Heritage Programs

Founded in 1954 as W. Gary-Wright Electronics of Canada to assemble crystal products for various military communications programs, the Company name was later changed to Croven Ltd., an acronym for the products then manufactured:

CR (for quartz crystals) & OVEN (for the temperature controlled ovens developed for use with the crystals in precision applications).

By 1959, Croven’s crystal and oven products were in large demand and the facility at 500 Beech Street was erected. At that time, due to the large demand for oven products, the Company founded Ovenaire in Charlottesville, VA, which went on to become a world leader in the manufacture of precision ovens and ovenized oscillators. The Company was further expanded in 1963 when the Filtaire division was established to support the growing demand for specialized crystal filter products.

In 1967, the Companies were purchased by Walter Kidde & Co. of Belleville, NJ. By then Croven had grown significantly and the Whitby facility had been expanded to its current 25,000 square feet.

In 1975, the Croven Ltd founded Croven Europe (later to be known as Dantronic), a wholly owned subsidiary in Denmark to manufacture crystal products for the European market.

By 1979, Croven Ltd had moved all manufacturing of oscillators and hybrid modules to its other locations and the Whitby operation from that time onward has focused exclusively on the design and development of precision quartz crystal resonators. The name was then changed to Croven Crystals Ltd to better reflect our product and market orientation.

Since that time our name has changed several times as the Company went through a variety of management and organizational changes, however the commitment to manufacturing the finest crystals for the most demanding applications has been unwavering.

In 2006, the company was acquired by Wenzel Associates, Inc and the CROVEN CRYSTALS name has been resurrected in recognition of our origins and long tradition of serving the crystal resonator market.