About Elite

Located in the heart of the I-88 R&D corridor, our Downers Grove, Illinois, facility serves as both our headquarters and our primary testing site. Just half an hour from either Chicago's O'Hare or Midway Airports and conveniently located near hotels, restaurants and major highways, our 45,000 square foot Downers Grove facility offers:

27 RF test chambers in various configurations, sizes, absorber linings, power supplies and monitoring systems that can be tailored to your exact testing needs. RF chamber options include:

• Whole vehicle (reverberation or anechoic lined)
• Large Semi-anechoic Rooms
• Reverberation (mode stirred or mode tuned)
• 3-meter indoor FCC registered site
• Several CISPR 25 compliant chambers
• Controlled atmosphere ESD testing
• Full environmental stress test laboratory; Vibration, Temperature, and others
• High power electrical service
• Compressed air, cooling water
• Shipping docks capable of receiving extremely large equipment—and a forklift with a one-ton lifting capacity
• Convenient access to hotels, restaurants, highways

Elite’s History

Elite's President and Founder James C. Klouda
Inducted into Chicago Area Entrepreneurship
Hall of Fame. March 2007

In many ways, Elite Electronic Engineering began aboard a United States Air Force bomber. Flying out of Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, the bomber was equipped for the first time with a new, aerial camera. That camera could produce consistent photographic intelligence by adjusting automatically to the plane’s altitude and speed.

That first flight took place in the 1950s—and it didn’t go well. As soon as the camera was turned on and began to function, its electronics began to interfere with the bomber’s autopilot programming. The plane would gain altitude, then readjust to its original setting, and then gain altitude again. In no time, the camera was turned off and the bomber was back on the ground. An urgent call was placed to the manufacturer’s new young engineer in Chicago, James C. Klouda—Elite’s founder.

With a little sleuthing—and a little shielding—Klouda made the necessary adjustments to the firm’s prototype model and air-shipped it to the Air Force base for testing the next day. There was no interference the next day and the in-flight test went off without a hitch.

Elite’s founder went to work expanding his knowledge—and understanding the application—of EMC testing technology. About five years later, James Klouda approached the military about creating an engineering firm with a testing focus on EMC. Those in the defense industry who knew of his talents encouraged him to do so.

While the company has grown exponentially in both customers served and services offered, the original values that Elite was founded on still hold true today. They include:

• Continual investment in new technology and training
• Focus on providing the highest value of service to the customer
• High standards of integrity and hard work

Those principles have helped Elite become a leader in the industry—and have helped the company grow consistently during the past half century. In 1954, Elite had two employees and operated out of a 2,500 square foot storefront in south Chicago. By 1973, the company had 20 employees and occupied 22,000 square feet. Today, with 60 employees, and more than 45,000 square feet, Elite can offer unmatched expertise and equipment.

The company is substantially larger, the technology is significantly more advanced and the customer base is greatly diversified, but one thing hasn’t changed in 50 years: Elite remains dedicated to serving its customers and ensuring their complete satisfaction.

<Back | Top | Home