Intermec History: More Than 40 Years of Technology Leadership

Intermec Inc. (NYSE:IN) develops, manufactures and integrates the most sophisticated tools for the fully coordinated supply chain. Our core technologies include RFID (radio frequency identification), mobile computing and data collection systems, bar code printers and label media. Intermec products and services are used by the leading companies of diverse industries worldwide to improve the productivity, quality and responsiveness of their business operations—because investments in Intermec technology go straight to the bottom line.

Headquartered in Everett, WA, USA, the company is perhaps best known as the inventor of the world's most widely used bar code symbology and for its 154+ patents critical to the development and use of RFID technology.

Intermec patents and innovations also include such familiar devices as the “Smart Battery” technology now common in portable electronics such as camcorders, laptops, and handheld computers; the first computerized cash register; some of the world’s most widely used bar code symbologies; the first pen-based handheld computer running Microsoft Windows 3.1; and even the sort of wireless Personal Area Network that Bluetooth is now based on.

Recent Intermec developments include the first fuel-cell powered mobile computer and the first MEMS-based (micro-electromechanical systems) laser scanning system (see below for more). Fuel cells and MEMS are anticipated to be the future bases of battery and scanning technologies, respectively. And in 2006, Intermec achieved another breakthrough in the development of laser-scan engines—the EX25 scan engine—the first imager to read 1D and 2D bar codes at ranges of 6 inches to 50 feet.

Summary of Intermec Growth and Evolution

Interface Mechanisms was originally founded in 1966. The company adopted the familiar Intermec name in 1982. After 25 years of operations, the company was acquired by Litton Industries in 1991, Inc. Three years later, Litton spun off its commercial businesses, which included Intermec, to form Western Atlas Inc. in 1994. In another three years, after nearly doubling its revenues, Western Atlas spun off UNOVA, Inc. as a new industrial technologies business.

On January 1, 2006 Intermec Inc. completed its name change from UNOVA, Inc. On January 3, 2006 the company's stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IN, rather than UNA. The name change reflects the company's eight year transformation during 1997 to December 2005, from a manufacturing systems and technology company focused on the automotive and aerospace industries, to a global leader in mobile computing and automated data collection technology.

The restoration of the Intermec name to the corporation reflects the strength of the brand worldwide.

Interface Systems, Inc. carries the full line of Intermec products so please contact us with your specific requirements.  We have a very limited number of items currently on our website, with more coming soon.  So call us at 913-362-8998 or email us at sales@barcodeit.com with your requirements and we will be happy to help you.


Intermec Mobile Computing Systems | Intermec Bar Code Mobile Computers