'
In this department the 20 spray booths
are used to spray on the finished. When dry
the cabinets all receive a hand rubbed finish
or final polish.
Varied colored plastics are used and the
Rock-Ola "Luxury Lightup" phonograph has
more plastic area than any other phono-
graph on th e market today. Varied-colored
pieces of catalin are set in to offer con-
trast and beauty and the lighting system
gives a flowing, colored li ghting through
the plastic portions of the cabinet.
A well organized, comprehensive straight
line production sys tem is employed for the
general assembly work operations. The vari-
ous parts and sub-assembli es reach the be-
ginning of the line at predetermined inter-
vals, and from here on, piece after piece
and part after part is added until the com-
pleted machines are securely packed ready
for shipment.
Ola of necessity, buys raw materials and
parts from a minimum of 125 suppliers,
ranging from iron and steel to modern
plastics, such as Catalin, Tenite and Bake-
lite.
Here is a partial list of materials pur-
chased, together with the . amount, neces-
sary for its annual outpu t of phonographs:
steel
lumber
• veneer
die castin gs
aluminum castings
bulbs
motors
screw machine parts
pickups
switches
glass
rubber parts
stampings
transformers
paper parts, etc.
bakelite parts
escutcheon plates
wire
fuses
terminal strips
cables
condensers
resisters
tenite (mold)
catalin
550,000 lbs.
2,883,750 feet
2,072,500 sq. ft.
1,025,000 pcs.
675,000 pcs.
425,000 pcs.
50,000 pcs.
6,350,000 pcs.
25,000 pcs.
225,000 pcs.
150,000 pcs.
2,625,000 pcs.
175,000 pcs.
100,000 pcs.
1,025,000 pcs.
300,000 pcs.
350,000 pcs.
800,000 feet
50,000 pcs.
75,000 pcs.
175,000 pcs.
200,000 pcs.
100,000 pcs.
550,000 pcs.
325,000 sq. ft.
Without stretching the imagination too
far, it is easily possible from th e above
statistics, to weave a romantic, if not dram-
atic yarn about this tabulation of, other-
wise, impersonal figures.
The extent of these purchases is far-
reaching, affecting an untold number of
workers. Consider th e item of steel, from
the time the ore is mined, hauled to the
mill, through th e refinery to the rolling
mill, then to the steel warehouse and fin-
ally to th e Rock-Ola plant. Laborers en-
gineers, chemists, truck drivers, stea~ship
lines, railroads, salesmen, executives and
countless others are each contributing their
small part in the production of this one
item. Rock-Ola, through its purchases of
this and other articles, does its proportion-
ate share in making it possible for all these
men to make a living. Consider also the
capitalist or investor and multiply this by
th e processes involved in getting each of
the other materials necessary and we have
a rather imposing picture of not only one
industry, but many.
To continue our trip through the plant
. . . enough electricity is genera ted in
th e company's own plant to supply the
electric power requirements of a ci ty of
36,000 population.
Part of the first floor is devoted to the
storage of lumber, a quantity, sufficient for
30 days' operation is always on hand. 550,-
000 board feet can be stored in the huge dry
kilns. These tremendous wood piles come
from several foreign countries and traveled
a great many miles, requiring the attention
of countless hands before they got to the
Rock-Ola warehouse.
One of th e firs t steps in the construe•
tion of a phonograph cabinet, is the cut-
ting of rough lumber into workable sized
pieces. From here the wood travels to the
machine or mill room, where it is fabri-
cated to the proper size and shape for as-
sembly. The cabinets are joined (assem-
bled) and proceed to the top floor. Here,
there are 20 spray booths, where various
finishi ng materials are applied. The cab-
inets all receive a hand rubbed finish or
final polish, an expensive operation, never-
theless necessary to maintain th e high
standard of quality and beauty establi shed
by the management.
The ex treme care exercised during as-
sembly is responsible more than any other
single factor, for the satisfactory service
Rock-Ola products deliver. Master jigs and
patterns are used frequently to assure
proper alignmen t of working parts. When
a machine comes off th e lin e the working
mechanisms have already 'automatically
been put through several hours of actual
operation. This, however, is just the be-
ginning. Skilled technicians put the a p-
paratus through a series of tests, seeking
out every defect, before it is finally passed
on to the packers. This testing and re-test-
ing takes time and costs money, but is just
another example of the precautions exer•
cised to assure perfect and satisfactory
operation in the hands of the consumer.
No description of this plant would be
complete without a few words about its
founder.
15
COIN
MACl;flHE
REVIEW
David C. Rockola is anything but a
swivel chair executive. In reality, he is the
guiding spirit that touches every phase of
the organization's activity. He knows what
he wants, and how to get it. He has sur-
rounded hims_elf with hand-picked key men,
to whom vanous departmental responsibil-
ities are delegated. Every man in the Rock-
Ola organization is loyal and a well estab-
lished incentive system has produced re-
markable results.
The achievemen t of David C. Rockola is
c?nvincing evidence that initiative, aggres-
siveness and hard work produce their just
rewards.
♦
Although the working me·chanisms have
been checked time and time again on the
assembly line another inspection is made as
the finished machine is delivered. Here are
men making the final tests, checking each
and every part of each machine.
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