History

Russell and Sigurd Varian (photographs by Ansel Adams)

CPI Electron Device Business (EDB) has a new name, but it also has a long and prestigious history. The business was spun out of Communications & Power Industries LLC (CPI) in June 2024. Previously, CPI EDB was the former Electron Device Business of Varian Associates, Inc. CPI EDB is a global manufacturer of electronic components and subsystems serving primarily the aerospace and defense markets. The company develops, designs and manufactures a broad array of radio frequency and microwave products for critical defense and commercial applications. CPI EDB serves customers in the communications, defense, medical, industrial and scientific markets.

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1948

Sig and Russell Varian post with a klystron, circa 1953

Varian Brothers Introduce the Klystron

Russell H. Varian and Sigurd F. Varian the historical founders of CPI EDB’s business, found Varian Associates and introduced the klystron, which they invented, as its first commercial product. At the time, Varian Associates has $22,000 of capital and six full-time employees.

1950s

Early Operations Grow Quickly

In its early years, Varian Associates’ products include vacuum electron tubes, an expanding instruments product line, an embryonic accelerator activity and a venture into geophysical instruments. In the mid-1950s, the company invents an all-electronic vacuum pump for manufacturing vacuum electron tubes. The company soon realizes that the vacuum pump had applications far beyond tube processing and launches additional lines of business.

1959

Bomac Laboratories Inc. brochure for microwave products, late 1940s/early 1950s

Varian Associates Establishes Operations in Beverly, Massachusetts

Varian Associates acquires Bomac Laboratories, a manufacturer of microwave tubes and components, and helps launch S-F-D Laboratories to design and build new classes of magnetrons and other microwave tubes. These operations are combined with LEL, Inc., which specializes in microwave components and is acquired by the company in 1964, to create one operation in Beverly, Massachusetts. CPI EDB's present-day headquarters remain on the same campus.

1960s

Bob Symons and Dick Nelson in front of a Varian Associates building in Palo Alto, circa 1964

Company Explores New Avenues for Growth

Varian Associates expands its business with research in solid state devices, new forms of printing and the development of devices for commercial communications. The company also acquires the traveling wave tube business of the General Electric Company and Eitel-McCullough, Inc. (Eimac), a manufacturer or specialty electron tubes, during this period.

1995

CPI is Formed

Varian Associates sells the Electron Device Business to Leonard Green & Partners, L.P., a private equity fund, and members of management. Together, they form Communications & Power Industries (CPI) with the mandate to continue to grow the business’ tradition of technology leadership and manufacturing excellence.

2004

CPI Acquires Econco

CPI acquires Econco Broadcast Service, Inc., a rebuilder of power grid devices for the U.S. Navy and others.

2006

CPI Goes Public

CPI International, Inc., the parent company of CPI, holds its initial public offering and begins trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol “CPII.” The company is taken private again in 2011.

2007-2022

Acquisitions Grow CPI's Antenna, Amplifiers and Radomes Businesses

Between 2007 and 2022, CPI invested in growing its product offerings in the satellite communications market through a series of acquisitions. The company acquired several antenna businesses, including Malibu Research Associates, Inc. in 2007, ASC Signal Corporation in 2015 (later divested in 2020), Orbital Systems LLC in 2018, and General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies in 2020. The satellite communications amplifiers business was bolstered by the acquisitions of the Codan Satcom business in 2021 and M C L, Inc. (MCL) in 2013. CPI also entered the radomes and structural composites business with the 2013 acquisition of Radant Technologies, Inc., the 2021 acquisition of L3 ESSCO, Inc. (ESSCO), and the 2022 acquisition of AdamWorks, LLC.

2021

CPI Acquires TMD Technologies

CPI acquires TMD Technologies Ltd., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of microwave power sources, high-voltage power supplies and transmitters for radar, electronic warfare, communications, industrial testing and scientific applications. The TMD Technologies operations remain part of present-day EDB.

2024

CPI Electron Device Business Launches

In June 2024, CPI Electron Device Business is spun out of Communications & Power Industries.

Today

Accelerating Innovation

Today, CPI EDB is a global aerospace and defense technology company. Its products are vital to groundbreaking systems that power mission-critical defense systems to protect U.S. and allied forces. The company employs approximately 500 people, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom, and have a worldwide network of support and service offices.

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