Ekco is well known for its often stunning designs, inspired by Modernism and Art Deco. Ekco choose bakelite, where other brands choose wooden casings. In order to win the public for bakelite, that used to have a cheap image, the choice was made to use designs of well known designers like Canadian Wells Coates. Bakelite allowed a variety of new shapes, that could not be made in wood. Models were often made in more then one colour.

Just before the war, in 1939, the factory was moved again to a number of different locations, among them Malmesbury, because of a government decision to move production sites to the country-side in order to minimize the risk of bombing. The new factory was situated near the river Avon, just outside Malmesbury on the grounds of a country house. Like everywhere in England, from that moment on women were recruited for production work.

Wells Coates

The first bakelite cabinets were made for Ekco by AEG in Germany; in 1931 Ekco had finished its own bakelite moulding shop, next to the new Southend-on-Sea factory.

The company's founder Eric Kirkham Cole was born on 4 July 1901. Ekco, Eric Kirkham Cole Limited, started building battery eliminators and radio sets in 1924. When enough money was raised they moved to a new factory in Leigh-on-Sea in 1927; later, in 1930, Ekco moved to a bigger factory in Southend-on-Sea. Soon branches were created in  Belgium (Haren near Brussels) and Australia.

During the war production was mainly focussed on military radio and radar systems.

E.K. Cole

After the war the factory became a producer of television and later car radio sets. Ekco bought the Ferranti brand and Dynatron business.

By 1973 Ekco had been absorbed into a conglomerate and its products were mostly rebadged Pyes. Later the Ekco name was dropped entirely.