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History and Timeline

Richard Bacon from Granby, Connecticut visits George Smith in Cornwall and becomes agent for the sale of Safety Fuse in the United States obtaining the American Patent.

Partnership established with a foreman, Joseph Eales from Cornwall, establishing Bacon, Bickford, Eales & Co. in Simsbury, Connecticut.

1836-1837

First American Safety Fuse made.

 

1839

Primacord® detonating cord is trademarked.

 

1937

Formation of Space Ordnance Division. E-B contributes to all early NASA programs – Mercury, Gemini & Apollo.

 

1965

New Primacord® detonating cord plant opens in Graham, Kentucky.

 

1969

Introduction of Nonel® shock tube and Primadet® detonators.

 

1976

Confined Detonating Cord (CDF) for the space shuttle is pioneered.

 

1978

Opening of PETN facility in Graham, Kentucky, EBCo’s largest undertaking to date.

 

1983

The Space Ordnance Division becomes Ensign Bickford Aerospace Company (EBAC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of EBCo, later to become Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company.

 

1987

EBCo forms NAX (North American Explosives) in partnership with Royal Ordnance.

 

1988

Caleb Ensign White is appointed president and CEO and Joseph Ensign Lovejoy Jr. is appointed chairman of Ensign-Bickford Industries. EBAD acquires Shock Tube Systems, Inc.

 

2008

Acquisition of NEA Electronics, Inc. and SDI Defense and Aerospace.

 

2010

Acquisition of a state-of-the-art energetics manufacturing complex in Moorpark, California.

 

2011

Partnership established with Tactical Energetic Entry Systems (TEES) to offer international training in explosive breaching and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) defeat.

 

2012

NEA® Electronics, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company closes on its acquisition of Rocketstar Robotics, Inc.

 

2013

Acquisition of TiNi™ Aerospace, Inc.

2017

Acquisition of Honeybee Robotics

2017

Acquisition of Avior Controls

2018

Creation of EBI Space & Defense becomes two separate business models of; EBAD with product lines TiNi™ and NEA®, and Honeybee and Avior

2018