[Collins] Re: black beauty

[Jim M.]

Isn't this kinda what happened just before Challenger blew up?  Managers
butting heads with technical people, and winning? (winning for a few
minutes at least).  N4BE
> 
> "There comes a time in every project when you must shoot the engineer
> and get on with production"
> 
> Seems true!
> 
> Tom/W4OKW
> 
> Glen Zook wrote:
> >
> > Art was a technical genius but a lousey businessman.
> > Back in the mid-1960s the Wall Street Journal did a
> > piece on Collins Radio.  Therein they stated that
> > Collins Radio survived "in spite of Art Collins, not
> > because of him".
> >
> > I only worked at the "new" corporate headquarters in
> > Richardson, Texas, for two years.  However, my job was
> > such that I was exposed to several of his "quirks" on
> > a regular basis.
> >
> > He would keep trying to perfect a product so that it
> > would never make it beyond the prototype stage even
> > though it was definitely capable of doing the job for
> > which it was designed.  He would stop the shipment of
> > equipment to add the "latest and greatest"
> > modification.  Then, before it got out the door, he
> > would order more modifications.  That is why you had
> > to get him interested in a different project so you
> > could actually ship the products to the customers.
> >
> > Myself and a lot of other former Collins employees can
> > tell a lot of "tall" tales about Art (that are really
> > true!).  As I said before, he was a technical genius,
> > but if it hadn't been for other, more business minded
> > individuals, Collins Radio would have folded a long
> > time before Art sold out to Rockwell International.
> >
> > His "downfall" was trying to produce a computer that
> > was "better than IBM".  He had buildings 406 and 408
> > constructed just to produce the computer line.  One
> > summer (when it was near, or even above, 100 degrees
> > outside), the computer buildings started getting
> > pretty warm.  Art had all of the chilled water
> > diverted from building 402 (which was connected to 406
> > and 408) to cool those two buildings.  Those of us in
> > building 402 really "sweated out" those days!
> > Fortunately, I had excuses to go to the other
> > buildings on the campus, but most of the employees in
> > building 402 couldn't get away!  When the computer
> > line basically failed, Art sold out to Rockwell
> > International at a substantially lower per share than
> > the company was really worth.  However, he got enough
> > money that he never worried until the day he died.
> >
> > The vast majority of Collins equipment, both amateur
> > and commercial, is of the utmost superior quality.
> > But, it was not always the result of Art's personal
> > involvement.
> >
> > Glen, K9STH
> >
> > --- kwylow zinjanthropus <catman351@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > Whatever the endstate Mr. Collins might have taken, it
> > comes as a surprise when we desire the history quality
> > that Collins equipment is known for and these little
> > tidbits of information comes up to us on our flank.
> >
> > =====
> > Glen, K9STH
> >
> > Web sites
> >
> > http://home.attbi.com/~k9sth
> > http://home.attbi.com/~zcomco
> >
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