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This thread is to share any thoughts on Curtis Mathis. The thread came from a wiki posted by 4wd in Malo's "Are you old" thread https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/are-you-old.361032/
After reading the wiki on Curtis Mathis, I found the business model fascinating. My thoughts are what a shame Curtis Mathis went bankrupt. Their design to make every module replacable in minutes is pretty neat. And the USA's last electronics manufacturer.
A few highlights from the wiki:
During the next few years Curtis Mathes worked to design a modular TV and modular TV parts and chassis, so that warranty service would involve quickly switching a part, tube, tuner or picture tube. These all had snap-in connectors and were held in place by brackets instead of solder or screws. He envisioned a TV that would never require costly repairs, and early on started offering a 4-year warranty on picture tube, parts and labor.
By the mid-1970s and the advent of solid-state electronics, Mathes had achieved results. The TV consisted of 11 parts: 7 circuit boards, a tuner, a picture tube and a transformer, plus the cabinet. A repair person carried all ten electronic parts in their truck and a repair call seldom lasted more than 20 minutes. In home the fee was $20, and free in the shop.
Curtis Mathes, Sr., died in 1977. Curtis Mathes, Jr., became the Chairman of the Board and the company's public face, appearing in its television commercials until his 1983 death in the Air Canada Flight 797 fire at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.[2]
The company began to decline, going from a peak of 5,000 employees and seven manufacturing facilities to about 50 employees in 1988 when it was sold to Enhanced Electronics. At the time of this sale, it was the last remaining fully U.S.-owned electronics company.
en.wikipedia.org
After reading the wiki on Curtis Mathis, I found the business model fascinating. My thoughts are what a shame Curtis Mathis went bankrupt. Their design to make every module replacable in minutes is pretty neat. And the USA's last electronics manufacturer.
A few highlights from the wiki:
During the next few years Curtis Mathes worked to design a modular TV and modular TV parts and chassis, so that warranty service would involve quickly switching a part, tube, tuner or picture tube. These all had snap-in connectors and were held in place by brackets instead of solder or screws. He envisioned a TV that would never require costly repairs, and early on started offering a 4-year warranty on picture tube, parts and labor.
By the mid-1970s and the advent of solid-state electronics, Mathes had achieved results. The TV consisted of 11 parts: 7 circuit boards, a tuner, a picture tube and a transformer, plus the cabinet. A repair person carried all ten electronic parts in their truck and a repair call seldom lasted more than 20 minutes. In home the fee was $20, and free in the shop.
Curtis Mathes, Sr., died in 1977. Curtis Mathes, Jr., became the Chairman of the Board and the company's public face, appearing in its television commercials until his 1983 death in the Air Canada Flight 797 fire at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.[2]
The company began to decline, going from a peak of 5,000 employees and seven manufacturing facilities to about 50 employees in 1988 when it was sold to Enhanced Electronics. At the time of this sale, it was the last remaining fully U.S.-owned electronics company.
