Eric Kirkham Cole started his company E K Cole in 1924, manufacturing radio sets that used a high capacity condenser Cole had developed. The company was originally based in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. It was incorporated as E K Cole Ltd, known as Ekco, in 1926 and, following expansion, became a public limited company in 1930, when its operation moved to larger, purpose-built premises in Southend-on-Sea.

The company initially produced both condensers and battery powered radio sets, but the increased use of electricity in the home allowed home owners to buy radio sets which ran off mains electricity, and from 1928 the company recruited electrical engineers with experience of developing mains powered radio sets. These engineers included A. W. Martin, who became Chief Engineer and designed the company’s famous round Bakelite radio, John Wyborn from Marconiphone Co, and Michael Lipman.

From the new premises, the production of radio sets soon outgrew the condenser side of the business. The first Bakelite radios were marketed in 1931. The potential development of the range was put back after a fire in the design laboratory destroyed all the designs for new models due to be introduced in 1932/33. This had a disastrous effect on sales and the financial crisis of 1933 meant recovery of the company took longer than expected. The introduction of the new designs of cabinets using Bakelite helped to improve the fortunes of the company. In 1934, the company also introduced its first car radio at the Radiolympia exhibition in London, beginning a product line that continued until the end of the company. The same year, Ekco began work on radio direction finding equipment, or radar. The company’s expertise in this area eventually led to conversations with the Government in 1938, with a secret radar laboratory established by the end of the year.

In 1935, Ekco invested in Scophony Limited, who had developed the Scophony projection television system. Sales of the Ekco-Scophony television began in 1936, but achieved only a small number of sales, due to the lack of a market before any national broadcasting service was in place in the UK. Ekco did not return to the manufacture of television sets until 1953. On the radio side of the business, Ekco began producing thermionic valves in 1937, but two years later sold its interests to Mullard Ltd.

1939 saw all work on domestic radios stopped as the company turned over its production capacity to war work. It had already built up a reputation for development work on radar for the Air Ministry. Production of radar related equipment was moved away from Southend, which was viewed as being too close to the coast and enemy action. During the war the company was involved in the research and development of various transmitting receiving sets, including a research contract with the Telecommunications Research Establishment in 1946 to develop weather warning radar.

After the war the company returned to producing radio sets, with television set manufacture reintroduced in 1953. Post-war, Ekco also developed radar for commercial aviation use as well as radar ranging equipment for the Royal Air Force. Work on electrical equipment for the nuclear industry resulted in the company successfully manufacturing the first complete nucleonic instrumentation system for export to Australia, in 1957. In the same year the company acquired the ‘Brown goods’ brand from Ferranti and launched Ferranti Radio and Television Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary to market receivers produced under the Ferranti trademark.

By the end of the 1950s, the company had expanded into most areas of electrical manufacturing involving domestic equipment, from fridges to electric blankets. In 1960 the company merged with Pye, another electronics company, to form a new holding company, British Electronic Industries Ltd. Initially, each company retained its own operations and management, but by 1962 British Electronic Industries Ltd had complete control of Ekco. British Electronic Industries Ltd was put up for sale in 1966 and was acquired in 1967 by Philips Electrical Industries, with the Ekco brand disappearing in the 1970s.