The history of Sypris Test & Measurement

F.W. Bell, Inc. (?Bell?) is incorporated in Delaware on March 3, 1944 by Floyd W. Bell to pursue the business potential of combining the scientific principle known as the Hall effect with the emerging capabilities of semiconductors. Operations are conducted in Ohio.
Continental Testing Laboratories, Inc. (?CTL?) is founded in 1963 as a tester of electronic components located in central Florida. CTL is acquired by Allegheny International, Inc.(?Allegheny?) in 1978.
In 1967, Bell is acquired by Allegheny International, Inc. then known as Allegheny Ludlum Industries, Inc.
In 1979, Bell relocates its operations from Ohio to 6120 Hanging Moss Road in Orlando, Florida. The building was completed in March 1979 and operations began on April 1.
In 1982 Bell adds 20,000 square feet to its Orlando facility.
In 1983 Robert E. Gill and Jeffrey T. Gill start Group Financial Partners, Inc. (?GFP?), a private holding company with an initial strategy to acquire divisions of Fortune 500 companies which were viewed to be underperforming.
On November 6, 1986 GFP buys Bell with annual sales over $6 million and CTL from Allegheny. The ?new? Bell is incorporated in Florida.
In December 1992, Bell acquires Viking Laboratories and the Instrumentation Services business from Alliant Techsystems, Inc. This includes lab locations in: Phoenix and Tucson, AZ; Mountain View and Van Nuys, CA; Atlanta, GA; Addison, IL; Hanover, MD; Beaver Creek and Brooklyn Heights, OH; Richardson and San Antonio, TX; Newton, MA; Orlando, FL and Farmington Hills, MI. Concurrent with these acquisitions, GFP merged CTL into Bell.
On January 31, 1995, Bell acquired Associated Testing Laboratories (?ATL?) from Publicker Industries, Inc. ATL provides environmental and dynamic testing services and screening of electronic and other components at laboratories in Wayne, NJ and Burlington, MA.
In 1996 Bell acquired Teslatronics from its principal shareholder.
On February 9, 1996 Bell acquired the assets of the instrumentation products business unit of Metrum, Inc. from Group Technologies Corporation. These operations are headquartered in Littleton, Colorado.
Bell is renamed Bell Technologies, Inc. in 1997.
Sypris Solutions is formed on March 30, 1998 when GFP and its subsidiaries ? Bell, Metrum-Datatape and Tube Turns ? merged into Group Technologies, a Nasdaq-traded company in which GFP owned an 80% interest. Sypris succeeded to Group Technologies and became listed on NASDAQ under the symbol SYPR. Each of the four companies became wholly owned subsidiaries of Sypris.
On November 12, 1999 Bell purchased certain calibration operations from Lucent Technologies Inc. These operations include labs in Franklin, TN and Union, NJ and the Mobile Services Organization. This provides Bell with a world class primary standards lab.
In September 2001, Bell sells its Mountain View, CA testing operations to Wyle Laboratories, Inc.
Effective January 1, 2002, Bell technologies, Inc., a Florida corporation, is merged with Sypris Test & Measurement, Inc. (ST&M), a Delaware corporation with the surviving entity being ST&M.
On May 30, 2003, ST&M purchases Instrument Repair Labs, Inc. This calibration business operates in Broomfield, Colorado.
On August 31, 2003, ST&M purchases the Chicago-based calibration and repair business of Instrument Calibration Service International, Inc.
Tektronix acquires Test & Measurement from Sypris Solutions on Oct. 26, 2009.