History of Elo - Adapted from Elo's Touching Moments.

• Edited by Debi Brown, Cheryl Steinbacher, Tonya Turpin, Rhonda Butler, and Chuck Bales.
• Special contributions by Connie Smith and Betty Colwell.
• Photography by Chuck Bales and Richard Gardner.

Elographics, Inc. was founded by ten stockholders in March 1971 to produce graphical data digitizers for use in research and industrial applications. The principal was Dr. Sam Hurst. While on leave from Oak Ridge National Laboratory to teach at the University of Kentucky for two years, he was faced with a need to read a large stack of strip chart data. It would have taken two graduate students approximately two months to complete the task.

He began thinking of a way to read the charts, and during that process, the "Elograph" (electronic graphics) coordinate measuring system and Elographics the company were born. The University of Kentucky Research Foundation applied for and was granted a patent on the Elograph and granted an exclusive license to Elographics.

 Dr. G. S. "Sam" Hurst (left), founder of Elographics, Inc. The Elograph was selected by Industrial Research
as one of the 100 Most Significant New Technical Products of the Year 1973.
 

In 1971, after returning to Oak Ridge, Dr. Hurst gathered nine friends from various areas of expertise to start a company to refine, manufacture, and sell this new product. At this point, Elographics truly began as a basement business. All work was done from three different basements: sensors in one, electronics in another, and cabinets in a third.

The office was located in the home where the sensors were being built before moving to Four Oaks Center in February 1972. Parts of the product were still being produced in basements at night and on weekends and brought to Four Oaks where they were assembled and shipped.

Early Products and Market Focus

Elographics focused on research and scientific markets and produced products that met the specific needs of these markets. These needs included completely self-contained units with adjustable scale factors, decimal readouts, and interfaces to computers and calculators. The digitizer products were used worldwide in research, medicine, and quality control applications.

Elograph–Electronic Graphing Device (walnut cabinet)
 

As early as the 1970s, Elographics management focused on improving the technology and convincing the market of its value. Ted Wilmart, one of the first sales representatives, sold more than 60 Elographs at a price of $8,000 per unit to a carpet company in Dalton, Georgia. The product was used to measure contaminated particle sizes in carpet.

From March 1971 through December 1971, 25 units of the Model E-100 Elograph were built, and Elographics began a small sales effort. The first purchase order was received on August 15, 1971, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for delivery on November 30, 1971, at a price of $995.00.

New product releases appeared in Electronic Design (November 28, 1971), Industrial Research (December 1971), and Instrument and Apparatus News (December 1971). These announcements generated inquiries from around the world and across many scientific disciplines.

One OEM account was established from this activity, and it became clear that more effort was needed in marketing. A full-time sales engineer was hired on January 17, 1972. A secretary and general manager were added in February 1972. All R&D continued to be handled by the founders.

In 1973, Elo won the I-100 award for having one of the 100 most significant new technical products of the year.

Early production remained labor intensive. One basement served as a woodworking shop, one built electronic components, and another handled assembly, while a bedroom served as an office. In February 1972, the company moved into its first facility at 1976 Oak Ridge Turnpike. During that year, the workforce ranged between seven and twelve employees.

Leadership and Touchscreen Development

In 1977, Bill Gibson was hired as full-time president. He brought experience in building startup companies and helped move the company forward.

Soon after, Siemens Corporation approached Elographics and offered to support development of a curved glass sensor, which later became known as a touchscreen.

The first AccuTouch products were very labor intensive and only a few were produced each day.
 

During this time, Bill Colwell and Dr. Hurst spent long nights and weekends working to improve the technology. This work led to one of the company's most important patents, the separator dot. This transparent technology later became known as AccuTouch.

Second generation AccuTouch touchscreen with the proprietary "T pattern" for linearization, eliminating hand-soldered diodes around the edge
 

As the company grew, space became limited. In late 1982, the first computer system was installed. In May 1983, the company moved to the Grove Center location and continued expanding.

In 1982, Elographics displayed 33 televisions fitted with transparent touch-sensitive panels at the U.S. Pavilion at the World’s Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. For many people, this was their first experience using a touchscreen.

Growth and Expansion

In December 1984, Elographics was ranked 149th among Inc. Magazine’s 500 fastest-growing privately held companies.

During 1985 and 1986, monitor integration services were introduced. What began as a small offering later became an important part of the business.

In January 1986, Elographics was acquired by Raychem Corporation and became a wholly owned subsidiary.

By October 1986, the company had outgrown its building at 105 Randolph Road and began leasing additional space. Continued growth led to Elographics occupying an entire strip of Grove Center. By 1994, operations spanned three buildings.

In early 1987, the company acquired surface acoustic wave technology from Zenith, later named IntelliTouch. In 1988, a California production facility was established. Another technology acquired from Kennedy Technology became DuraTouch, a four-wire resistive system that has since been phased out.

In 1991, Elographics adopted a Total Quality Management approach, focusing on continuous improvement, process control, and team-based operations. In 1992, the company shared its success at a Quality Leadership Symposium and announced plans to pursue ISO 9001 certification.

On February 24, 1994, the company changed its name to Elo TouchSystems. In August 1994, it achieved ISO 9001 certification.

In March 1995, Elo acquired IQ2000 Automation GmbH near Munich, Germany, later renamed Elo TouchSystems GmbH. The company also introduced extended touchscreen warranties.

In 1996, Elo announced plans to consolidate operations in California to support growth and strengthen alignment with Raychem. During this transition, Oak Ridge employees trained their successors while maintaining operations and improvements.

Ownership and Corporate Transitions

In 1999, Raychem Corporation was acquired by Tyco International. At the time of this acquisition, Elo was a subsidiary of Raychem. Following the merger, Elo became part of Tyco Electronics, which later rebranded as TE Connectivity.

In June 2012, TE Connectivity sold Elo Touch Solutions to the private equity firm The Gores Group for $380 million.

In December 2018, The Gores Group sold Elo to Crestview Partners for $650 million.

In October 2025, Zebra Technologies completed the acquisition of Elo for $1.3 billion.

My Eighteen Years with Elographics

Betty Lou Colwell will be remembered as the mother of Elographics...
 

Betty Colwell described her eighteen years with Elographics as both challenging and rewarding. She recalled how the company began with a small group of individuals contributing their expertise to develop a new product while educating the market.

Elo's first filing system was the famous shoebox.
 

The company operated from basements and homes, with limited financial resources. Work often extended into evenings and weekends, with families contributing to operations.

Elographics' bank book May 2, 1973, showing a balance of $10
 

Financial constraints required careful decision-making on expenses while stockholders continued supporting the company.

April 11, 1982 final production book stating a new production goal
 

As the company grew, improvements in production, leadership, and technology led to long-term success.

Early AccuTouch drawing