Barco (manufacturer)

Barco NV
Public company
Traded as Euronext: BAR
Industry Technology
Founded 1934
Founder Lucien De Puydt
Headquarters Kortrijk, Belgium
Key people
 Jan De Witte, CEO
Products display technology, projection technology, connectivity platforms, image processing
Revenue €1.102 billion (2016)
Number of employees
 3,500 (2016)
Website www.barco.com

Barco NV is a technology company that develops visualization and collaboration solutions to help professionals work together, share information, and project images in cinemas and elsewhere. Its focus is on three core markets: Enterprise, Healthcare and Entertainment.

In 2017, the company realized sales of 1.085 billion euro. It employs 3,600 employees located in 90 countries. The company has 400 granted patents.[1]

Barco is headquartered in Kortrijk, Belgium, and has its own facilities for Sales & Marketing, Customer Support, R&D and Manufacturing in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. Shares of Barco are listed on Euronext Brussels. It has a market cap of around €1.2 billion (February 2018).

Active markets

  • Entertainment: cinema, venues and hospitality
  • Enterprise: control rooms and meeting rooms
  • Healthcare: diagnostic, surgical and clinical imaging

Name

Barco is an acronym that originally stood for Belgian American Radio Corporation.

History

Barco was founded in 1934 in the town of Poperinge, in the Flemish-speaking region of Belgium. Founder Lucien de Puydt's initial business was to assemble radios from parts imported from the United States – hence the name of his company, the Belgium American Radio Corporation, or "Barco."

In 1949, Barco started developing a multi-standard television that accepted different signal standards, becoming a leader in that field. A jukebox called Barc-O-Matic was sold from 1951. In 1967, it was one of the first European companies to introduce color TV. Building on this, it then entered the professional broadcast market in the late ‘60s, supplying TV monitors to broadcasters.[2]

From the ‘60s onwards, Barco branched out into numerous other activities, which included mechanical components for industrial use, and quality control monitoring for the textile and plastics industries. In 1967, Barco became the first European manufacturer to produce transistor-based portable televisions[3].

Barco first entered projection technology in 1979 when it pioneered the development of cathode ray tube (CRT) projection aboard airplanes. Over the following years, it gradually focused solely on professional markets.

In the mid ‘80s, Barco became a main projection technology supplier for computer giants IBM, Apple and Hewlett-Packard. In the late ‘80s, it entered the Brussels stock market. By 1991, Barco’s market share in the graphics projection market alone reached 75%, and the company had established offices across the world, including regional headquarters in the United States and East-Asia.

Through the ‘90s and the first decade of the new millennium, Barco developed and marketed new display technologies such as liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diodes (LED), Texas Instruments’ Digital Light Processing (DLP), and later, liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS). It now covers markets that include media and entertainment, security and monitoring, medical imaging, avionics, 3D and virtual reality, digital cinema, traffic control, broadcast and training and simulation.

In 2018, Barco entered into a joint venture with China Film Group Corporation (“CFG”), Appotronics and CITICPE to commercialize each company’s products and services for the global cinema market excluding mainland China[4]. In Barco's case, this involved the company's cinema projectors.

Acquisitions

  • Barco Graphics was the graphics division of the Belgian Barco Group. It was the result of the 1989 merger of Digitized Information Systems Corporation (D.I.S.C.), Aesthedes and Barco's own "Creative Group".
  • In 1997, Barco acquired EIS (Electronic Image Systems), a manufacturer of CRT projectors for the flight simulation market.[5]
  • In 1998, Barco ETS, now Ucamco acquired Gerber Systems Corp., a manufacturer of plotters and automatic optical inspection (AOI) systems for printed circuit boards.[6]
  • In 1999, it acquired Metheus Corporation, a Tektronix spin-off and manufacturer of professional graphics controllers .[7]
  • In 2004, it acquired Voxar, a 3D medical imaging software company
  • In 2004, it acquired Folsom Research, Inc, whose product lines cover image processing, image communication and image functionality & interactivity.
  • In 2008, it acquired High End Systems, an automated luminaires, digital lighting and lighting controls company
  • In 2010, it acquired Fimi, a company specialized in medical imaging
  • In 2010, it acquired all intellectual property of Element Labs, a manufacturer of LED equipment
  • In 2010, it acquired dZine, a Belgium-based company specialized in Digital signage
  • In 2012, it acquired IP Video Systems, a company specialized in networked visualization
  • In 2012, it acquired JAOtech, a manufacturer of patient entertainment and point-of-care terminals for hospitals,
  • In 2013, it acquired AWIND, a manufacturer of hardware and software for wireless presentation systems
  • In 2013, it acquired projectiondesign®, a manufacturer of projection technology
  • In 2014, it acquired X20 Media Inc, an enterprise communication specialist[8]
  • In 2014, it acquired IOSONO GmbH, a 3D audio expert[9]
  • In 2015, it acquired Advan Int'l Corp, a manufacturer of LCD displays
  • In 2016, it acquired Medialon Inc, a US based company[10]
  • In 2016, it acquired MTT Innovation Inc., a Canadian developer of next-generation projection technology (HDR)[11]

Divestments

  • In 2002, Barco Graphics was acquired by Danish Purup-Eskofot, and renamed Esko-Graphics, which was again renamed Esko in 2006.[12]
  • In 2007, BarcoVision was acquired by Itema Group from Bergamo, Italy.[13]
  • In 2008, Barco sold its Advanced Visualisation (AVIS) group (the previously acquired Voxar)[14] to Toshiba Medical (TMSC).[15]
  • In 2014, Barco divested a wholly owned subsidiary of Barco NV, Barco Orthogon, based in Bremen, Germany, to Exelis.
  • In 2015, Barco's Defense & Aerospace division was sold to US-based Esterline Technologies Corporation (NYSE: ESL).[16]
  • In 2018, Barco's X20 Media was sold to Stratcache. [17]

Management

CEO 2016 - Jan de Witte
CEO 2008 - 2016 Eric Van Zele
CEO 2002 - 2008 Martin De Prycker
CEO - 2002 Hugo Vandamme

Sustainability

Barco’s Corporate Sustainability Committee, consisting of 13 members, under the leadership of Filip Pintelon, devises an overall sustainability strategy. Under the label “Barco 2020”, Barco is currently developing a sustainability plan encompassing three pillars: their people, their community and the planet.

A few achievements:


See also

References

  1. ↑ "Barco factsheet". Barco factsheet. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  2. ↑ "VRT, Belgium: Barco is the reference beacon in reference monitors | LIVE-PRODUCTION.TV". www.live-production.tv. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  3. ↑ "Barco Strato Ranger 1973". www.marcelstvmuseum.com. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  4. ↑ "Barco Joins Forces With Strategic Partners to Advance the Delivery of Dedicated and New Cinema Solutions - Celluloid Junkie". Celluloid Junkie. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  5. ↑ "BARCO Acquires Ohio Company to Expand Product Offering for the Simulation Market. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  6. ↑ Safavi. "Everything about PCB: Gerber format". www.etagco.com. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  7. ↑ "acquires Metheus Corporation in U.S". Barco. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  8. ↑ "Barco acquires Montreal-based X2O Media, expanding its technology platform with advanced connectivity capabilities". Barco. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  9. ↑ "Barco and Iosono Together for Immersive Sound Experiences". audioXpress. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  10. ↑ "Barco Acquires Medialon in Move to Strengthen Control Offerings - Commercial Integrator". Commercial Integrator. 2016-05-03. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  11. ↑ "Barco Acquires MTT Innovation Inc., Opens Its New 'One Campus' - Sound & Communications". Sound & Communications. 2016-06-13. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  12. ↑ http://www.barco.com/en/News/Press-releases/barco-graphics-and-purup-eskofot-to-merge.aspx
  13. ↑ "signs agreement with Italian Itema to divest its division BarcoVision". Barco. 2007-07-19. Archived from the original on 2007-08-08. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  14. ↑   (2008-11-21). "Barco verkoopt verlieslatende Voxar: De Tijd". Tijd.be. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  15. ↑ "Investors | Barco sells Advanced Visualization business to Toshiba". Barco. 2008-11-21. Archived from the original on 2009-02-04. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  16. ↑ "Barco finalizes sale of its Defense & Aerospace division to Esterline". Barco. 2015-02-02. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  17. ↑ "Stratacache acquires X20 Media". www.digitalsignagetoday.com. 2018-04-11. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
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