Our History
Take a look at Sontay’s history to see how it became the market leader that it is today!
Our History
1974
The Beginning
Beginning life in 1974 as an off-shoot and specialist provider of support services to the established Eaton-Williams Group, Sontay has evolved and grown significantly over the years. Today, Sontay is a market leading supplier of control peripherals and environmental measurement devices into the HVAC market.
Medical Electronic Products
Medical electronic products were one of our first areas of successful diversification and also proved responsible for the company's name, Sontay - a corruption of the French word for health, Sante
1986
A new home
Other electronic devices soon followed. In 1986 we moved to our present Head Office and manufacturing base in Edenbridge, and four years later we established ourselves as a leader in humidity measurement products, OEM condition monitors and sophisticated, mains power disturbance monitors.
Development of new sensors
A new generation of relative humidity sensors and the development of new, low cost temperature sensors took us more directly into the HVAC sector, where customers valued our unique combination of experience, applications expertise and prompt service.
Distribution
We responded to customer demands and HVAC opportunities by setting up a distribution business alongside our manufacturing operation. This has allowed us to bring our customers access to a bigger range of complementary, high quality products.
1994
Sontay Catalogue
The first Sontay catalogue was released. Now regarded as an “industry bible”, the Sontay catalogue has evolved year on year.
2001
The Change
A change of ownership to part of the global GE operation in 2001 enabled us to build on this reputation and make substantial investment in our specialist manufacturing facility. By joining together our ability to offer global sourcing of products was greatly enhanced, so too was the expertise of our customer service and technical support teams.
6Sigma
We were also able to implement 6sigma business process management techniques and lean manufacturing practices to benefit the Sontay operation.
2004
The Focus
In 2004 the management team at Sontay acquired the company. This has brought a fresh sense of flexibility and freedom to Sontay, allowing us to re-organise and give greater clarity to our product range for HVAC and other applications.
Manufacturing
At the same time, it has enabled Sontay to re-focus the business both internally, matching the right people to the right job, and externally, so that we can make sure we're still meeting customer requirements. We have invested significantly in product development as we continue manufacturing of Sontay's core product ranges
2010
SonNet
2010 saw the launch of SonNet, the revolutionary wireless sensing system. The system was a game changer for HVAC sensing and won Product Technical Innovation of the Year at the 2011 BCIA Awards as well as being Highly Commended at the HVR Awards.
2014
Smart Communication devices
As the industry strides forward and the requirement for building measurement data ever growing, Sontay introduced a Smart Communication range of devices to communicate over protocols such as BACnet and Modbus.
2015
Sontay Academy
The Sontay Academy grew momentum this year with a partnership with the BCIA. This along with Sontay’s own industry courses has put the Sontay Academy at the forefront of the education of Building Controls Engineers, being recognised as a finalist at many awards.
2019
45 years!
Sontay celebrated its 45th anniversary! A fantastic achievement and testament to the company’s reputation for quality and reliability built over these years.
2020
COVID
The most unusual year in Sontay’s history. The amazing Sontay team came together and weathered the most difficult, unusual and relentless storm to continue to supply products to often key infrastructure in supporting the immediate COVID “fight” such as in hospitals. We also found that many of our products were key to getting some sort of normality back into everyday life by monitoring things like Air Quality, Occupancy Levels and Relative Humidity for bacteria control.
2022
Introducing SORA!
SORA combines the tried, tested and trusted sensing reliability of Sontay sensing devices with the unrivalled wireless power of LoRaWAN technology, SORA is set to change the way building sensors are selected and installed for the future.
2024
50 Years of Sontay
Celebrating 50 Years of Innovation and Excellence!
This year, we proudly celebrate Sontay's 50th anniversary—a milestone made possible by the trust and support of our incredible customers, partners, and employees.
Since 1974, we've been committed to shaping the future of building control and sensor technology, delivering quality solutions that make a real difference. As we look to the future, we remain dedicated to driving innovation and creating a sustainable legacy for the next 50 years.