HEATHKIT's Demise

[Harvey A. Kader]

Larry Knapp wrote:

> I believe, as a x-Heath employee, in all the "politically incorrectness" of
> today, would disagree with Chuck's remarks and would agree with Dave Kechkaylo.
>
> If the "economic, business and social" changes Chuck refers to is what Dave
> wrote as "Steelworker's union trying to muscle their way in control of Heath's
> factory in 1979", then I would agree that his ONE fact led Schlumberger to
> divest itself of Heath.  To my knowledge, Schlumberger was in no way looking to
> divest itself of the cash (thus the company) Heath was generating at the time.
> The purchase of Heath, by Zenith, then lead to what Dave said, "layoffs
> resulted.....and Zenith. Without the latter, I think Heath, with the right
> direction and product lines, could have lasted longer....Zenith supplied the
> coffin nails and pounded in the last one.".  This LAST fact is the ONE main
> factor why Heath is no longer into the computer business nor any other line of
> product that most of us knew of from the 50's to the 80's.
>
> As far as "technological" changes....There were (are) some, but nothing which
> could not have been overcome by those Heath leaders who were there at the time
> in engineering, sales, marketing and other areas.  The "heavy handed
> leadership" coming from Chicago did most of the driving of these good people
> away, which further diminished the "future".  Chuck wrote regarding "Heath's
> demise" that it "began to show themselves in the late 60s, but which actually
> started much earlier"....I really disagree with this as Heath was a robust
> company, making millions of dollars and really pioneered some outstanding
> technology during this period.  Also, Chuck wrote "That Heath would go out of
> business at some point in the late 20th century was, in my opinion, a fore
> drawn conclusion".  Well, Heath is still in business.  Certainly not with the
> product lines it used to have, but still a business employing people and
> selling product today and they have their headquarters still in the local area.
>
> The Heath Company many knew from the 40's and the 50's (when I really got
> interested in their products) was certainly quite different from the company I
> worked for in the early fall of 1979 (and certainly through 1984).  But most
> companies, to stay in business, change with the times.  Heath certainly did and
> most was for the better.  Dave is probably correct, when he said "I think Heath
> Company would have slumped overall, particularly in the amateur radio product
> line, anyway, as newer, better, products were offered by Japanese companies".
> However, certain products could have continued to be "kitted" and most
> certainly newer ones developed not only in amateur products but in other lines
> as well.  The company building (which is right across the street from where I
> currently work now) certainly could be filled with a bustling business
> reminiscent of it's past, instead of what it is now....I firmly believe that.
>
> Perhaps others will have more to say, and I'm sure there will be negative as
> well as positive comments....but all the "Monday morning quarterbacking" is
> mute as Heathkit, as we once knew does not exist.  So Dave, you got it right.
>
> 73, Larry, KC8JX
> "A 17 year Heath employee"
>
>

Larry, I agree 100% with everything you say, and I never even worked at Heathkit!
Heathkit was a flexible innovative company that developed unique products which had
a viable market and sold well. That could be seen in the late 60's and early 70's
as Heathkit developed so many non-Ham products. In fact, towards the mid 70's and
beyond, Ham radio kits were but a very small percentage of the overall offerings by
Heathkit.

To see just how successful a kit company could become in today's market, just look
at Ramsey Electronics of Canning, NY. They just recently merged with Avcom of
Virginia to become an even bigger company called Avcom Ramsey Technologies, Inc.
Ramsey's kits were so innovative and successful, that the FCC wanted them to
discontinue certain kits because they "affected national security" potentially,
which was BS anyway. But, you can see just how innovative these Ramsey kits were if
they drew the attention of the FCC!

Heathkit under Daystrom produced BEAUTIFUL kits, both in design and packaging. Some
were even marketed just under the Daystrom name. Schlumberger was a "scientific"
company and allowed Heathkit to flourish further. Zenith "killed" Heathkit. Zenith
also "killed" Zenith! Near the end Heathkit had kits packaged and manufactured in
Hong Kong. These kits were pure junk! Anybody at Heathkit know who the
subcontractor in Hong Kong was who manufactured these garbage kits?
Everything about these kits was produced in Hong Kong including the printing of the
manuals. An example of these Hong Kong kits was Heathkit's ultrasonic cleaner.
Another example was the last version of the Code Oscillator. This is often seen on
ebay as people try to liquidate these stocks.

Poor Heathkit! They had it right under Daystrom and Schlumberger. Once Zenith took
over, all hell broke loose. From the consumer point of view, I could see it
happening as the product line changed over time. More "educational" kits and less
"real" kits were offered. Heathkit got into "education" in a big way - the current
offerings are the culmination of this trend. In reality, there could have
co-existed  TWO Heathkit companies - Heathkit #1 could be the "traditional"
Heathkit, and Heathkit #2 could be the "educational" Heathkit. Zenith never saw the
profit in Heathkit #1. And yet, Ramsey did and still does. In  my opinion. Harvey.

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