History

AirBorn Connectors, Inc. was founded by Tony D'Amico in 1958 to manufacture electronic connectors. The first connectors we produced are pictured at the bottom of the slide show to the right.

AirBorn’s name originated when we were founded in Dallas in 1958 to support work with aircraft manufacturers like Chance Vought (later Ling Temco-Vought (LTV)). Chance Vought built the original Corsair during WWII along with the Scout missile. We supported aircraft such as the F-8 Crusader and the A-7 Corsair II, working with the A-7 from the time it was a full size wooden mock-up in the factory through its life. Our CTO, Michael Cuff was able to sit in the mock-up in the factory and attended the inaugural flight. AirBorn Connectors, Inc. was just that, an airborne connector manufacturing company as our original product.

By 1960, there were 12 employees in our 1100 square foot space. Customers included Motorola, Inc. (now Motorola and General Dynamics), Texas Instruments (now Raytheon), Lockheed Aircraft, Boeing, and Burroughs.

Highlights:

1961: AirBorn makes it's first acquisition, adding automated stamping to our capabilities

1973: A Technical Assistance Agreement was established with Texas Instruments, authorizing them to manufacture AirBorn connector designs and, thereby, allowing AirBorn products to enter the military market.

1974: The W-Series was qualified to meet MIL-C-55302 for military applications.

1986: M-Series and R-Series were qualified for MIL-C -83513 and MIL-C-55302, respectively.

1990s: Addison, Winnsboro and Georgetown plants became ISO 9001 certified.

2001: AirBorn goes international, opening an office in the U.K.

2002: AirBorn acquires CARON Enterprises in Lake City, PA specializing in EMI/EMC electronic filtering solutions.

2002: The Nano product line was introduced, establishing our Phoenix, AZ location.

2005: Six Sigma and Six Sigma Lean initiatives were launched throughout the company.

2006: High-speed products were released

2007: Acquired Central Minnesota Tool in Little Falls, MN and StrataFlex (now AirBorn Flexible Circuits, Inc.) in Toronto, Canada

2011: Acquired AESCO in Akron, OH which is now known as AirBorn Electronics, Inc.