IST was founded in Pretoria in 1980 and grew steadily for 18 years before being listed on the JSE in the electronics sector.

A consortium headed by Ethos Private Equity acquired IST during October 2004. The company was de-listed from the JSE Securities Exchange and Ethos now controls 52.7% of the business. Management has 20% and other shareholders 2.3%. The new entity comprises all the existing businesses of the previously listed IST Group and operates under the registration number 2003/030608/07.

The business has developed into a diversified engineering solution business for capital-intensive industries. It applies its technologies across a range of markets in Africa and internationally and has extensive experience in the energy, nuclear energy, telecommunications and defence industries. The group has gained a reputation as a niche supplier to South Africa's electricity supply industry, including metro, city and town councils.

IST offers world-class products within an environment that, due to its intellectual capital nature, is highly scalable. A strong operational BEE partner ensures the relevance of the company in the South African context.