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Home » Ten 47 – A Brief History
Ten 47 – A Brief History

Company Foundation

Ten 47 was founded in the Spring of 2001 but the roots of the company started earlier. The founding directors were myself (Keith Gordon), Douglas Fury and John Cameron. We all worked for a circular connector division of Litton Industries, Veam where we learned our trade.

Veam was HQ’d in Milan with satellite plants in the USA, Germany and Scotland. It was a great place to work and learn. In the last years things had changed though. Veam had bought a company in London, TEC, who was a connector company producing another series of connectors. It was larger than the Veam operation in Scotland but stagnant and losing money. Veam in Scotland had steadily grown and become profitable. The idea was to shut down the plant in Scotland and consolidate in London which we were opposing.

Around the same time there was a changing of the guard with new senior management taking over and finally the sale of Litton to Northrup Grumman. That made the sale of Veam highly likely and almost certainly to a competitor. The prospects were bleak for our plant despite the results we were achieving.

Founding directors Douglas, John and Keith in the company’s first office

I hatched the idea of starting a new company to service the market working in partnership with another Italian connector manufacturer, Van-System. We would come up with the ideas for new and updated products and they would design and manufacture them for us. I approached John Cameron and Eric Cooke (not Douglas Fury) who were both external sales people. John primarily in entertainment and temporary power and Eric primarily in rail although he had a wide range of customers. As it turned out Eric already knew Riccardo Vanzo, one of the two brothers who owned Van-System. We met up and presented our idea which he was very interested in. We went back and forward over the idea for some months but it was complicated by other relationships they had.

Things were brought to a head when our business plan was leaked to the management of Veam. They gave us an ultimatum to sign a non-competition agreement or be fired. At that point we had no agreement with Van-System. We discussed it with Riccardo and his brother Augusto and they offered us everything we had asked for including investment. Part of the investment coming from a partner company to Van-System, Gimota based near Zurich.

At this point Eric changed his mind and opted to stay with Veam. We recruited Douglas to step in and stick to the same business plan. Douglas was also external sales covering a bit of all the markets.

Choosing Our Name

The name Ten 47 came about because we were searching for a name. Going through different options in John’s house. The management at Veam were waiting to see if we signed the agreement or left. We were going to resign the next day. John asked me if I would put them out of their misery and resign first thing. I said no I would hang on for a bit and do it at 10:47. We all laughed and Douglas suggested we could use that as the name. The starting time of the company if you like. So that’s what happened. I resigned by E-mail as my boss was not in Scotland and sent the e-mail at 10:47.

The company logo was originally used by Plus-Connection a company set up in Italy to manufacture the products we worked in partnership with the Vanzo brothers on. It was their logo designed by Augusto’s daughter. When Plus-Connection was dissolved we asked if we could keep the logo. It signified offering something more than a me too company:- innovation, knowledge, service.

Ten 47

Cineline Connector

Our Cineline Connectors

Starting to trade

We started working in March 2001 but didn’t trade until April. The first days of starting a company are not great fun. We had to get all the things you need. We had secured premises inside a large factory which had been refurbished and broken up into different units. The workshops were being built so we took an office up the stairs. Big enough for 3 desks. Our first stock was a box of Cineline HMI connectors on the window sill. Our first order came from Gareth Elliot from Limelite Design.

The first big break we got was getting the contract to build HMI cable assemblies for ARRI, a Germany Film and TV lighting manufacturer with a division services their customer in the UK and around the world in Uxbridge. We were able to use what had been the old factory’s canteen to build them. We had to hand carry everything up and down the stairs. We worked with AC Lighting (to introduce a 19 pin Socapex compatible connector into Europe on the 19 pin connectors in Europe and decided to see what we could do in the US. John got a contact for ARRI US and we arranged appointments for September 2001. Of course less than 2 weeks before we were scheduled to go 9/11 happened. We had everything booked covering multiple locations so we had to go. We started in New York and the flight was empty. I carried a briefcase full of connectors which was ironically only checked at Edinburgh when we left.

We visited ARRI in New Jersey and they told us we had to talk to Lex Products. Charlie Davidson made the introduction. He called Lex and we drove along to Stamford CT and met with Bruce Allen who was one of the directors at the time. He loved the products and we decided that Lex would be our key US partner. We didn’t meet Bob Luther until the next visit but Bob has always been a great friend and partner of Ten 47.

Starting to trade

We started working in March 2001 but didn’t trade until April. The first days of starting a company are not great fun. We had to get all the things you need. We had secured premises inside a large factory which had been refurbished and broken up into different units. The workshops were being built so we took an office up the stairs. Big enough for 3 desks. Our first stock was a box of HMI connectors on the window sill. Our first order came from Gareth Elliot from Limelite Design.

The first big break we got was getting the contract to build HMI cable assemblies for ARRI, a Germany Film and TV lighting manufacturer with a division services their customer in the UK and around the world in Uxbridge. We were able to use what had been the old factory’s canteen to build them. We had to hand carry everything up and down the stairs. We worked with AC Lighting (to introduce a 19 pin Socapex compatible connector into Europe on the 19 pin connectors in Europe and decided to see what we could do in the US. John got a contact for ARRI US and we arranged appointments for September 2001. Of course less than 2 weeks before we were scheduled to go 9/11 happened. We had everything booked covering multiple locations so we had to go. We started in New York and the flight was empty. I carried a briefcase full of connectors which was ironically only checked at Edinburgh when we left.

We visited ARRI in New Jersey and they told us we had to talk to Lex Products. Charlie Davidson made the introduction. He called Lex and we drove along to Stamford CT and met with Bruce Allen who was one of the directors at the time. He loved the products and we decided that Lex would be our key US partner. We didn’t meet Bob Luther until the next visit but Bob has always been a great friend and partner of Ten 47.

Cineline Connector

Our Cineline Connectors

Expanding

So Ten 47 was growing rapidly and we had a workshop lined up to do the assemblies less than 100m2. We were turning over more than £1 million out of that space. In 2002 Gordon McDonald joined us from Veam. He had been the key internal sales person for the entertainment industry and well known to the customer base. Shortly after it was announced that Veam in Scotland was closing. It had been bought out by ITT Cannon and they were consolidating in Basingstoke.

Douglas won multiple orders for power connectors to supply military camps and various Traction accounts for connectors Van System special in which gave the company another boost. We moved across the hall to a bigger unit of just over 200m2 where we began assembling connectors to our own specification such as our Tourline and Cineline series. Van-System hired Ettore Lampertico who has also been a great friend and partner to Ten 47. He is now the General Manager of the plant in Italy.

Keith at work in our first workshop unit

Ten 47 at Enterprising Scotland Awards 2004

Business Awards

In 2003, having enrolled for business support through Scottish Enterprise we were encouraged to enter the Fife Business Award for the “Most Entrepreneurial Young Company” in 2004. Douglas and I would present the company to the judges and were lucky enough to make the last 3 companies from across our region at the award ceremony which we duly won putting through us to the Scottish finals held in Glasgow where we found ourselves up against companies from all of the country’s regions. To our delight, we would win there too. Suffice to say we don’t remember too much of that night but a few photos still exist!

At this point things weren’t working out between the three of us and John Cameron decided to leave. We bought out his shares and he left the company in 2004. Sadly John passed away in 2011.

In 2005 we hired Don Morris the engineer from Veam Scotland who helped us win a specialised contract that Douglas had been working on. This gave the company another boost and we moved to our current location in Dysart in 2006 with almost 600m2 overlooking the Forth estuary. We launched our Powerline connectors and started working with other companies internationally notably with Paul Maas’ company, Maas Electro who won a lot of orders in that period. We didn’t have the commercial activity with Gimota that we both hoped for and Gimota decided to sell their shares to us with a handsome return on investment but very fair considering the growth of Ten 47.

Business Awards

In 2003, having enrolled for business support through Scottish Enterprise we were encouraged to enter the Fife Business Award for the “Most Entrepreneurial Young Company” in 2004. Douglas and I would present the company to the judges and were lucky enough to make the last 3 companies from across our region at the award ceremony which we duly won putting through us to the Scottish finals held in Glasgow where we found ourselves up against companies from all of the country’s regions. To our delight, we would win there too. Suffice to say we don’t remember too much of that night but a few photos still exist!

At this point things weren’t working out between the three of us and John Cameron decided to leave. We bought out his shares and he left the company in 2004. Sadly John passed away in 2011.

In 2005 we hired Don Morris the engineer from Veam Scotland who helped us win a specialised contract that Douglas had been working on. This gave the company another boost and we moved to our current location in Dysart in 2006 with almost 600m2 overlooking the Forth estuary. We launched our Powerline connectors and started working with other companies internationally notably with Paul Maas’ company, Maas Electro who won a lot of orders in that period. We didn’t have the commercial activity with Gimota that we both hoped for and Gimota decided to sell their shares to us with a handsome return on investment but very fair considering the growth of Ten 47.

Ten 47 at Enterprising Scotland Awards 2004

Exhibitions

We exhibited at our first Pro Light and Sound show in Frankfurt as we looked to expand further into the Entertainment market around Europe and the rest of the world. This has become a regular meeting place for many of the friends and partners who we have had the privilege of working with over the years. Too many to mention here but they know who they are.

Eric Cooke, who had been one of the original gang of three joined us around this time too. Eric offered new opportunities in the rail market. With the financial crisis we were very fortunate to win a large rail contract producing assemblies with an innovative new connector produced by Van-System. This meant that although out core market had been decimated we managed to stay flat with sales and profitable.

Keith and Eric at the IPEE exhibition in 2006

Our first stand at the Frankfurt Pro Light and Sound exhibition

Our stand at a later Railtex Exhibition

Scottish Government Minister Fergus Ewing with Keith and Douglas at the opening of Yellow Jacket Europe

Cable Protectors

We had been looking for other products to sell to complement our range to our existing customer base. We started selling Yellow Jacket Cable Protectors imported from Los Angeles. Lex worked with them and we met Glenn Von Dem Bussche of Yellow Jacket at LDI in Orlando. We started selling them with reasonable success but due to the weight and freight costs they had to come by surface and were so bulky we realised it would be better to produce them here.

We discussed the idea of setting up a joint venture or licensing. Yellow Jacket agreed to license it and in 2010 we signed an agreement at the LDI trade show in Las Vegas. We then set about creating the Yellowjacket Europe company and manufacturing with their help. We took on another unit the same size as Ten 47, hired Ronnie Anderson to run it, bought the machines and started tooling.

In the Summer of 2011 just after starting to manufacture Yellow Jacket told us they were selling to private equity who had bought their main competitor Checkers. They wanted to buy back the license. We agreed on condition we could manufacture under our own brand completely independently. Cableguard was born. We have supplied many high profile events since then and continued to develop and improve the product.

Cable Protectors

We had been looking for other products to sell to complement our range to our existing customer base. We started selling Yellow Jacket Cable Protectors imported from Los Angeles. Lex worked with them and we met Glenn Von Dem Bussche of Yellow Jacket at LDI in Orlando. We started selling them with reasonable success but due to the weight and freight costs they had to come by surface and were so bulky we realised it would be better to produce them here.

We discussed the idea of setting up a joint venture or licensing. Yellow Jacket agreed to license it and in 2010 we signed an agreement at the LDI trade show in Las Vegas. We then set about creating the Yellowjacket Europe company and manufacturing with their help. We took on another unit the same size as Ten 47, hired Ronnie Anderson to run it, bought the machines and started tooling.

In the Summer of 2011 just after starting to manufacture Yellow Jacket told us they were selling to private equity who had bought their main competitor Checkers. They wanted to buy back the license. We agreed on condition we could manufacture under our own brand completely independently. Cableguard was born. We have supplied many high profile events since then and continued to develop and improve the product.

Scottish Government Minister Fergus Ewing with Keith and Douglas at the opening of Yellow Jacket Europe

Lex Products UK

Lex in the US continued to be key partners and they developed overmoulding capability to produce a new line of high quality, durable assemblies they called Evergrip. For Ten 47 that meant we lost the backshell sales but we wanted to support this innovation for the entertainment world. We thought it had potential here too and approached them about terms to manufacture. It turned out they wanted to open a base here. We decided to open a joint venture Lex Products Limited. It was actually a very easy agreement and Lex has gone from strength to strength here as we bring out more and more products. Lex Products Limited opened in 2013.

At this point Douglas decided he wanted to retire. He had been going on holiday to Portugal for several weeks a year and just wanted to relax. We were very fortunate to land a huge windfall Cableguard order which helped fund the buyout of Douglas’ shares. The Vanzo brothers were also retiring and had sold out to Radiall. A very good home for the company. Ettore taking over as General Manager. We bought out their shares too leaving me as last man standing.

Over the next few years Ten 47 and our associated companies grew steadily. Continuing to bring new products to the market and innovate new old ones such as the Powerline QC which came from a brainstorming with Ettore and myself. This gave fresh impetus to the Powerline series sales.

Lex Products UK

Ten 47 Srl Website

Ten 47 Srl 

Of course then we had the impending much worse trading terms with Brexit and then covid. We had been trying to buy a company in Italy to dampen the impact from Brexit but this fell through in late 2019. We were in the process of setting up when covid struck and travel became impossible. This coupled with a sharp decline in the entertainment business as events couldn’t take place.

With the Brexit transition period at an end, in January 2021 we opened Ten 47 Srl Italy to allow us to provide the same level of service to our EU customers as we always have. At the time of writing we are steadily adding capability to Ten 47 S.r.l. and will do so throughout the year.

With Brexit and Covid we were forced to make our first ever redundancies at Ten 47 in the Spring of 2020. Having to open up on the continent meant some jobs wouldn’t be there post the recovery from Covid. This was one of the lowest points for Ten 47. Being hit twice at the same time by circumstances completely outwith our control. We knew would bounce back in time though just not how quickly.

 

Ten 47 Srl 

Of course then we had the impending much worse trading terms with Brexit and then covid. We had been trying to buy a company in Italy to dampen the impact from Brexit but this fell through in late 2019. We were in the process of setting up when covid struck and travel became impossible. This coupled with a sharp decline in the entertainment business as events couldn’t take place.

With the Brexit transition period at an end, in January 2021 we opened Ten 47 Srl Italy to allow us to provide the same level of service to our EU customers as we always have. At the time of writing we are steadily adding capability to Ten 47 S.r.l. and will do so throughout the year.

With Brexit and Covid we were forced to make our first ever redundancies at Ten 47 in the Spring of 2020. Having to open up on the continent meant some jobs wouldn’t be there post the recovery from Covid. This was one of the lowest points for Ten 47. Being hit twice at the same time by circumstances completely outwith our control. We knew would bounce back in time though just not how quickly.

 

Ten 47 Srl Website

New Opportunities

During 2020 we were approached by two experienced engineers from the London building trade. Chris Kerr and Gareth Carey. Chris had an idea about ten years ago to replace temporary lighting and electrics with a floor based system. They had started working on it seriously about 3 years ago when he shared the idea with Gareth. They had a patent and a good solution for the lights but didn’t know how to make it. We spoke and we had some ideas how to actually manufacture it. Then lockdown happened, everything stopped and then they made another approach. We really liked the concept and the guys and were confident we could make it. We reached an agreement to form a new company Novus 48 with Ten 47 as a major shareholder which would hold the patent and Ten 47 would manufacture Powertrack for Novus 48.

From April 2023 Ten 47 as the majority shareholder,  fully acquired Novus48 Ltd. As part of the acquisition, we continue to manufacture Powertrack modules in the Ten 47 factory here in Kirkcaldy, ensuring high quality and timely delivery for our customers. The day-to-day running of Powertrack’s customer facing operations has only seen minor changes, with Gareth Carey remaining as our main client support contact.

As you can see from our history Ten 47 has grown and succeeded through working closely and collaboratively with other companies and people. We have continuously invested and actually invested more when there have been shocks. It’s been quite a 20 years!

Powertrack by Ten 47