ETC Corporate Background

Founded in 1969 by William F. Mitchell, President and CEO of ETC. Environmental Tectonics Corporation (ETC) began in the ambitions of a young man, caddying part-time for golfers at a prominent suburban country club near the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

It was then that William Mitchell, now ETC's President and CEO, first made the acquaintance of the Al Richman, a prominent advertising executive in Philadelphia who would become his friend and mentor. Richman and his wife encouraged the young physicist to explore books and new fields of study as he completed his education at Drexel University. Richman spent many evenings introducing his young friend to the people who would eventually support Mitchell's start up business. In 1969, at the age of twenty-six, Mitchell had gathered enough backing to lay the foundation for what would become ETC.

In 1971, one of the first products produced by ETC was a high-altitude, rapid decompression chamber for the United States Navy. This first chamber's unique design and control system would eventually provide the base technology for the development and evolution of many of ETC's other distinct products.

Similar chamber technology crossed elegantly into the design and manufacture of various chamber-based products that comprise the lines of what are today the BioMedical Systems, Sterilization Systems and Testing & Simulation Systems business units.

For yet another business unit, the original altitude chamber sale uncovered a need for additional training products for pilots and other aircrew. Out of this demand, ETC's Aircrew Training Systems and AeroMedical Training Institute and their associated product lines were formed to answer the call. Today, one of ETC's most successful product lines still answers the need with the most technologically advanced Aircrew Training Systems available anywhere.

Other business units, such as ETC's Information Systems, have fueled corporate-wide product improvements through better understanding, implementation and integration of cutting-edge software and control technology. EnTCo’s The Ride Works, ETC's premier ride development facility, became another innovative addition. The focus of this development has been the transference of ETC's motion and simulation technology to the entertainment industry for use in high profile motion-based ride attractions.

ETC´s latest venture is tackling the commercial space market. In 2007, The NASTAR (National AeroSpace Training And Research) Center opened its doors to the public. The NASTARsm Center is a world class facility that provides training and research support for the aerospace industry. The NASTAR Center serves 5 primary markets: Tactical Aviation, Space Flight, Research Support, Civil Aviation, and Serious Entertainment. Using the latest advances in motion and simulation technologies, the NASTAR Center is committed to pushing the envelope to enable companies, organizations, and individuals to cost effectively get the most out of their aerospace technology investments.