Keithley Instruments is a measurement and instrument company headquartered in Solon, Ohio, that develops, manufactures, markets, and sells data acquisition products, as well as complete systems for high-volume production and assembly testing.
In September, 2010, the company agreed to sell itself to the Danaher Corporation, a Washington, D.C.–based conglomerate, for $21.60 per share. It was soon merged with Tektronix, Inc, which had been acquired by Danaher in 2007, and now exists wholly as a brand of Tektronix.
History Joseph F. Keithley founded Keithley Instrument in 1946. His first product, the "Phantom Repeater," amplified low-level electric signals so that they could be measured by more standard equipment. The device was used by physicists, chemists, and engineers in the development of hearing aids and amplifiers. The product enjoyed some success in sales, but it was the next product, an electrometer, that clinched the future for Keithley's fledgling company.
General The company designs, develops, manufactures and markets electronic instruments and systems geared to the specialized needs of electronics manufacturers for production testing, process monitoring, product development, and research.
The company has approximately 500 products used to source, measure, connect, control or communicate direct current (DC), radio frequency (RF), or optical signals. Product offerings include integrated systems solutions, instruments, and personal computer (PC) plug-in boards that can be used as system components or as stand-alone solutions.
The company's markets are engineers, technicians, and scientists in manufacturing, product development, and research functions.
Keithley operates throughout North America, Asia, and Europe. It develops new solutions for the broader electronics industry, as well as electronic manufacturing production test, semiconductor, telecommunications/wireless and research/education.
Products
Keithley Instruments' major product lines included testing and measurement products such as electrometers, voltmeters, signal generators, data acquisition, and production and benchtop parametric testers and analyzers.
Historical highlights 1946 – Founded in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S., by Joseph F. Keithley 1950 – First employee hired John Yeager, the first employee, died 10 January 2018. 1964 – Moved headquarters to Solon, OH 1966 – German office opened 1967 – UK office opened 1991 – Joseph P. Keithley becomes chairman 1995 – Listed on New York Stock Exchange 1998 – Taiwan office opened 2000 – Korea office opened 2003 – Santa Rosa, California RF Design center opened (sold to Agilent Technologies 2009) 2005 – Singapore office opened 2009 – S600 Series parametric test product line discontinued 2010 – Agreed to sell itself to the Danaher Corporation, many operations merged with Tektronix 2011 – Announcement that most manufacturing will shift from Ohio to China
References
External links
"Understanding current switching’s special needs". Cigoy, Dale. Electronic Products.July 1, 2009 . "Standards Help Ensure Order for Nanotechnology". Tucker, Jonathan. Evaluation Engineering. June 2009. "Low Level Measurements Handbook: Precision DC Current, Voltage, and Resistance Measurements". Keithley Instruments, Inc. 7th edition, 2016.