Edwards Vacuum

Edwards (formerly BOC Edwards) is a vacuum engineering company headquartered in Burgess Hill, in West Sussex in the United Kingdom. The company manufactures and supplies vacuum and abatement equipment used in advanced manufacturing processes. As of January 2014, Edwards is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Copco Group.[1]

Edwards
IndustryVacuum Engineering
Founded1919
FounderF.D. Edwards
Headquarters
Burgess Hill
,
England
Key people
Geert Follens, President
Number of employees
8,000 (2018)
ParentAtlas Copco AB
Websitewww.edwardsvacuum.com

History

Edwards equipment and services business was founded by physicist, F.D. Edwards in 1919 in south London.[2] Initially the business imported vacuum equipment before commencing independent manufacturing in 1939. In 1953 the company relocated its factory and headquarters to Crawley and was later acquired by The BOC Group in 1968. This move prompted international expansion for the business, particularly across Asia.

Manufacturing operations continued to expand in the UK with a concentration of design and manufacturing facilities in the Sussex towns of Crawley, Eastbourne, Shoreham and Burgess Hill. From the mid 1990s a programme of outsourcing manufacturing to lower cost economies began, resulting in the eventual closure of all the Edwards facilities in Crawley and Shoreham with Burgess Hill becoming a headquarters and design centre.[3][4]

In 1997 BOC Edwards was formed with the integration of Edwards vacuum business with BOC electronic gases unit before the BOC Group was itself acquired by Linde AG in 2006. Edwards subsequently became independent when it was acquired by CCMP Capital & Unitas Capital in 2007.

On 14 May 2012, Edwards became listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange as a publicly traded company.

In late February 2013 it was announced that Matthew Taylor would be standing down as CEO and was being replaced by independent Board of Directors member Jim Gentilcore effective 1 March 2013.[5]

On 19 August 2013 it was announced that Edwards had been wholly acquired by Atlas Copco Compressors, becoming the Vacuum Solutions division of Atlas Copco. and Geert Follens was appointed Divisional president. The acquisition was completed in January 2014.[1]

In 2018 Edwards agreed to a deal with Brooks Automation to acquire CTI-Cryogenics and Polycold. With the deal they also acquired locations in Chelmsford, MA and Monterrey, Mexico.

Operations

The company’s key manufacturing sites are in Cheonan (Korea), Lutín (Czech Republic),[6] Yachiyo (Japan),[7] Qingdao (China), Eastbourne ("Global Electronics & Software Centre", UK)[8] and Clevedon (UK).[9][10]

Edwards Global Electronics & Software Centre
Coordinates50°47′38.0″N 0°17′04.0″E
Address15 Marshall Rd
Eastbourne BN22 9BA, United Kingdom
エドワーズ（株）
Address276-0047 Chiba-ken, Yachiyo-shi, Yoshihashi, 1078−1, Japan

References
  1. "Atlas Copco completes acquisition of Edwards Group" (Press release). Atlas Copco. 9 January 2014. Archived from the original on 27 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  2. "Edwards".
  3. Sherwood, Bob (10 January 2011). "Edwards reshapes ahead of flotation". Financial Times. The Financial Times Ltd. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  4. "Edwards to close Shoreham factory". Shoreham Herald. 14 January 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  5. "Today's Stock Market News and Analysis from Nasdaq.com".
  6. Vitásek, Mgr. Petr. "Lutín a místní část Třebčín - oficiální stránky obce".
  7. http://www.edwardsvacuum.com/Contact/Asia-Pacific.aspx Asian Offices
  8. "Edwards Ltd. Eastbourne Aerial view". Google Maps. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  9. "Barns Ground". Google Street View. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  10. Edwards reshapes ahead of flotation Financial Times, 10 January 2010
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