[Hallicrafters] Hallicrafters FPM-300 MK II Questions

[Craig Roberts]

Scott said: "

"You mentioned Ten Tec. What a success story...(this) is inline with your thoughts about where the amateur radio stuff was just a Japanese division of a much larger and viable company.  Tec Tec was the same way I think...."


Absolutely. Ten Tec co-founder Al Kahn, K4FW, was a co-founder of 
Electro-Voice back in 1930. He was always shrewd enough to curry favor 
with his employees (while adamantly rejecting labor unions) and with the 
U.S. Government. E-V really blossomed during World War II, primarily by 
producing rugged microphones for the armed forces. He maintained a good 
rapport with Washington after the war and that, no doubt, was one reason 
he and Jack Burchfield's little "hobby company", Ten-Tec, eventually got 
to sell its high end receivers to government agencies and the military. 
Bill Halligan was also a pretty big player in WW II, but his company 
suffered from inflated labor costs -- since he stayed in Chicago -- and 
a failure to modernize its designs and production methods. In the end, 
Hallicrafters attempted to emulate the innovative Japanese, but it was 
way too late.

I mentioned that Al Kahn steered clear of union involvement. Many years 
ago, he moved one of his Michigan assembly plants to Sevierville, 
Tennessee in part to escape the "assertive" union activists in the 
Benton Harbor area (yes, Al got involved in the growth of The Heath 
Company in the late '40's, too).  That's how Ten Tec came to be located 
on the road that became Dolly Parton Parkway.  Ten Tec treats it 
employees exceptionally well, which is why they never have any job 
openings (darn it!).

Mr. Kahn, by the way, is from South Bend, Indiana (as am I), and, unless 
he became a silent key while I wasn't looking, is now nearly 100 years 
old.  Neat guy!

73,

Craig
W3CRR