Thalwil, Switzerland -- October 23, 2007 -- u-blox AG, a leading Swiss provider of GPS receiver technology, today celebrates its 10th anniversary.
u-blox was founded in 1997 by a former research team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) through the university’s technology incubation programme. Since its incorporation, u-blox has evolved from a small engineering company to a global provider of integrated positioning solutions. in the field of GPS technology, developing a range of market-leading receiver technology products, including chipsets, modules, software and services based on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), including GPS and GALILEO.
These products are used in a wide range of commercial applications such as fleet management, car navigation and road-tolling systems as well as in portable and mobile consumer devices such as mobile phones, personal navigation devices, personal digital assistants, and GPS-based peripheral devices. u-blox markets and sells its products to OEM (original equipment manufacturers) and ODM (original design manufacturers) partners.
From four founding members in 1997, the company now counts 69 employees worldwide, including three founding members holding executive management positions. u-blox currently has sales and applications engineering and customer service centre offices in Virginia (US), Singapore and Switzerland, and additional representative offices in China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. In fiscal year 2006, u-blox generated sales of CHF 54.4 million and a net profit of CHF 7.4 million.
The company has recently initiated the launch of its fifth positioning engine generation, u-blox 5. This GPS/GALILEO engine is available in chipset and single chip packages, and will also feature in a variety of module form factors to suit diverse ODM and OEM requirements.