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.

2020    

 PCB® completes construction of $1 million clean room facility.