[Boatanchors] [Milsurplus] [BoatAnchors] Mackay Marine Mystery

[Elliot Blaize Jr.]

Hello all, again...

ITT Mackay was one of the castoffs in  a selling of "divisions" of ITT 
when they were spun off as "Mackay Electronics" as I vaguely remember at 
the time.  Many divisions were sold off.  This was after someone named 
Ginene or something close to that was ITT chairman. The Mackay division 
in Raleigh, NC and a lot of manufacturing changed.  I wasn't involved in 
this monumental spinoff of "divisions" and some of it is very cloudy in 
my memory now.  I do know ITT stock that was promised to employees as 
dividends was eventually bought for a fraction of its value after the 
failure of a telephone switch being adapted hopefully for US use, was 
never successfully completed.  Some of the older Mackay employees took 
quite a bath and lost retirement money that would have resulted in bank 
accounts after they retired.  Finally a place was found for Mackay in 
the "new corporation" that took over and many things changed.  Many of 
which are not clear at all in my mind.  There was quite a shuffle in how 
things after the great spinoff of the "divisions" into other hands not 
those of ITT.

I would suggest that other people should be consulted that were in 
executive positions would have to be consulted as to the end results of 
the "spun off" divisions that followed.  We working stiffs in the field 
were only aware of what "scuttlebutt" we heard and not dealing with the 
results that occurred.    I know that I have 3 different corporations or 
their agents who pay my retirement at present.  One for our ITT service, 
one for an interim corporation which was a short term thing during the 
transition and one for "Mackay Communications" .  Fortunately, I did not 
have the "promised stock losses" some of the older timer employees had 
who had been with ITT Mackay over a lot more years.

It's all still a great puzzle to me.

73,

Sandy W5TVW
On 1/11/2015 12:07 PM, mstangelo at comcast.net wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I worked for ITT World Communications at 67 Broad Street NY in the Facilities Engineering department starting in 1976.
>
> We designed out own equipment and had outside vendors construct the equipment. Previous to my employment in 1976 Mackay Marine, another ITT subsidiary, constructed the equipment for us. They did an impressive job but at a premium price. Management decided we could get the equipment built for less by farming the work out to external vendors via bids.
>
> Does anyone know when Mackay Marine moved from New Jersey to North Caroline? I woner of this had to do with our decision to end our association with them.
>
> Mike N2MS
>
>> On Jan 10, 2015, at 16:06, ebjr37 at charter.net wrote:
>>
>> Hello All:
>>
>> I worked for Mackay Radio for some time retiring about 1995.  There was another receiver that was almost identical but had a different type number.  Can't recall what as it has been too many years ago!  I have seen the military "seal" looking marking you mention, on the 128 receivers that belonged to Lykes Steamship, who was one of Mackay's biggest customers in New Orleans when Lykes was based there.  They must have sold "stock" units that has been marked for military use, but maybe still in stock because the unit  had been cancelled or wasn't needed at the time by the military.
>>
>> That's my guess.
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Sandy W5TVW
>> Formerly employed by Mackay New Orleans branch/depot.
>>