Time sure flies by when you are in business!
This year, 2022, marks SensComp’s 20th anniversary!
It’s an interesting story on how SensComp was created.
EDP Company, owned by the same founders as SensComp, developed ultrasonic products used in two prominent applications:
- SonaSwitch® 1400, used in the fast-food industry sensing vehicles in the drive-thru lanes, and
- SonaSwitch®1650, used as an occupant sensor in mass transit buses.
Both products used the (former) Polaroid 600 and 7000 series electrostatic ultrasonic sensors in their designs. If you are old enough to remember, these sensors were used in Polaroid One Step cameras to focus the lens on their subjects.
EDP manufactured SonaSwitch® products starting in 1984. The SonaSwitch® 1400 and 1650 products are still manufactured today for fast-food and other applications.
Around the year 2000, the Polaroid Corporation began having financial difficulties. Since they were the sole worldwide supplier of electrostatic ultrasonic transducers, EDP Company became concerned that the 600 and 7000 ultrasonic sensors would be discontinued if Polaroid went out of business. Talk about supply chain problems! The choices for EDP were to redesign their sensor products with other ultrasonic sensors, a very expensive option, or discontinue manufacturing their SonaSwitch® products altogether.
As an alternative, EDP started negotiations with Polaroid in 2001 to purchase the ultrasonic sensor and component division of their business. By early 2002, the acquisition was completed. The sensor manufacturing equipment was moved from the Polaroid factory in Cambridge, Massachusetts to our facilities in Livonia, Michigan. The founders named the new company SensComp, Inc.
And, as the saying goes, the rest is history!
It has been an exciting and innovative 20 years in business. We continue to manufacture and supply the original Polaroid 600 and 7000 series ultrasonic sensors to the hundreds of customers that have designed their products based on these technologies. We have also integrated new technologies with these sensors and offer a wide range of sensor products for all our loyal customers.
SensComp and its dedicated employees wish to thank all of our customers in the US and throughout the world for their loyal support over the past 20 years. It has been our pleasure to supply our customers’ ultrasonic sensor needs.
Lastly, all of our products are proudly made in the USA!
