The industry's recognized authority for design, engineering and application of equipment and services in the global ocean community
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www.sea-technology.com February 2016 / st 39 A s EdgeTech celebrates its 50-year anniversary, we continue to innovate in the feld of underwater acoustic imaging and advanced subsea technolo- gies. EdgeTech is an industry leader in the design and manufacture of advanced underwater sonar imaging systems and acoustic command, control and position- ing solutions. History The company traces its history back to 1966 when it started out as a division of EG&G; Marine Instruments. In 1995, after internal changes within EG&G;, the marine and sonar-focused organization divested from the company and became its own pri- vately held entity. EdgeTech selected its name in part to honor the late Dr. Edgerton, an MIT professor, marine instru- mentation pioneer and a founder of EG&G.; Noteworthy in the history and evolution of the company is the fact that a number of the key leaders of the organization have been at the helm of the company from its inception at EG&G; through today, as EdgeTech successfully navigates the sometimes measured and other times rapid evolution of underwater technology. Throughout the years, the company prides itself on de- livering high-quality equipment and responsive, around- the-clock customer support. EdgeTech's commitment to its products and custom- ers is unmistakable around the world. As evidence to this fact, many of the company's products and solutions that were manufactured and delivered in previous decades are still in use today. Countless side scan sonar users around the globe are reminded of this commitment to quality and customer ser- vice every day, as they still rely on one of the company's original pieces of equipment, the "272". The model 272 was developed as a state-of-the-art underwater mapping and imaging tool back in 1968 and was manufactured and supported up until 2011. The company still repairs and refurbishes the side scan sonar units for those die- hard customers that depend on the tried-and-true tool. Technology The company, with offces in West Wareham, Massachu- setts, and Boca Raton, Florida, incorporates state-of-the-art design and manufacturing equipment, including humidity and temperature-controlled environments, a clean room for production and curing of sonar transducers, pressure test facilities, sonar test tanks and much more. The company also operates two oceangoing vessels for in-water test and calibrations. In addition to the highly recognized side scan sonars, sub-bottom proflers and bathymetry systems, EdgeTech is equally recognized by other parts of the underwater tech- nology community for its reliable transponding acoustic re- leases and USBL positioning systems. Once branded as ORE Offshore, but operating as part of EdgeTech, this division offcially adopted the EdgeTech name in 2011. The organi- zation is a leading manufacturer of highly accurate acous- tic underwater positioning, navigation and control prod- ucts. EdgeTech acoustic systems are used in a vast array of underwater environments and applications, from coastal long-term mooring applications such as the Ocean Tracking EdgeTech: Celebrating 50 Years In Underwater Technology ST Company Profle A 1966 side scan sonar record of shipwrecks in the Potomac River, November 10, 1966. (Image Credit: EG&G; Inc.)