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Radio Mfgr's Protest
OPA Proposals
Revealing that the radio manufac-
turing industry is encountering diffi-
culty in working out a pricing formula
with the Office of Price Administration
that will permit recovery of increased
costs over prewar levels, R. C. Cos-
grove, president of the Radio Manu-
facturers' Association, recently issued
a statement that present policies of
the OPA "will delay many radio manu-
facturers from getting into civilian
radio production and will prevent some
manufacturers 'from resuming such
production altogether.
"The OPA has declared its intention
of having distributors and retailers
absorb any increases allowed manu-
facturers over their prewar prices,"
he said.
Charging that the Government agen-
cy showed a "total lack of appreciation
of what actually enters into the cost
of getting into domestic radio produc-
tion at this time," the industry asso-
ciation president asserted that manu-
facturers were much concerned over
delay in working out price formulas.
Other trade sources pointed out that
failure to set up a pricing structure
for radio parts manufacturers could
bottleneck the industry.
Pointing out that there are some
400 different components making up
the completed civilian radio set, indus-
try sources claimed the OPA promised
to break these down into sixteen differ-
ent classifications for pricing. No ac-
MUSICMASTER
(PATENTED)
a name which after
V-J Day will become
famous on
Pianos
Phonographs
Radios
Radio-Phonographs
For further information
S.
write
L . C U R T I S
240 W. 55th St.
24
New York
Complete self-seleetloii.s have been realised In tin- new re«-ord department
installations of the H. ('. Capwell Company of Oakland, California.
Floor
layout was planned by Leo .1. >Ieyberu\ Yietor Record Distributor f'.tr the area.
tion has been forthcoming since that
was promised, it was said. As a re-
sult, the smaller manufacturers who
buy the majority of parts from outside
sources face the biggest reconversion
cost problem.
Zenith Stockholders
Hear Annual Report
Zenith Radio Corp., with a backlog
of $73,000,000 in unfinished govern-
ment contracts for highly essential
military equipment, has received orders
from dealers totalling $57,000,000 for
civilian radios to be delivered as soon
as possible after reconversion, stock-
holders of the company were told re-
cently at their annual meeting by
Commander E. F. McDonald, Jr., pres-
ident.
In the directors meeting that fol-
lowed, all present officers were re-
elected, and two new offices were cre-
ated: Harvey Tullo, director of pur-
chases, was elected vice president in
charge of purchasing, and Sam Kap-
lan, credit manager and assistant
treasurer, was elected assistant vice
president.
The directors approved the building
of a new manufacturing building, new
warehouse, and new power plant, on
Zenith property adjoining the present *
plants.
McDonald told the stockholders that
reconversion was a very simple prob-
lem for Zenith because the company
is now making the same type of mate-
rial that it would be making in peace
time. He said that design work on a
completely new line of radios had been
completed, and that the company could
be in production on civilian goods
"within sixty days from tbe day we
get the release and have materials."
The sales organization, he said, is
intact and the distributing organiza-
tion has remained intact also.
Television, he said, is still unsound
economically and "is just around the
corner for general use for the stock
salesman only." He pointed out that
the FCC has assignd to television the
50 megacycle waveband from which
they moved FM because they feared
interference for FM. Television, he
said, is much more subject to interfer-
ence than is FM.
McDonald revealed that Zenith will,
in the future, manufacture many com-
ponents that were formerly purchased
from sub-suppliers. Included in the
new manufacturing program will be
record changers and many other parts
that go into the making of a radio.
The stockholders re-elected the en-
tire slate of directors, comprising E. F.
McDonald, Jr.; Hugh Robertson; Karl
Hassel; Ralph Hubbart; Irving Her-
riott; Frank A. Miller; and Irving R.
Allen.
L. E. Pettit Assistant to
G.E.'s A. A. Brandt
L. E. Pettit has been named assist-
ant to the general sales manager of
the General Electric Company's Elec-
tronics Department. He will be re-
sponsible for co-ordinating advertising
and sales promotion activities of the
department, according to A. A. Brandt,
general sales manager, who made the
announcement. Mr. Pettit's headquar-
ters will be at the G.E. Bridgeport,
Conn., plant.
A native of Bloomfield, Iowa, and
a graduate of the University of Iowa,
Mr. Pettit has been with General Elec-
sric since July of 1935. He joined the
G.E. Electronics Department in 1942
and since January, 1943, has been in
charge of receiver division subcon-
tracting.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, AUGUST, 1945