Jump to navigation SEARCH SUPPORT CONTACT US News Careers Home › Company Profile COMPANY PROFILE Amphenol LTD is a manufacturing site within the family of companies that forms the Amphenol Corporation, a global interconnect specialist generating in excess of $8 billion yearly revenue with over 74,000 employees. Employing around 260 people at the site in Whitstable, Kent, Amphenol LTD offers a full design and manufacturing service for a large range of connectors and interconnect solutions, including cable assembly, over-moulding and electronic packaging. In the age of globalisation, Amphenol LTD is proud to have retained full end-to-end manufacturing capability for its products in the UK, whilst having opened access to low cost manufacturing sites around the world to complement its offering to customers globally. Accredited to AS9100, an innovative and a leading edge manufacturer of both connectors and interconnect systems for applications within the Military and Aerospace markets, Amphenol LTD is dedicated to providing customers with the latest technology to meet the needs of interconnection in a variety of challenging applications. With engineering and customer service teams based out of our manufacturing site we are the local point of contact for our UK customers to access the full Amphenol product portfolio and for our global customers to access the specialist products and services that Amphenol LTD can provide. Our History From the initial conception of our corporation to the formation of our company in the UK, Amphenol LTD has had a long and prosperous history in the industry of interconnect solutions, spanning over 80 years. The brainchild of successful entrepreneur Arthur J. Schmitt from Chicago, the Amphenol Corporation was founded in 1932 and has grown exponentially to be the huge force for innovation within the interconnect world that it is today. Designing, manufacturing and marketing electronic and fibre-optic connectors, interconnect systems and coaxial and specialty cable, the Amphenol Corporation is one of the largest interconnect cable manufacturers in the entire world, spanning across 85 facilities and 30 different countries. With a focus on diversifying across markets and anticipating the needs of these high-growth emerging markets, Amphenol has enjoyed a near 90-year legacy that has truly shaped the face of the industry. Arthur Schmitt’s initial foundation of the company was in the pursuit of a more efficient and effective way to mass-produce vacuum tube sockets in order to cope with the boom in radio manufacturing that was occurring at the time of the company’s conception. He found that insulating plastic could more effectively be used to produce tube sockets in a more timely and straightforward method than using Bakelite or ceramic, which were the main methods used at the time. With the first order placed from RCA, the explosion of growth that the company experienced was astronomical and shows no signs of slowing down even to this day. Then, in 1963, Amphenol LTD was established in Great Britain, under the leadership of Ted Thwaites, bringing a wealth of knowledge in the field of interconnect systems to the UK. From our initial site situated in Canterbury, we moved to our current manufacturing site in Whitstable in 1987 and have led the industry for interconnect solutions at the forefront of innovation and new technologies using high-tech materials. In 1982, we created the Data Bus MIL-STD-1553B range, which quickly became the industry standard for all Military Aircraft utilising the Data Bus system and is still in use in the Eurofighter Typhoon to present day. Timeline 1932: First Product: Arthur J. Schmitt, the Amphenol Corporation founder, discovers that insulating plastic can be used more effectively to produce radio tube sockets than brittle Bakelite, the alternative material used at the time. The American Phenolics (later Amphenol) Corporation is born. Early 1940’s: Broadcasting: The Amphenol 75 series Uniform Microphone Connector and Lock-In Socket is released. The innovative and revolutionary socket simplifies the manufacturing of radios and becomes the industry standard. WWII: Military Aerospace: The 5015 AN series connector is released and is soon known world-wide as the ‘Amphenol Connector’ by Military maintenance crews. Post-war: Data and Telecommunications: With the telephone networks rapidly expanding, the Amphenol Corporation takes on board the input of the Bell Labs and Western Electric engineers, producing the Amphenol blue ribbon cable, which quickly becomes the Bell Systems standard. 1953: First office in Britain: The Amphenol Corporation establishes a small office in Burgess Hill. 1963: The birth of Amphenol production in Britain: Amphenol LTD is established in Great Britain, offering Amphenol’s manufacturing capabilities and interconnect expertise to the isles of the UK. 1982: Raising standards for Military Aircraft: Amphenol LTD release the Data Bus MIL-STD-1553B, which quickly becomes the standard for all Data Bus systems in Military Aircraft, still in use in the Eurofighter Typhoon. 1985: Joining forces: Amphenol LTD inherits Spectra-Strip®. 1987: A new place to call home: Amphenol LTD opens the doors to its new factory in its current location of Whitstable in Kent. 1989: Expanding our horizons: Amphenol Scotland is formed and led by Roy Burton. Conception of the Military media converter: Amphenol LTD develop the first industry Military media converter for VICDIS on development of the Bowman program. 1991: Furthering our reach: Amphenol LTD acquires Pyle. 2000/2001: The end of Amphenol Scotland: Amphenol Scotland closes its doors. 2002 and beyond: Eight primary market segments: evolving its image, the Amphenol Corporation now participates in eight market segments across its many divisions, including Automotive, Broadband, Industrial, IT & Data Communications, Medical, Military Aerospace, Mobile Devices and Mobile Networks. 2016: Furthering our reach: Amphenol LTD acquires Martec. 2018: Expanding our product range: Amphenol LTD launches a new magnetic series Stingray, which will evolve to become a major soldier system platform. 2020: In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic Martec joins Amphenol LTD in our world-class Whitstable facility where we continue to invest in the future by taking all measures possible in protecting our staff and securing future growth. The future...? Amphenol LTD aspires to be the first choice supplier of interconnect solutions to our target markets, which includes Military Ground and Marine, Military Aerospace, and Commercial Aerospace, by developing innovative products and services with a Zero Defects philosophy, that deliver the highest levels of value and quality to our customers. Amphenol LTD newsletter Don't miss our latest news Amphenol SOCAPEX Thanet Way, Whitstable, Kent, CT5 3JF, UK Send us a message By phone +44 1227 773200 By email: info@amphenol.co.uk Anti-Human Trafficking and Slavery Statement FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Agence Net Design, Agence Web et conseil en stratégie digitale We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience By clicking the Accept button, you agree to us doing so. No, give me more info OK, I agree No, thanks