Barco Simulation celebrates 20th anniversary
Xenia Company Grows from Entrepreneurial Start-up to Global Industry Leader
Xenia, Ohio – Barco Simulation, a world leader in high-performance visual display products and solutions for simulation, virtual & augmented reality and edutainment, today announced its 20-year anniversary. Through the years, the company has delivered core technological innovations behind the simulation industry’s most significant advances. Barco Simulation’s products directly improve the effectiveness of the world’s top visualization programs.
“We’ve kept the same principals originally established by our founders: keeping the customer first and understanding his needs, maintaining quality at all times, innovation, and never forgetting that the greatest asset is our people,” said Steve McCullough, Vice President and General Manager of Barco Simulation. “We are very excited about the next twenty years – and the 20 years after that. It’s these principles that have made us what we are today and we’re looking forward to providing our customers with countless more decades of innovation, step-ahead products and services.”
Intrigued by the possibilities of high-performance display systems, Barco Simulation was founded in August 1983 by two engineers, Richard Holmes and Joe Mays, in Xenia under the name of Electronic Image Systems (EIS). EIS quickly made a name for itself in the mid-to-late 1980s as the leading developer and manufacturer of calligraphic projectors for aircraft simulation. Building on its technological success, EIS became the first manufacturer to produce a “universal” raster/calligraphic projector that integrates with any simulator image generator.
The raster-calligraphic CRT-projector combines raster scan (projection of TV-like images) with calligraphic scan (projection of light points and lines). The EIS-brand raster-calligraphic projector is used in full-flight simulators. By providing a major portion of pilot training on simulators rather than on an actual aircraft, commercial airlines and military trainers realize tremendous cost savings and can provide safer training for pilots. As flight simulation technology advances, government regulations allow increased use of simulators in approved training programs.
From 1983 to 1996, EIS experienced significant growth. It produced products that directly improved the effectiveness of the world’s commercial and military pilots. Various commercial airlines and military training programs were using EIS simulator display technology. Throughout this period, EIS produced more projectors for commercial and military flight simulators than all other manufacturers combined. The company also received numerous prestigious awards, such as the 1995 Entrepreneur of the Year, 1995/1996 SBA Awards of Excellence (awarded by Lockheed Martin), and the 1996 Governor’s “E” Award for Excellence in Exporting.
The fast-moving, fast-growing start-up company was acquired by Barco, a worldwide technology leader in the commercial projection business, in 1997 and made part of the Barco Simulation Products group. This same year, the company officially changed its name to EIS-Barco. Just two years later, in 1999, the 16-year-old company expanded its operation by adding 10,000 square feet to its production and research facility. This expansion virtually doubled the production area and substantially increased the research and development space. Growing quickly and becoming a technology leader in its industry, EIS-Barco set its sights on delivering pre-eminent quality and achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification.
In 2002, EIS-Barco boasted record sales for the third consecutive year. This rapid growth sparked another expansion. The company added 16,500 square feet to its building, making the Xenia facility now over 43,000 square feet with additional room to grow.
New front entrance at Barco Simulation, Xenia
(click to enlarge)
In 2003, the company moved to unify its corporate identity and EIS-Barco became Barco Simulation. The company now employs approximately 90 people; 25 are engineers active in research and development. Drawing upon its expertise in projection technologies, optics and opto-electronics, colorimetry, electronics and image processing, and customized precision mechanics, Barco Simulation and its partners provide the best solutions to meet any simulation, virtual & augmented reality, and edutainment requirement.
The Barco-EIS brand projectors and MRP’s (Monitor Replacement Projectors) are presently used by the majority of full-flight simulator integrators and are widely regarded as the highest performance systems available. They are complemented with LCD and DLP™ proprietary developed projectors widening the scope of applications to tank simulators, ships bridge simulators, shuttle mission simulators, driving simulators and mission rehearsal simulators. Barco Simulation products are installed and in active service in at least 27 countries and are backed by a three-year warranty.
2003 also marked the dawn of a new era for the company with the introduction of an innovative communications product called VCAD (Virtual Collaboration, Analysis & Decision). Specifically designed for the United States Homeland Security effort, this system analyzes complex data and graphically renders key relationships in a stereoscopic display to help intelligence agencies accurately assess complicated situations and make timely, correct decisions. Intrigued by this new cutting-edge technology, Congressman David L. Hobson (OH R-7th District) visited Barco Simulation to view the effectiveness of the system to meet the nation’s critical security needs.
Barco Simulation also designs and builds other turnkey immersive visualization solutions for virtual collaboration, analysis, and decision-making. Installations range from virtual prototyping in the automotive industry, oil and gas exploration, molecular modeling, medical surgery training, and scientific research.
Notable Accomplishments
Through the years, Barco Simulation has consistently delivered the core technological innovations behind the simulation industry’s most significant advances. To date the company has compiled a hearty list of industry firsts:
- First 2K x 2K-color raster display
- First stereo display system and Advanced Helmet-Mounted Display Electronics (AHMDE) for Wright-Patterson AFB
- First projector manufactured for simulation industry
- First manufacturer to produce a “universal” raster/calligraphic projector to integrate with any simulator image generator
- First manufacturer to incorporate 9” CRTs
- First 64 kHz and 80 kHz simulator projectors
- First exclusive Single-PackTM 64 projector, with scan rates up to 64 kHz
- First 25” Monitor Replacement Projector (MRP) solution for extending life of older simulators
- First space-saving Split-PackTM projector with remote electronics
- First virtual collaboration, analysis and decision-making (VCAD) communications system for Homeland Security
About Barco
Barco, with headquarters in Kortrijk, Belgium, has three key activities, which are all active in Image Processing. BarcoProjection is in various markets of large screen visualization. BarcoView develops and manufactures display systems for life critical applications, while BarcoVision is in systems for visual inspection and quality control.
In 2002, the entire Barco group delivered revenue of Euro 669.0 million. Barco has a network of subsidiaries, distributors, and agents in almost 100 countries throughout the world. Barco is quoted on Brussels/Euronext and is a BEL 20 and a Next 150 company. In the US, Barco facilities are located in Xenia (Ohio), Duluth and Kennesaw, (Georgia), Beaverton, Portland, (Oregon), West-Sacramento (California), and Charlotte (North-Carolina). Over 500 US associates develop, manufacture, and market high-end image processing solutions for dedicated niche markets.
