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The company that became Thomson Grass Valley was originally called Grass Valley Group in 1959 by founder Dr. David G. C. Hare. It’s a name still used widely in Nevada County to describe the firm.
The company started as a research and development base with six employees and quickly landed a contract to build surround-sound systems for the old Cinerama movie theaters. That contract allowed the fledgling firm to buy 80 acres on Bitney Springs Road, where Grass Valley Group grew until 1996.
In an interview on the 45th anniversary of the firm five years ago, former and current employees remembered when 1,400 employees were producing circuit boards and other products at the company’s height.
Grass Valley Group went public with stock offerings in 1967. In 1969, the firm sold a piece of equipment used for the video portion of television programs to the the ABC Network, and business took off.
The firm produced more video routers in the 1970s, and later started making servers, editors and other television equipment, becoming a cutting-edge firm for TV networks, stations and movie studios.
Conventional wisdom had kept businesses like Grass Valley Group in cities for years, but the firm began attracting employees in the 1970s and ’80s from Los Angeles and the Bay Area with the area’s evergreen lifestyle.
Hare sold the company to Tektronix Inc. of Beaverton, Ore., in 1974, and the firm used Grass Valley Group to establish itself in the television industry. Tektronic moved Grass Valley Group to Nevada City in 1996 and sold it to a group of investors led by Dr. Terrance Gooding.
In March 2002, Thomson acquired the firm and it became Thomson Grass Valley.
In 1993, the company got a big boost when ESPN began using Thomson’s high-definition production center.
Last year, the old Grass Valley Group acreage on Bitney Springs Road was sold, and in December, Thomson Grass Valley laid off 21 employees, bringing the firm to its current staff of about 280 people.
Throughout its history the Grass Valley Group spawned other companies, several of which still operate in Nevada County. They include Ensemble Designs, NVision, Telestream Inc. and AJA Video, which is building a large campus on Litton Hill in Grass Valley.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
The company started as a research and development base with six employees and quickly landed a contract to build surround-sound systems for the old Cinerama movie theaters. That contract allowed the fledgling firm to buy 80 acres on Bitney Springs Road, where Grass Valley Group grew until 1996.
In an interview on the 45th anniversary of the firm five years ago, former and current employees remembered when 1,400 employees were producing circuit boards and other products at the company’s height.
Grass Valley Group went public with stock offerings in 1967. In 1969, the firm sold a piece of equipment used for the video portion of television programs to the the ABC Network, and business took off.
The firm produced more video routers in the 1970s, and later started making servers, editors and other television equipment, becoming a cutting-edge firm for TV networks, stations and movie studios.
Conventional wisdom had kept businesses like Grass Valley Group in cities for years, but the firm began attracting employees in the 1970s and ’80s from Los Angeles and the Bay Area with the area’s evergreen lifestyle.
Hare sold the company to Tektronix Inc. of Beaverton, Ore., in 1974, and the firm used Grass Valley Group to establish itself in the television industry. Tektronic moved Grass Valley Group to Nevada City in 1996 and sold it to a group of investors led by Dr. Terrance Gooding.
In March 2002, Thomson acquired the firm and it became Thomson Grass Valley.
In 1993, the company got a big boost when ESPN began using Thomson’s high-definition production center.
Last year, the old Grass Valley Group acreage on Bitney Springs Road was sold, and in December, Thomson Grass Valley laid off 21 employees, bringing the firm to its current staff of about 280 people.
Throughout its history the Grass Valley Group spawned other companies, several of which still operate in Nevada County. They include Ensemble Designs, NVision, Telestream Inc. and AJA Video, which is building a large campus on Litton Hill in Grass Valley.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
