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Trimble history
Trimble company history timeline
Trimble Navigation was founded in November 1978 by Charles Trimble and two partners from Hewlett Packard, initially operating above a movie theatre in Los Altos, California.
Trimble started in 1978.
Since 1978, Trimble's technology solutions have been helping customers reach new levels of success by connecting information, positioning and communication.
That is why in 1982 Trimble could launch their first products using GPS technology.
In 1984 they got their first patent and they started to grow more.
When sales in 1990 reached $63.3 million, the announcement fanned investor interest in the company.
They saw a company poised to record robust growth in 1991, with industry analysts projecting $110 million in sales by the end of 1991.
Charles Trimble, who served as chairman and chief executive officer, conceded his company's financial performance was "miserable," as quoted in the June 15, 1992 issue of the Business Journal.
In the first three months of 1992, Trimble Navigation generated $22 million in revenue and posted a net loss of $9.7 million.
By 1992, Trimble Navigation had entered into ventures with Silicon Graphics, Pioneer Electronics, Westinghouse, and others, relying on partnerships to steer its way out of the financial doldrums.
That is how Trimble developed in 1992 the Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) technology.
Trimble Navigation signed another important agreement in 1995, linking with Honeywell, a competitor in the GPS market.
In 1995--the year the NAVSTAR system became fully operational--Trimble Navigation formed a partnership with Adobe Systems Inc., a developer of software that enabled users to create, display, print, and send electronic documents.
In 1998, when sales reached $268 million, the company lost a staggering $27 million.
Under Berglund's stewardship, Trimble Navigation reversed the crippling loss recorded in 1998.
Trimble left the company in August; his replacement, Steven W. Berglund, arrived in May 1999, when he took control as Trimble Navigation's president and chief executive officer.
In July 2000, Trimble Navigation announced it was acquiring Berglund's former company, Spectra Precision, for $200 million in cash and $80 million in seller debt financing.
Their core technology is special, because they have over 2000 worldwide patents.
2001: Trimble, as part of a new plan to narrow its business focus, sells its commercial avionics segment to Honeywell.
Most publicised was their 2012 acquisition of the 3D modeling software package SketchUp from Google.
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Trimble competitors
Company Name  | Founded Date | Revenue | Employee Size | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunavi | 2007 | $35.0M | 84 | 2 |
| Topcon Positioning Systems | 1994 | $1.3B | 200 | 85 |
| Aquaveo | 2007 | $1.5M | 33 | - |
| NetDocuments | 1999 | $20.0M | 350 | 21 |
| Gerber Scientific Products | 1968 | $49.9M | 500 | - |
| Vaisala | 1936 | $376.7M | 1,801 | - |
| De La Rue | 1821 | $633.2M | 30 | 1 |
| Micro Technologies | 2000 | $24.2M | 10 | 26 |
| Gulfstream Aerospace | 1958 | $9.6B | 13,313 | 293 |
| Electronic Systems | 1980 | $557.7M | 100 | 11 |
Trimble history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Trimble, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Trimble. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Trimble. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Trimble. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Trimble and its employees or that of Zippia.
Trimble may also be known as or be related to Trimble, Trimble -Milpitas, Trimble Inc, Trimble Inc. and Trimble Navigation Limited.