Collins Radio

Rockwell Collins, Inc.

Type	Public
Traded as	: COL S&P 500 Component
Industry	Aerospace, Defense
Founded	1933
Headquarters	Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
Key people	Kelly Ortberg: President and CEO
Products	Avionics
Revenue	$5.24 billion USD ( 5% FY 2015)
Number of employees	30,000 (2016)
Website	rockwellcollins.com

Rockwell Collins, Inc. is an American multinational company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa providing avionics and information technology systems and services to governmental agencies and aircraft manufacturers.

Arthur Collins founded Collins Radio Company in 1933 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It designed and produced both shortwave radio equipment and equipment for the burgeoning AM Broadcast industry. Collins was solicited by the military, the scientific community and by the larger AM radio stations for special equipment. Collins supplied the equipment to establish a communications link with the South Pole expedition of Rear Admiral Richard Byrd in 1933.

In 1936, Collins had begun production of the 12H audio console, 12X portable field announcers box, the 300E and 300F broadcast transmitters. Throughout World War II, the 212A1 and 212B1 replaced the 12H design. Collins became the principal supplier of radio and navigation equipment used in the military, where uncompromising performance was required.

In the post war years, the Collins Radio Company expanded its work in all phases of the communications field while broadening its technology. This moved Arthur Collins into a more active role as CEO guiding department leaders holding significant responsibilities. New developments such as flight control instruments, radio communication devices and satellite voice transmissions created great opportunities in the marketplace. Collins Radio Company provided communications for the United States' role in the Space Race, including equipment for astronauts to communicate with earth stations and equipment to track and communicate with spacecraft. Collins communications equipment was used for Projects Mercury, Gemini and Apollo, providing voice communication for every American astronaut traveling through space. In 1973, the U.S. Skylab Program used Collins equipment to provide communication from the astronauts to earth.