Careers

Stoneridge Electronics Ltd (SRE Ltd) is a Stoneridge company and was launched following the merger of two companies: TVI Europe Ltd and Berifors AB which had both been acquired by the Stoneridge group. 

This new European organisation was launched in 2001 and split into two divisions; the OEM division based in Sweden and the Aftermarket division based in Scotland.  Our corporate parent company Stoneridge Incorporated is based in the United States.

The acquisition and merger of TVI Europe Ltd & Berifors AB, signified a new beginning for a new European business which had the capability to supply a complete range of automotive instrumentation and equipment as part of the global Stoneridge group.

History in Dundee

The company which is now Stoneridge Electronics Ltd has existed in Dundee since 1948, initially under the name of Veeder – Root, and then TVI Europe Ltd.

 Veeder-Root’s origins can be traced back to 1866 when the American Root company (a manufacturer of hinges) started making counting mechanisms for the production and textile industry.  In 1895, Curtis Veeder, founder of the Veeder Manufacturing company invented the ‘Cyclometer’, which recorded the distance travelled by bicycle; this in turn led to the development and production of a wide range of  Veeder counting devices.

In 1928, the Root & Veeder companies merged to form Veeder-root, the largest manufacturer of counting devices in the world.   One customer incorporated a Veeder-root counter into his petrol pump; allowing fuel to be dispensed whilst also calculating the cash value.  This innovation introduced the company to the petroleum industry and the manufacture of counting & petroleum related products. This also led to the opening of the factory in Dundee in 1948 which prospered over the next twenty-five years.

In the late 1980’s there was a change of ownership of Veeder-Root in the USA, which initiated a worldwide rationalisation of the company’s product range.  Both petroleum and counter products were transferred back to the United States, and Dundee became the only division in the company manufacturing products for the automotive market.

Following a management buy-out in 1993, Veeder-root became TVI Europe Ltd; however the company retained the right to continue to badge tachograph & automotive products as Veeder-Root, a name which was extremely well established in the automotive market.

The Tachograph Market & Product Development

The Tachograph Market really opened in the early 1970’s when the UK became a member of the EEC.  There was a huge potential market for Veeder-Root as in order to meet European requirements, all new and existing commercial vehicles had to be fitted with a tachograph.  With its expertise in counting mechanisms, they developed and launched the “1100” Mechanical Tachograph in 1975; the company also produced transmission cables and adaptor gearboxes which were required to fit this particular tachograph into vehicles.  There was a decline in usage of this tachograph in UK during the 1980’s, but foreign sales continued and the unit remained in production until 2001.

The first electronic tachograph was introduced in 1980 (the “1400”), followed by the “8300” in 1987, which was a second generation electronic tachograph.  In order to increase European market share, the “Eight Pulse Sender” was also introduced to our product portfolio.

The “8300” was in time superseded by the “8400” through advances in technology and the simplification of mechanical systems, although 95% of the parts were common to both models.  At this time the company became TVI Europe Ltd who quickly became a major supplier to most European truck manufacturers.  The tachograph became a market leader, setting new standards in performance, reliability, endurance & appearance.

In the mid-1990s the company introduced a cost effective programming device for tachograph fitting stations; the “Hand Held Programmer” allowed even small business to conduct advanced tachograph programming.  There were further legislative changes in the late 1990’s in anticipation of the introduction of the digital tachograph legislation, and the tachograph was remodelled.  It would now take the form, size & shape of a car radio, instead of the traditional circular unit design.  The tachograph also now became a recording unit, capable of installation anywhere in the vehicle cabin and of controlling the speed display on the instrument cluster.

However delays in the digital tachograph legislation resulted in tachograph manufacturers developing an analogue ‘radio style’ unit.  TVI Europe Ltd launched the “2400”.

SRE Ltd Today

Stoneridge Electronics Ltd now has Business units throughout Europe in Spain, France, Italy and Sweden, and we recently celebrated our 60th Anniversary.

In 2009, Stoneridge launched OPTAC3; a European analysis solution and complex software package which provides analysis against Drivers Hours and Working Time Directive legislation for both analogue and digital data.  Available for Web, PC or Server installation options, it is delivered and supported in 7 languages.