September 2004 - Schaffner Limited, the market-leading supplier of EMC components and Test Equipment celebrates 20 years of trading in the UK in September 2004. Creation of the company began in the June of 1984 when Michael Lowe found premises and incorporated the company. At that time Schaffner was part of the Electrowatt Group, a Swiss public company.

Until the opening of the UK office, sales of Schaffner products had been handled by the distributor Lyons Instruments, then based in Hoddesdon. In the early years the most important customers included such “household names” as Tektronix, Gould Electronics and Apricot Computers. Selling through distribution was an early objective beginning with the then recently founded XP plc. XP are still successfully selling Schaffner products in the UK now alongside RS Components, Farnell Components and Anglia Components.

Michael Lowe stepped down from the Managing Director’s position in April of this year to become a non-executive director. During his stewardship Schaffner had undergone many changes, growing by acquisition and design, increasing the product range to encompass not only EMC filter components but also test equipment and systems, ATE for power products, sensors and electro-emulation test equipment for the automotive sector and added-value manufacturing. Schaffner is now a publicly quoted company on the Swiss stock market and has offices in 15 countries worldwide employing some 1600 people. Global turnover is Euro 107.5M of which the UK is Euro 9.5M.

Paul Dixon is the new UK Managing Director who will be taking forward Schaffner’s ethos of “safety for electronic systems”. As the international leader in electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) Schaffner are focussing on such hi-growth markets as automotive, industrial and consumer electronics and telecommunications. Their goal is to provide complete solutions from standard and custom components and modules to test systems, complete test facilities and support services.

To mark this anniversary employees, their families and friends took part in “Dash for Cash” on September 26 at Warbrook House, Eversley, Hampshire, Schaffner sponsored every entrant £1 for entering and a further £1 for every minute less than a twenty minute target time that they could cover the one mile course in. Awards, sponsored by Schaffner’s distributors, were made for the fastest man, woman and child under sixteen. Additional sponsorship of individual runners was also sought to increase the final amount made. The proceeds of the Schaffner “Dash for Cash” will be donated to the Frimley Park Hospital Cancer Fund.

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