Elron Electronic Industries
Encyclopedia
Elron Electronic Industries ( and ) is a technology holding company based in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...

 Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

; since 1962 the company has been involved in setting-up, funding and developing over 30 companies and is considered one of the foundation stones of the high-tech industry in Israel
Silicon Wadi
Silicon Wadi is an area with a high concentration of high-tech industries in the coastal plain in Israel, similar to Silicon Valley in California, in the United States. Silicon Wadi is considered second in importance only to its Californian counterpart...

. The company’s sectors of interest include: Clean technology
Clean technology
Clean technology includes recycling, renewable energy , information technology, green transportation, electric motors, green chemistry, lighting, Greywater, and many other appliances that are now more energy efficient. It is a means to create electricity and fuels, with a smaller environmental...

, software, semiconductors, medical technology
Medical technology
Medical Technology encompasses a wide range of healthcare products and is used to diagnose, monitor or treat diseases or medical conditions affecting humans. Such technologies are intended to improve the quality of healthcare delivered through earlier diagnosis, less invasive treatment options and...

, telecommunications, defence and aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...

. Today, the combined annual revenues of the companies established by Elron are approximately $5 billion.

Early Years

Elron was founded in 1962 by Uzia Galil, with the support of Dan Tolkowsky
Dan Tolkovsky
Aluf Dan Tolkovsky was the commander of the Israeli Air Force from May 1953 to July 1958. Tolkovsky entered the military in 1943, when the Royal Air Force sent a Jewish unit from Palestine to train at a flight school in Rhodesia ...

 of the Discount Investment Corporation
Discount Investment Corporation Ltd.
Discount Investment Corporation Ltd. is a holding company based in Israel. The company is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the TA-25 Index. The company’s is controlled by IDB Holding Corporation Ltd...

. Uzia Galil graduated from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 1947, and in 1948 joined the Israel Navy as an Officer responsible for maintaining its Radio systems. In 1952 Uzia was sent to study for a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering at Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...

 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. During his studies in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, he worked at Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...

‘s research lab and was part of a team that developed of one of the world's first colour televisions. But in 1954 he had to return to Israel to complete another 4 years of service in Navy, which financed his studies.

Founding Elron

Uzia Galil short experience working for Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...

 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 exposed him to the technology industry and he decided to establish Israel‘s first high tech
High tech
High tech is technology that is at the cutting edge: the most advanced technology currently available. It is often used in reference to micro-electronics, rather than other technologies. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology...

 Startup company
Startup company
A startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...

. He started the company, while still serving in Navy, in a friend’s (Benjamin Sandller) flat in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...

 , later joined by another friend (Gideon Kirshner), who was a teacher at the Haifa Technical High-School, and worked with them in his spare time. The company’s first products were measurement instruments for medical and electronic applications. In 1958 Uzia left the Navy, however the company did not generate enough revenues and he got a job at the Physics laboratory of the Technion; while there Moshe Arens
Moshe Arens
Moshe Arens is an Israeli aeronautical engineer, researcher and former diplomat and politician. A member of the Knesset between 1973 and 1992 and again from 1999 until 2003, he served as Minister of Defense three times and once as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Arens has also served as the Israeli...

, who was Professor of Aeronautics at the time, introduced him to Dan Tolkowsky
Dan Tolkovsky
Aluf Dan Tolkovsky was the commander of the Israeli Air Force from May 1953 to July 1958. Tolkovsky entered the military in 1943, when the Royal Air Force sent a Jewish unit from Palestine to train at a flight school in Rhodesia ...

. Dan, who was fascinated by Uzia's ideas, managed to convince the board of Discount Investment Corporation
Discount Investment Corporation Ltd.
Discount Investment Corporation Ltd. is a holding company based in Israel. The company is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the TA-25 Index. The company’s is controlled by IDB Holding Corporation Ltd...

 to provide the capital required to properly fund the company. Elron was officially formed in 1962 with an initial capital of $US 160,000, and within 3 years generated annual revenues of $1 millions.

First joint venture – Elbit Computers Ltd.

In 1966, Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres
GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...

, who at the time was the Deputy Defence Minister, visited Elron and Uzia convinced him to establish a new company that will develop Minicomputer
Minicomputer
A minicomputer is a class of multi-user computers that lies in the middle range of the computing spectrum, in between the largest multi-user systems and the smallest single-user systems...

s for defence applications. The new company, initially called Elbit Computers, was a joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...

 with the Israel's Ministry of Defence and Elron (each holding 50% of the company). The company launched its first product in 1967 the Elbit-100 Minicomputer
Minicomputer
A minicomputer is a class of multi-user computers that lies in the middle range of the computing spectrum, in between the largest multi-user systems and the smallest single-user systems...

. The company evolved through the years to become the multinational defence electronics company – Elbit Systems
Elbit Systems
Elbit Systems Ltd. is one of the world's largest defense electronics manufacturers and integrators. Established in 1967, and based in Haifa, Israel, Elbit employs 11,000 people worldwide....

 .

Founding Elscint

In 1969, Uzia convinced a talented engineer, Avraham Suhami, who just completed his PhD at the Technion, to join him and start a new company that will focus on the developed of medical and scientific solutions, a new company - Elscint
Elscint
Elscint Ltd. was an Israeli technology company that development, manufacture and sold medical imaging solutions, including: Nuclear medicine, computed tomography magnetic resonance imaging and X-ray scanners. Elscint's shares traded on the NASDAQ as well as on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. At its...

, a contraction of the words "electronic" and "scientific", was established again with the support of Dan Tolkowsky
Dan Tolkovsky
Aluf Dan Tolkovsky was the commander of the Israeli Air Force from May 1953 to July 1958. Tolkovsky entered the military in 1943, when the Royal Air Force sent a Jewish unit from Palestine to train at a flight school in Rhodesia ...

. The company developed medical imaging equipment, such as MRI and CT scanners. In 1972 Elscint
Elscint
Elscint Ltd. was an Israeli technology company that development, manufacture and sold medical imaging solutions, including: Nuclear medicine, computed tomography magnetic resonance imaging and X-ray scanners. Elscint's shares traded on the NASDAQ as well as on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. At its...

 was the first Israeli company to have an initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...

 on NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...

. By 1996, Elscint
Elscint
Elscint Ltd. was an Israeli technology company that development, manufacture and sold medical imaging solutions, including: Nuclear medicine, computed tomography magnetic resonance imaging and X-ray scanners. Elscint's shares traded on the NASDAQ as well as on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. At its...

's revenues reached $311 million.

Growth during the 1980’s 1990’s

In 1981 Elron was invloved in the establishment of a company that will later become Orbotech
Orbotech
Orbotech Ltd. is an international developer and producer of automated optical inspection and related imaging and computer-aided manufacturing systems. The company's imaging tools are used in the manufacturing of printed circuit board, flat panel displays, and IC packaging, among other applications...

  a manufacturer of equipment for the Printed Circuit Board
Printed circuit board
A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...

 (PCB), TFT& LCD Display assembly industries.

In 1983 Uzia met by chance, while waiting for a flight in the lounge of Ben Gurion International Airport
Ben Gurion International Airport
Ben Gurion International Airport , also referred to by its Hebrew acronym Natbag , is the largest and busiest international airport in Israel, handling 12,160,339 passengers in 2010...

, Levy Gerzberg
Levy Gerzberg
-Early life:Born in Israel, he attended the Technion in Israel, where he earned his bachelor's degree and master's degree. He received a PhD from Stanford University.-Career:...


an academic from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

, who in 1981 founded Zoran Corporation (Zoran stands for "silicon" in Hebrew), which develops digital signal processing
Digital signal processing
Digital signal processing is concerned with the representation of discrete time signals by a sequence of numbers or symbols and the processing of these signals. Digital signal processing and analog signal processing are subfields of signal processing...

 solutions. At the time Levy Gerzberg
Levy Gerzberg
-Early life:Born in Israel, he attended the Technion in Israel, where he earned his bachelor's degree and master's degree. He received a PhD from Stanford University.-Career:...

 was looking for additional funding, which Elron was able to provide. In 1995 Zoran had an initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...

 on NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...

  and today is the leading provider of complete OEM
OEM
OEM means the original manufacturer of a component for a product, which may be resold by another company.OEM may also refer to:-Computing:* OEM font, or OEM-US, the original character set of the IBM PC, circa 1981...

 solutions for consumer electronics products, such as DVD and digital cameras, with annual revenues of over $500 million in 2007.

In 1996, Elbit spun off into three independent companies:
  • Elbit Medical Imaging  - but during 1999 and 2000 both Elscint
    Elscint
    Elscint Ltd. was an Israeli technology company that development, manufacture and sold medical imaging solutions, including: Nuclear medicine, computed tomography magnetic resonance imaging and X-ray scanners. Elscint's shares traded on the NASDAQ as well as on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. At its...

     and Elbit Medical Imaging sold their imaging activities to General Electric Medical Systems
    GE Healthcare
    GE Healthcare is a division of GE Technology Infrastructure, which is itself a division of General Electric . It employs more than 46,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. GE Healthcare is the first GE business segment to be headquartered...

      and to Picker (now part of Philips
    Philips
    Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....

     Medical Systems, for approximately $600 million.
  • Elbit Systems
    Elbit Systems
    Elbit Systems Ltd. is one of the world's largest defense electronics manufacturers and integrators. Established in 1967, and based in Haifa, Israel, Elbit employs 11,000 people worldwide....

     – Created as the defence electronics arm of Elbit and had an Initial public offering
    Initial public offering
    An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...

     on NASDAQ.
  • Elbit - which focused on communications activities and in 1999 led the consortium that founded Partner Communications Company Ltd.
    Partner Communications Company Ltd.
    Partner Communications Company Ltd. is a mobile network operator, internet Wi-Fi and fixed telephony service provider in Israel....

    , Israel's first GSM operator . In 2002 Elbit was merged into Elron. Elron sold its shares in Partner during 2003-2006 for approximately $160 million.


In 1998 Given Imaging
Given Imaging
Given Imaging is an Israeli medical technology company that manufactures and markets diagnostic products for the visualization and detection of disorders of the gastrointestinal tract....

 , a developer of a video capsule for medical diagnostics, was founded.

2000's

During the 2000's Elron started operating less as holding company
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...

 and moved to act more as a venture capital fund, jointly investing in numerous start-up companies and realizing the investment by selling the companies or conducting an initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...

. Notable investments and investment exits
Exit strategy
An exit strategy is a means of leaving one's current situation, either after a predetermined objective has been achieved, or as a strategy to mitigate failure. An organisation or individual without an exit strategy may be in a quagmire...

 include:
  • Elron Software - a provider of spam, email and web filtering solutions, sold to Zix Corporation.
  • Oren Semiconductor - a fabless integrated circuits manufacturer that designs and develops integrated circuits for the digital television and set-top box markets, sold to Zoran Corporation.
  • Galil Medical - a developer of cryotherapy
    Cryotherapy
    Cryotherapy is the local or general use of low temperatures in medical therapy or the removal of heat from a body part. The term "cryotherapy" comes from the Greek cryo meaning cold and the word therapy meaning cure...

     solutions.
  • SELA Semiconductor Engineering Laboratories - a provider of automated sample preparation tools for semiconductor manufacturers, sold to Camtek Intelligent Imaging
    Camtek Intelligent Imaging
    Camtek Ltd. is an Israel-based manufacturer of automated optical inspection systems and related products. Products are used by semiconductor fabs, test and assembly houses, and and printed circuit board manufacturers...

    .
  • 3DV Systems - developers of the ZCam
    ZCam
    ZCam is a brand of time-of-flight camera products for video applications by Israeli developer 3DV Systems. The ZCam supplements full-color video camera imaging with real-time range imaging information, allowing for the capture of video in 3D....

    , a time-of-flight camera
    Time-of-flight camera
    A time-of-flight camera is a range imaging camera system that resolves distance based on the known speed of light, measuring the time-of-flight of a light signal between the camera and the subject...

     products for video
    Video
    Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...

     applications, sold to Microsoft
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

    .
  • Medingo - developer of a micro pump insulin delivery system consists of two parts: a semi-disposable insulin dispensing patch and a remote control, which allows for discreet personalised insulin delivery. The company was sold to Hoffmann-La Roche
    Hoffmann-La Roche
    F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. is a Swiss global health-care company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange....

    's subsidory Roche Diagnostics
    Roche Diagnostics
    Roche Diagnostics Division is a subsidiary of Hoffmann-La Roche which manufactures equipment and reagents for research and medical diagnostic applications. Internally, it is organized into five major business areas: Roche Applied Science, Roche Professional Diagnostics, Roche Diabetes Care, Roche...

     for $160 million as well as up to $40 million in milestone payments.
  • Safend - a leading provider of endpoint data protection solutions was sold to Wave Systems.
  • Wavion - a provider of outdoor Wi-Fi
    Wi-Fi
    Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...

     applications for metro and rural areas, acquired by Alvarion
    Alvarion
    Alvarion Ltd. , is a 4G communications company. The company manufactures and exports a range of network solutions, including WiMAX, IEEE, PtMP, TD-LTE and WiFi to service providers and enterprises covering a variety of industries such as mobile broadband, residential and business broadband,...

    .

Current Holdings

Elron currently has investments in about 18 different companies in the fields of: Medical technology
Medical technology
Medical Technology encompasses a wide range of healthcare products and is used to diagnose, monitor or treat diseases or medical conditions affecting humans. Such technologies are intended to improve the quality of healthcare delivered through earlier diagnosis, less invasive treatment options and...

, Clean technology
Clean technology
Clean technology includes recycling, renewable energy , information technology, green transportation, electric motors, green chemistry, lighting, Greywater, and many other appliances that are now more energy efficient. It is a means to create electricity and fuels, with a smaller environmental...

, Telecommunications, and Semiconductors.

Former holdings and spin-offs

  • Elbit Systems
    Elbit Systems
    Elbit Systems Ltd. is one of the world's largest defense electronics manufacturers and integrators. Established in 1967, and based in Haifa, Israel, Elbit employs 11,000 people worldwide....

     – defence and aerospace group
  • Elscint
    Elscint
    Elscint Ltd. was an Israeli technology company that development, manufacture and sold medical imaging solutions, including: Nuclear medicine, computed tomography magnetic resonance imaging and X-ray scanners. Elscint's shares traded on the NASDAQ as well as on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. At its...

     – an early developer of CT and MRI solution
  • Elbit Medical Imaging
  • Elbit Vision Systems - manufacture of computerised vision and imaging systems for in-line inspection and monitoring of production processes
  • Zoran Corporation – a fabless semiconductor company specialising in solutions for digital TV and DVD products
  • NetManage
    NetManage
    NetManage Inc. was a software company based in Cupertino, California, founded in 1990 by Zvi Alon, an Israeli engineer . The company’s development centre was located at the MATAM technology park, in Haifa, Israel...

     – a software company founded in 1990 and sold in 2008 to Micro Focus International
    Micro Focus International
    Micro Focus International plc is a multinational software and information technology business based in Newbury, Berkshire, United Kingdom. The firm provides software and consultancy services for clients updating legacy systems to more modern platforms...

  • Partner Communications Company Ltd.
    Partner Communications Company Ltd.
    Partner Communications Company Ltd. is a mobile network operator, internet Wi-Fi and fixed telephony service provider in Israel....

     – a mobile and fixed line operator in Israel (operating under the Orange brand name)
  • Given Imaging
    Given Imaging
    Given Imaging is an Israeli medical technology company that manufactures and markets diagnostic products for the visualization and detection of disorders of the gastrointestinal tract....

     - a developer of a video capsule for medical diagnostics
  • NetVision – a leading Internet and Telephony service provider in Israel
  • Orbotech
    Orbotech
    Orbotech Ltd. is an international developer and producer of automated optical inspection and related imaging and computer-aided manufacturing systems. The company's imaging tools are used in the manufacturing of printed circuit board, flat panel displays, and IC packaging, among other applications...

     - a manufacturer of equipment for the Printed Circuit Board
    Printed circuit board
    A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...

     (PCB), TFT& LCD Display assembly industries
  • Elron Telesoft - a software provider for telecommunication operators sold to ECtel of the ECI Telecom
    ECI Telecom
    ECI Telecom Ltd is a global telecom networking infrastructure provider headquartered in Petah Tikva, Israel. It provides communications platforms and solutions to carriers and service providers, cable/multiple system operators, wireless/cellular service providers, utilities and carrier of carriers,...

    group in 2005
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK