WJ's Heritage

WJ History

WJ Communications Inc. is the commercial product descendent of Watkins-Johnson Company, which was founded in 1957 and developed and manufactured devices for defense electronics and space communications systems. With increased market opportunities in commercial communications in the 1990s, WJ began applying its technology, design and manufacturing expertise to develop commercial communications products.

Today WJ Communications has established itself as a RF semiconductor company focusing on the design and manufacture of high-quality and innovative devices and multi-chip modules for the communications industry, as well as suppliers of best-in-class RFID readers, modules and chipsets. WJ has recently been acquired by TriQuint Semiconductor, a major supplier of high-performance RF modules, components and foundry services to the world's leading communications companies.

Company Milestones

2008	TriQuint Semiconductor acquires WJ Communications. WJ Communications is now part of TriQuint’s Network Products group.
2007	WJ Completes Transition to Fabless Business Model
2005	Acquires Telenexus Inc., a company that designed, and developed, RFID reader products for a broad range of industries and markets
2004	Completed acquisition of the wireless infrastructure business and associated assets from EiC Corporation, a California based corporation
2002	Appoints Richardson Electronics, Ltd., as worldwide distributor for RF products
2000	Originally incorporated in California and reincorporated in Delaware. Fox Paine Capital Fund, an investment fund managed by Fox Paine & Company, LLC became the controlling stockholder of the Company
1995	The company sold its microwave electronics unit to Condor Systems Inc., freeing up manufacturing space at its San Jose facility for semiconductor equipment production
Mid 90s	Ranked as the third-largest producer of CVD systems in the world
1989	Electronic Equipment Group (EEG) established at WJ to design, develop and produce SIGINT intercept and collection equipment
Late 80s	Emerged as a leading supplier of chemical-vapor-deposition (CVD) systems to semiconductor manufacturers, developing equipment that deposited layers of non-conducting dielectrics onto silicon wafers
Mid 80s	Sales from defense sectors started shrinking and the company began to diversify
End 70s	The company, profitable in every year since its founding, was supported by approximately 3,000 employees, four manufacturing facilities, and 15 sales offices in the United States and in Europe
Mid 70s	Became the leading supplier of world’s largest selection of receiving equipment for surveillance, direction finding and counter measures. Sales outside the United States accounted for 30 percent of the company's total sales by the mid-1970s
1970	Completed its third acquisition of California-based RELCOM, a closely-held manufacturer of precision components such as mixers, frequency converters, transformers, and switches
1967	Acquires another company, Maryland-based Communication Electronics Inc., a manufacturer of lower frequency reconnaissance and surveillance equipment used principally for monitoring radio communications
1967	Company was traded at NYSE for first time
1963	Acquires California-based Stewart Engineering Company, a manufacturer of backward-wave oscillators, devices used primarily in electronic test equipment, and a maker of a line of controlled atmosphere furnaces for the semiconductor industry
1957	Watkins Johnson is formed