SINGER TIMELINE

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TIMELINE OF SINGER AND RELATED COMPANIES

This summary has been compiled from the sources listed below. I tried to do a graphical representation, but things started to look like spaghetti in recent years, so I settled on a text format. If you see errors, or have additional input, contact Phil Hoeper.

 

 
EVENT
YEAR
 
SOURCE
Isaac Merritt Singer forms the Singer company.
1851
1
ACF formed by consolidation of 13 railroad equipment manufacturers
1899
1
Edwin Link builds his first airplane simulator (the “Blue Box”)
1927
1
Edwin Link starts Link Aeronautical Corp.
1929
1
E A Link invents Link Trainer
1929
2
ERCO incorporated in DC
1930
1
Link Manufacturing Co LTD established in Gananoque, ON for
British and Canadian markets
1934
2
ERCO reincorporated in MD
1936
1
GPE founded by Hermann Gauntlett Place holding co for
Several theatrical equipment firms
1936
2
GPE bought Librascope Development Company
1941
2
Air Trainers LTD formed as successor to JVW Corp LTD
1946
2
F G Miles LTD founded to produce aircraft
1948
2
ERCO starts producing flight simulators
1949
1
ACF starts work for Atomic Energy Commission
1950
1
GPE bought Kearfott Co, Inc and Kearfott Manufacturing Co
1952
2
ERCO purchased by ACF
1954
1
Link Aviation merges with General Precision Equipment Co (GPE)
1954
1
Link Aviation sold to GPE
1954
2
GPE bought Link Aviation
1954
2
Link acquires controlling interest in Air Trainers LTD
1956
2
ERCO division merges with another ACF division to form
 Nuclear Products – ERCO division In Riverdale, MD
1957
1
Link interest of Air Trainers transferred to GPE, which became GPS Ltd
1959
2
Librascope, Kearfot, GPL and Link Aviation became General Precision
1960
2
GPE buys Riverdale operations
1965
1
GPE buys part of ACF Electronics Div(was ERCO), moves to Silver Spring, MD
1965
2
ERCO sold to American Car & Foundry (ACF)
1965
2
GPE buys ACF Electronics Division (Riverdale) and moves it to Silver Spring MD
1965
2
General Precision Systems holds Kearfott 
1966
2
GPE moves  the division to Montgomery Industrial Park, in Silver Spring, MD
1967
1
GPS holds Link Division
1967
2
GPS Ltd sold to Redifon LTD
1967
2
Singer buys the division, naming it Simulation Products Division
1968
1
GPE merges with Singer Co
1968
1
GPE bought by Singer
1968
2
Singer buys GPE
1968
2
Silve Spring operation renamed Simulation Products Division
1968
2
Link acquires controlling interest in Link Miles LTD
1969
2
Link bought Miles Electronics LTD, Lancing, Sussex, England rename as Link-Miles
1969
2
Omnidata is formed to build simulation equipment
1970
1
Silve Spring operation renamed Link Division
1976
2
Ed Link dies
1981
1
Singer splits off Simulation Systems Division (SSD) to do non-flight simulator work
1981
1
Link SSD  split off to do nuclear, fossil, industrial and tactical simulators
1981
2
Link Flight Simulation Division split off to expand aircarft and space simulator business
1981
2
Link buys Omnidata, a supplier of training equpment (cheap simulators)
1984
1
Simuflite formed by Singer to do pilot training
1984
2
Kearfott Division sold to Astronautics Corp of America
1987
2
Bilzerian buys Singer
1987
2
CAE buys the Link Simulation Systems from Singer.
The Silver Spring operation(LinkTactical Simulation) did naval and tactical simulation
1988
1
Bilzerian sells Link (Silver Spring) to CAE LTD. RenamedCAE-Link
1988
2
Kearfott Guidance & Navigation sold to Astronautics Corp of America
1988
2
Bilzerian reorganizes – Link-Miles into two: Link-Miles LTD,
And Industrial Simulation Corp
1988
2
SingerSewing Machine Division sold to Semi-Tech Microelectronics
1989
2
Bilzerian renames company at Bicoastal INC
1989
2
Bicoastal files for bankruptcy
1989
2
Link Tactical Simulation was merged into Link Flight Simulation Div
1990
1
Electronics Systems Div of Singer sold to GEC-Marconi
1990
2
Link-Miles Simulation Corp (Columbia, MD) renamed S3 Technologies
1990
2
BiCoastal sold Link-Miles LTD to Thomson-CSF
1990
2
Simuflite sold to Southern Air Transport Inc
1991
2
Librascope sold to Loral
1991
2
Bicoastal is dissolved
1992
2
ManTech buys S3 Technologies
1993
2
GSE Systems formed to combine S3 Technologies, EuroSim and GPIES
1994
2
Thomson bought Redifussion Simulation from Hughes Aircraft
 – became Thomson Training & Simulation
1994
2
CAE sold CAE-Link to Hughes Electronics Corp
1995
2
Librascope sold to Lockheed Martin
1996
2
Simuflite sold to GE Capital Services
1998
2
GSE buys company which makes plug-compatible I/O system
1998
3
CAE-Link resold, becomes L-3 Link Simulation & Training (owned by
 L-3 Communications)
2000
2
Thomson-CSF changes name to Thales;  sim part becomes Thales
 Training & Simulation
2000
2
L-3 technologies buys Raytheon simulator operation, naming it
 L-3 Link Simulation & Training
2000
3
Simuflite sold to CAE
2001
2
GP Strategies gets controlling interest in GSE Systems
2003
2
Singer sewing and trademarks sold to Kohlberg & Company
2004
2
L-3 buys Thales civil aircraft simulation and training
2012
4


 

Sources:

1 = 50th Anniversary brochure

2= Link Aviation History pdf

3= Phil Hoeper personal observation

4=https://www.l3t.com/link/about#our-innovation-heritage

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This file last modified on November 11, 2020