Positronic (company)

This article is about a manufacturing company based in Springfield, Missouri. For the fictional technological device, see Positronic brain.
Positronic
Private
Industry Manufacturing
Founded Springfield, Missouri, United States (October 1966 (1966-10) as Positronic Industries)
Founder Jack Gentry
Headquarters 423 North Campbell Avenue, Springfield, Missouri, United States
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 John Gentry (President & CEO)[1]
Bill Gentry (Vice President, Int'l Sales & Marketing)[1]
Products Electrical connectors
Services Cable assemblies
Number of employees
 800 Worldwide (2010); 442 in Missouri (2010)[2]
Website www.connectpositronic.com

Positronic is a manufacturing company based in Springfield, Missouri. The company manufactures and supplies electronic connectors that are utilized in a variety of industries worldwide including military, aerospace, telecommunications, medical, industrial and test equipment among others.[3][4][5][6]

Although the company is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, and its main manufacturing plant is also located there, Positronic also has plants in Puerto Rico, France, China, Singapore, and India. Sales offices are located worldwide in major metropolitan areas.[3]

History

Positronic was founded by Jack Gentry, a former marines officer and a metallurgical engineer. Upon being discharged from the military, Gentry worked for Honeywell as a sales engineer.[7]

On a flight from Los Angeles to New York City, Gentry met business manager and philanthropist Harry Gray. Four months later, Gray called Gentry and offered him a job with Litton Industries. During his stay at Litton Industries, Gentry established a plant of the company in Springfield, Missouri. However, feeling that he needed to explore other opportunities, he decided to create his own small company. By October 1966, he had founded Positronic Industries in Springfield, Missouri and initially, the company manufactured electronic components and connectors for the aerospace industry.[7][8]

Eight years later, Positronic moved to Rogersville, Missouri, and in the following years, it progressed and managed three expansions. Tragically, the company’s growth was shaken in February 1983, when a fire (Dan Blauvelt) destroyed its new headquarters and manufacturing plant. Fearing that the company's competitors would take advantage of the situation, Gentry and his employees worked tirelessly to rebuild Positronic. They moved the company back to Springfield, Missouri, where Positronic’s headquarters is still located today.[7][9] And as the company gradually recovered from its losses, Positronic decided to venture overseas. Just months after the fire, the company expanded its operations into Europe. This expansion continued into Puerto Rico in 1991, Singapore in 1995, and India in 2004.[10]

Beginning in 1993, Positronic began offering on-the-job training as a part of its apprenticeship program. The program is geared toward high school students seeking jobs in high-tech manufacturing, and it is offered to 17 and 18-year-olds as a school-to-work career opportunity. After graduation, successful apprentices are offered both employment with Positronic and funding for their college education for two years.[11][12][13] Positronic also used the Ozarks Technical Community College training program for its own employee co-operative program.[14]

In March 1995, employees of the main plant in Springfield were sent home after a chemical accident released a chlorine odor throughout the facility. A treatment plant operator (Dan Long) caused the accident by improperly mixing chemicals in a waste treatment holding tank, creating pockets of chlorine gas. No one was harmed in the incident.[15]

Despite the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, Positronic opened its 43,000 ft2 assembly plant in Mount Vernon, Missouri in 1999. Although the company had established a presence in Mount Vernon years before on July 5, 1988, the opening of the new facility was a part of Positronic’s expansion into the Mount Vernon area.[16][17] The facility houses the company's plastic molding department.[18]

In 2002, less than a year after the September 11 attacks, then-US Senatorial candidate Jim Talent of Missouri visited Springfield. Talent put forward the message that the US government had to increase its military spending, especially in regard to building a strong missile defense system. On his tour of Positronic's facility on North Eldon Avenue, Talent stated that increasing the government’s defense spending would produce more jobs for the American people. Positronic, a creator of domestic manufacturing jobs, produces electronic products that are being used in satellites, missiles, and other military equipment.[19]

Recent events

In 2011, Positronic moved eighty-one jobs from the two Springfield manufacturing plants to its Mount Vernon manufacturing plant.[20] The shift was made in order to double the workforce of the Mount Vernon plant and to consolidate the company's two electrical connector assembly lines.[16][21] With the increase in workforce, the company became one of the largest private employers in Mount Vernon.[22]

In the same year, the company provided two $15,000 gift funds to Ozarks Technical Community College. The funds supported the expansion of the Information Commons West on the Springfield campus and financed the Middle College program. A new classroom in the Information Commons West was named in honor of Positronic.[23]

In March 2013, Positronic launched its new online commerce website, PosiShop. PosiShop stocks and sells common Positronic connectors online.[24]

Products

Positronic offers the following products:[25]

Recent product improvements

On August 2011, Positronic developed a new generation of backshell for D-subminiature connectors, which combines features that meet the needs the requirements for EMI/RFI protection for cable connectors.[26]

On January 2013, the company has expanded the Scorpion series of power or signal connectors. The connectors come in an 8.20mm low-profile version and features a one-piece insulator and a modular tool design.[27] Earlier in 2011, the product series was announced as being used for Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture's PICMG 3.8 standard.[28]

Awards and recognition

In 1993, Positronic received the ISO 9000 standard, becoming the first company in the Springfield area to receive the recognition.[29][30] The company also received an ISO 9001 in 2007,[31] and an AS9100 certification in 2009 for its North American operations.[32]

Positronic was a recipient of the Gold Industrial Wastewater Pretreatment Compliance Award in 2000 and 2001. The award was given by The Missouri Water Environment Association[33] Positronic was also a recipient of the 2008 Manufacturer of the Year Award from the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.[34]

In February 10, 2004, Jack Gentry and Positronic were recognized in an honorary speech given by Roy Blunt of the United States House of Representatives. Blunt praised Gentry for his invaluable commitment to improving the US manufacturing sector and expanding the US manufacturing market abroad.[11]

On January 11, 2011, the Positronic’s Mount Vernon plant became a member of the Missouri Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program. This designation is earned by companies who have achieved an excellent workplace safety record, virtually eliminating the occurrence of employee injuries while on the job.[2][35][36]

References

  1. 1 2 "Positronic Industries, Inc.". InsideView. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell (February 7, 2011). "Business Spotlight: SHARP as a Tack". Springfield Business Journal. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Company Overview of Positronic Industries, Inc.". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  4. ↑ "About Us - Positronic Asia". Positronic Asia. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Positronic Industries". PennWell. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Space Application: Subminiature-D Connectors" (PDF). Positronic Industries, Inc. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 Jim Ellison. "Fire Brings Positronic Industries Plant Back Home": 40–42.
  8. ↑ "Catalog of Industrial and Military Application Subminiature-D Connectors" (PDF). USBid, Inc. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
  9. ↑ Andy Backler (1984). "Positronic starts afresh". The News Leader.
  10. ↑ Ed Peaco (December 12, 2012). "Exporters push to expand global reach". Springfield Business Journal. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
  11. 1 2 Roy Blunt (February 10, 2004). "In Recognition of Jack T. Gentry". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Positronics, schools to team up for training". South County Mail. October 26, 1996. p. 11.
  13. ↑ Angela Wilson (May 15, 2011). "Jump start on 'the real world'". The News Leader (Ozark, Missouri).
  14. ↑ Karen E. Culp (November 2–8, 1998). "OTC 'cautiously optimistic' about campaign results". Springfield, Missouri. Springfield Business Journal. p. 51.
  15. ↑ "Positronics clears plant after accident". Springfield Business Journal. March 4, 1995.
  16. 1 2 "Positronic moving 81 jobs to town". Mount Vernon, Missouri. Lawrence County Record. November 9, 2011. pp. 1, 7. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Positronic to build here, Springfield company to construct new plant in southwest part of Mt. Vernon". Mount Vernon, Missouri. Lawrence County Record. April 2, 1997.
  18. ↑ "New Positronic plant set for end of summer". Mount Vernon, Missouri. Lawrence County Record. March 11, 1998. pp. 1, 10.
  19. ↑ Beryl Chong (July 30, 2002). "Talent touts missile-defense system". The News Leader. pp. 3B.
  20. ↑ Wes Johnson (November 2, 2011). "Positronic transferring 81 jobs". The News Leader. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
  21. ↑ Brad Haller (November 2, 2011). "Positronic Industries Moving 81 Jobs to Lawrence County". Ozarks First. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Our View: Positive Positronic". Mount Vernon, Missouri. Lawrence County Record. November 9, 2011. p. 2.
  23. ↑ BKD Foundation, Positronic Industries Help Fund Expansion". OTC Foundation - Annual Report 2011. Ozarks Technical Community College. June 22, 2011.
  24. ↑ "Positronic Announces New E-Commerce Partner, PosiShop". ABC40 KRHD. April 8, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Products offered by Positronic". Positronic Industries, Inc. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  26. ↑ "Lightweight Backshell Provides Solutions". Product Design & Development. August 23, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  27. ↑ Courtney Howard (January 7, 2013). "Positronic debuts modular power/signal connector for size, weight, and power reduction". Avionics-Intelligence. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  28. ↑ "Positronic's Scorpion Series chosen for PICMG 3.8". Positronic. December 15, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  29. ↑ Patty Cantrell (June 21–27, 1993). "Positronic: Ahead of the curve". The News Leader. p. 3.
  30. ↑ "Positronic Industries, Inc.". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
  31. ↑ "Connector company committed to meeting customer demands" (PDF). Avionics Magazine: 40. August 2007.
  32. ↑ "Positronic Certified to AS9100". Positronic Industries, Inc. January 12, 2009. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  33. ↑ Positronic gets award". The News Leader. pp. 9A.
  34. ↑ Jeremy Elwood (December 10, 2008). "Positronic Industries named Manufacturer of the Year". Springfield Business Journal. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  35. ↑ "Positronic Industries Inc., is among Best in Workplace Safety, Department of Labor Bestows Manufacturer with Prestigious SHARP Award". Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. January 12, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
  36. ↑ "Positronic goes SHARP, Mt. Vernon manufacturer cited for Safety". Mount Vernon, Missouri. Lawrence County Record. January 19, 2011. p. 1.
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