The company began in the early 1940s as a part of the
Marconi group, manufacturing
magnetrons for defence
radar systems. The company was first registered as a separate company in
Chelmsford, Essex in 1947 under
Simeon Aisenstein. Its initial name was the
Phoenix Dynamo Co Ltd, though it immediately changed its name to
English Electric Valve Company Ltd. In 1959, Bob Coulson established
travelling-wave tube and
microwave tube sections, and they were producing ceramic hydrogen
thyratrons as well. By this time EEV was the largest hi-tech manufacturing company in the UK. A year later they won an
Emmy award for their outstanding contribution to electronics technology in developing the 4½"
orthicon television camera tube. In 1961 they acquired the
Associated Electrical Industries valve business based in
Lincoln. Sir
Charles Oatley was a director of the company from 1966 to 1985. In 1962, EEV opened its first office in America in
Buffalo, NY. In 1972, they opened an office in Paris, France and in 1977 they opened another office in
Elmsford, New York. Keith Attwood, e2v's CEO from 1999 to 2013 led e2v through a short period as Marconi Applied Technologies, and then in 2002 he led a management buy-out supported by
3i following the collapse of the
Marconi group. Following further growth under 3i, in 2004 the company floated on the London Stock Exchange. In 2017, e2v was acquired by
Teledyne Technologies who changed its name to Teledyne e2v. ==Business profile==