The story
During 1944, amid the final months of the Second World War, the company was founded by the brothers Orla and Svend Aage Jørgensen as a small mechanical workshop based in Aarhus, Denmark; the name Terma is said to be derived from the firm's early work on thermometers and manometers. Five years later, it was restructured as a limited liability company under the name Fabrik for Måleinstrumenter TERMA A/S; at the point of incorporation, the company had fewer than 10 employees. During 1949, it was bought by Thorkild Juncker. Juncker shifted Terma A/S in the direction of electronic measuring instruments and with the employment of a Norwegian engineer soon developed a radar that would prove to be competitive in both price and quality. Within six years of buying Terma, Juncker was employing up to 120 people before his untimely death in 1955. It was under Juncker's ownership and management that Terma developed into the company it is today.
Throughout the 1950s, Terma A/S conducted numerous large-scale projects involving the overhaul and upgrade of radars, computer systems, and air defense systems on behalf of the Danish Armed Forces. Its first radar systems were for navigation purposes and installed mainly on secondary vessels. Over a period of 20 years, Terma A/S opted to focus much of its resources onto the development of numerous products related to radars, computers, and missile systems, and started to expand into the wider European market. During the 1960s, Terma A/S secured work within several international programs, such as the development and production of the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missile; the firm continued to be involved in the Sea Sparrow's support for over fifty years. In 1961, Terma A/S commenced development of the first Doppler radar, which was used to measure the velocity of the Sidewinder air-to-air missile. During 1966, the firm was awarded the first European contract to deliver a ground check-out system for satellites.
The 1970s was a turbulent time for Terma A/S in terms of its ownership; it briefly became a subsidiary of several firms, including the Dannebrog Holding Group and the Bumeister & Wain Group. During the early 1970s, Terma A/S became an active participant in the space industry, beginning production of equipment for a variety of scientific satellite missions over the following years, supplying both hardware and software systems for this sector. In 1977, Terma A/S took over the Bravour company, through which it established its own extensive range of VHF-based communication equipment which, amongst other customers, was heavily used by the Danish Armed Forces. Following Denmark's decision to purchase the Swedish-built Saab 35 Draken fighter aircraft during the early 1970s, Terma A/S was awarded its first contract for supply of critical aircraft electronics. Around this same time, the firm also became involved in the supply of various aviation electronics systems for the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft, particularly those that were purchased by European customers; this co-production arrangement was considered a break-through for Terma A/S.
During 1980, the Thomas B. Thrige Foundation took over the majority of the stocks in Terma A/S. That decade, following an order from the Royal Danish Air Force, the company developed an original self-protection system compatible with both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Terma A/S also developed new command and control systems for Royal Danish Navy vessels at its newly-created project department, based in Tåstrup, outside Copenhagen. During 1993, the company reached an agreement with NATO for the establishment of a maintenance and upgrade center for the MIM-23 Hawk surface-to-air missile system. In 1996, Terma A/S's AN/ALQ213(V) Electronic Warfare Management System was approved for use by the United States Air Force; it was subsequently installed upon in excess of 1,000 American aircraft. In the late 1990s, Terma A/S acquired Computer Resources International, a Danish aerospace and defense company, as well as the Danish aircraft company Per Udsen Co. Aircraft. During 1999, the Danish Ørsted satellite was successfully launched with Terma A/S being the lead supplier on the project; it was the first, and so far only, Danish satellite to be launched into space.
During 2000, Terma A/S was also contracted by the Royal Netherlands Air Force to supply its self-protection systems for the service's Boeing CH-47 Chinook and Eurocopter AS532 Cougar helicopter fleets. In 2001, the firm's Power Conditioning Unit was adopted for the European Space Agency's (ESA) deep space missions, including Rosetta, Mars Express and Venus Express. That same year, Terma announced its renaming from Terma Elektronik A/S to simply Terma A/S, which was accompanied by a new logo and graphic design. During 2004, Terma relocated all of its Copenhagen-based activities to a new office at the Herlev area; that same year, Terma North America Inc. opens offices in the US. In the early 2000s, the firm established agreements with the American defence contractors Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics to act as a subcontractor on the production of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft; the firm was subsequently chosen to develop and produce several components and designs for the F-35, including the gun pod and miscellaneous aerostructures. In 2006, a similar arrangement was agreed with Eurofighter GmbH for the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter aircraft; Terma A/S also worked with Saab on its Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter.
In August 2024, the company announced the appointment of Henriette Hallberg Thygesen as its new chief executive, replacing Jes Munk Hansen.
From Wikipedia’s article on Terma A/S, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5