PYE Museum Homepage The Story of Pye
1896 to
The history of the Pye Group of Companies in scientific & analytical instruments, radio & line communications, broadcasting, domestic radio & TV and industrial electronics from 1896 to the present day
The virtual museum of the Pye History Trust - Celebrating Britain’s Scientific & Industrial Heritage
 
Parent Company Activities
 

The parent company activities of the Pye Group extended to much more than administrative and financial control of the group companies and operated under various trading names over the years.

From 1896 the initial Pye company was known as W. G. Pye & Co and in 1925 formed a radio division called Pye Radio Ltd. In 1929 Pye Radio Ltd was purchased by C. O. Stanley and became an independant company. In 1937 Pye Radio Ltd changed its name to Pye Limited and the Company continued to use this name until 1960. W. G. Pye & Co continued with the scientific instrument business until 1946 when it was bought by Pye Ltd.

Over the next 20 years Pye Ltd created and acquired more than 80 companies to form the Pye Group.

Following the merger of the Pye and EKCO groups in 1960 the combined company was known as British Electronics Industries Ltd. This was changed to Pye of Cambridge Ltd in 1963. In 1967 the Philips Group gained a majority shareholding in Pye and formed Pye Holdings Ltd to administer the Pye Group of companies. Gradually, over the next 7 years, a majority of the the Pye Group companies were absorbed into the operating companies of Philips Electronics UK.

In 1996 when Philips Electronics UK sold the large radio communications division (formerly Pye Telecommunications) to form Simoco International Ltd this became the parent company of all of the ex-Pye and Philips radio commnications companies worldwide.

Philips continued to selectively use the Pye name as a secondary brand in various countries for may years and to this day Pye branded consumer products are sold by the Philips Group, particularly in Australia and South East Asia.

In addition to the usual activities of corporate control and co-ordination, between 1938 and 1973 the Parent Company also operated the main Pye research laboratories, known as Pye Upper Research and Pye Lower Research. Fundamental research and design work would begin in Pye Labs, before the technology or application was devolved to group companies or the complete design teams spun off into the operating companies. This is how Pye Telecommunications and also Pye TVT began their independent existence.

Pye Ltd also functioned for may years as the primary contractor for government military equipment contracts and major industrial contracts in order to provide parent company financial guarantees for the operating companies.

...Parent company activities to be continued.

 
  Pye Group Structure
 
 
 
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