AVX Corporation

History

AVX began in 1972 making ceramic capacitors as a subsidiary of Aerovox Corporation, a company founded in 1922 as Radiola Wireless Corporation, which made radios. In June 1973, AVX became the parent company when assets of Aerovox were sold. That same year, Marshall D. Butler, who played a major role in the company's growth, became chairman and CEO.

Butler had cofounded Alloys Unlimited Inc. in 1957, which was sold to London-based Plessey Co. in 1970; Butler stayed for several years as president of the Plessey subsidiary. With his experience in the semiconductor field, Butler decided AVX should emphasize multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), used in the rapidly expanding integrated circuit field. Butler sold two other divisions and started a five-year plan. The company's $20 million investment and careful analysis of the market resulted in 1979 sales of $95 million and dominance of the market; the goal, based on 30 percent annual growth, had been $83 million.

AVX added operations in Europe, but moving into Japan proved more difficult because of Japan's protected home market. The company's license would not let it sell in Japan, but Kyocera Corporation could sell its products in the United States. Kyocera CEO Kazuo Inamori agreed with Butler that the situation needed to be changed, and Kyocera ended the unfair provision. In 1979 AVX started a Japanese subsidiary.

During the 1980s, growth continued, with 1984 sales reaching $234 million. But that year, it became clear that computer manufacturers had bought more capacitors than needed, and a slowdown began in the industry. AVX continued to grow through new product research and buying other companies. By the end of the decade sales reached $450 million.

In the late 1980s, the European operations of AVX represented one-fourth of sales. AVX wanted to manufacture parts for Kyocera, which had only 2 percent of its sales in Europe and hoped to increase that before the European Community made that more difficult. Inamori wanted to buy AVX rather than partner with the company. After a $267 million stock purchase, AVX has operated as part of Kyocera Corp. since January 18, 1990.