maintained a smaller commercial-electronics presence through an intelligent-terminal division. Its terminal systems competed with products from IBM, Honeywell, Univac, and Burroughs. These machines allowed users to enter data into mainframe systems and offered light-pen pointing and selection capabilities at a time when mouse-based interaction was not yet standard. The division’s later products included the 814 terminal controller, which could support as many as eight terminals. Harris Corporation acquired this business in the late 1970s and incorporated it into its Data Communications Division. For a period, Sanders and Harris shared facilities in Nashua before the Harris operation moved to Dallas, Texas. Sanders’s most famous contribution outside defense electronics came from a research project led by Ralph H. Baer. Beginning in 1966, Baer and several assistants developed a prototype for an interactive television game system. The work was undertaken as a side project within Sanders, but it became the technological foundation for the first home video game console. Manufacturing and commercialization were assigned to Magnavox, which released the product as the Magnavox Odyssey. Sanders was therefore not the consumer-facing maker of the console, but its engineering environment was central to the invention. In 1986, Lockheed Corporation acquired Sanders Associates. The company became Sanders, A Lockheed Company, retaining a recognizable identity within the larger defense group. The 1995 Lockheed–Martin Marietta merger led to the integration of Sanders into Lockheed Martin Aerospace Electronic Systems. In July 2000, Lockheed Martin sold that group to BAE Systems for $1.67 billion. The acquired business became part of BAE Systems Information & Electronic Warfare Systems and later BAE Systems Electronics & Integrated Solutions. Sanders Associates is consequently defunct as an independent company, with its defense-electronics capabilities continuing through successor organizations within BAE Systems.

• 2000

  Business sold to BAE Systems

  [1]Sanders Associatesen.wikipedia.org

  Lockheed Martin sells the relevant aerospace electronics group to BAE Systems for $1.67 billion.

• 1995

  Integration into Lockheed Martin

  [1]Sanders Associatesen.wikipedia.org

  The Lockheed–Martin Marietta merger results in Sanders being incorporated into Lockheed Martin Aerospace Electronic Systems.

• 1986

  Acquisition by Lockheed

  [1]Sanders Associatesen.wikipedia.org

  Lockheed Corporation purchases Sanders Associates and operates it as Sanders, A Lockheed Company.

• 1966

  Home-console prototype developed

  [1]Sanders Associatesen.wikipedia.org

  Ralph H. Baer and colleagues develop the prototype technology that later becomes the Magnavox Odyssey.

• 1952

  Operations move to Nashua

  [1]Sanders Associatesen.wikipedia.org

  The company transfers its operations to Nashua, New Hampshire, occupying a restored vacant mill building.

• 1951

  Sanders Associates is founded

  [1]Sanders Associatesen.wikipedia.org

  Eleven former Raytheon engineers and scientists establish Sanders Associates in Waltham, Massachusetts.

A technically diversified defense and aerospace electronics contractor serving government programs while also commercializing selected terminal, circuitry, and electronic-system technologies.

• Defense electronics

  Aircraft self-protection systems

  Sanders developed electronic systems intended to help military aircraft detect, assess, and respond to threats. These systems formed one of the company’s principal defense businesses and contributed to its long-term position as a specialist government contractor.

• Military surveillance

  Tactical surveillance and intelligence systems

  The company produced electronic systems for tactical observation, reconnaissance, and intelligence missions. Its surveillance portfolio included side-looking airborne radar technology and related equipment used to collect information from airborne platforms.

• Electronic components

  Flexible printed circuits and wiring assemblies

  Through its Flexprint activities, Sanders manufactured complex flexible circuit assemblies and specialized printed wiring boards. These products served military and space programs, including Saturn V and the Lunar Excursion Module, and were also adapted for medical and other commercial equipment.

• Data communications equipment

  Intelligent terminals

  Sanders’s commercial terminal division produced intelligent terminals and controllers for mainframe environments. The systems supported data entry and light-pen interaction, competing with terminal products from several major computing and office-technology companies. The 814 terminal controller supported up to eight terminals.

• Consumer electronics research · 1966

  Home video game console prototype

  A Sanders research team led by Ralph H. Baer created the prototype for a home video game system in 1966. Magnavox received the production and commercialization rights and released the resulting product as the Magnavox Odyssey, making the Sanders project an important precursor to the home-console market.

• 2000

  Transfer of the aerospace electronics group to BAE SystemsM&A

  Background

  Following the 1995 Lockheed–Martin Marietta merger, Sanders’s activities were part of Lockheed Martin Aerospace Electronic Systems.

  Action taken

  Lockheed Martin announced the sale of the group to BAE Systems in July 2000.

  Aftermath

  The business became part of BAE Systems Information & Electronic Warfare Systems and later BAE Systems Electronics & Integrated Solutions.

  Acquisition price. $1.67 billion (July 2000)

  Source

• 1986

  Join Lockheed through acquisitionM&A

  Background

  Sanders had become an established defense and aerospace electronics contractor with extensive government-program experience.

  Action taken

  Lockheed Corporation acquired Sanders Associates, after which the business operated as Sanders, A Lockheed Company.

  Aftermath

  The company ceased operating as an independent enterprise and was later absorbed into Lockheed Martin Aerospace Electronic Systems.

  Source

1. 1Sanders Associatesen.wikipedia.org