Motorola Inc. - Encyclopedia of Chicago

In 1947, the company changed its name to Motorola Inc. Six years later, it opened a large television assembly plant in the Chicago suburb of Franklin Park, ... Encyclopedia o f Chicago Entries | HistoricalSources | Maps | SpecialFeatures Entries:MotorolaInc. Entries M MotorolaInc. Next MotorolaInc. In1928,brothersPaulV.GalvinandJosephE.GalvinpurchasedabatteryeliminatorbusinessfromthebankruptStewartStorageBatteryCo.ofChicago.Thebrothers'newcompany,locatedontheWestSideofChicago,wascalledtheGalvinManufacturingCorp.;itbeganwithfiveemployees.Thecompanybegantomakecarradiosin1930andmanufacturedlargerradiosetsforhomesstartingin1937.DuringWorldWarII,Galvinmadehand-held,two-wayFMportableradios—whichbecameknownas“walkie-talkies”—fortheuseoftheU.S.military.Althoughthecompanyexperiencedaseveredeclineimmediatelyaftertheendofthewar,astheendoflargemilitarycontractspusheditsannualsalesdownfrom$68millionin1945to$23millionin1946,itsoonrecoveredinspectacularfashion.In1947,thecompanychangeditsnametoMotorolaInc.Sixyearslater,itopenedalargetelevisionassemblyplantintheChicagosuburbofFranklinPark,whereMotorolamadethefirsttelevisionsetstosellforunder$200.Motorolaintroducednewelectronicsproductsyearafteryear.Anall-transistorcarradioappeared1959;later,thecompanypioneeredeight-tracktapeplayersforautomobilesandbegantosellanall-transistortelevisionset,the“Quasar.”In1958,twoyearsafterRobertW.GalvinsucceededhisfatherPaulascompanypresident,Motorolastartedasemiconductorsdivision,basedinPhoenix,Arizona.Bythemiddleofthe1960s,thecompanygrossed$500millioninannualsalesandemployedsome30,000peoplenationwide.OneofMotorola'scustomerswasNASA,whichboughtcommunicationsforitsspacemissions.In1974,theyearitstoppedmakingtelevisions,Motorolaintroduceditsfirstmicroprocessor.By1976,whenthecompanymoveditsheadquarterstoa325-acrecampusintheChicagosuburbofSchaumburg,itemployedover7,500peoplearoundtheChicagoarea.Expansioncontinuedduringthe1980s,whenMotorolabegantosellpagersandcellulartelephones,boostingannualsalespast$10billionandthetotalnumberofemployees(worldwide)beyond100,000.Meanwhile,thecompanyhadbecomethenation'sfourth-largestmanufacturerofsemiconductorsfortheboomingcomputerindustry.In1993,RobertGalvin'ssonChristopherwasnamedcompanypresident.Bytheendofthe1990s,annualsaleshadpassed$30billion,andtherewereover20,000MotorolaemployeesworkingintheChicagoarea.StrongtelecommunicationscompetitionwithnewrivalssuchasNokia(agiantcellularphonemanufacturerbasedinFinland)andslumpingsemiconductormarketsintheearly2000shitMotorolahard.Three-quartersofacenturyofrapidgrowthcametoanend,asMotorolaslashedtensofthousandsofjobsinChicagoandworldwide.ChristopherGalvinwasreplacedbythefirstnon-GalvintoheadMotorolainitsstoriedhistory,aformerexecutiveatGeneralElectricwithareputationforinstitutingrelentlesscost-cuttingmeasures.By2002,however,MotorolaremainedoneofChicago'slargestcorporations,withnetrevenuesofalmost$27billionand97,000employeesworldwide. TimothyJ.Gilfoyle TheElectronicEncyclopediaofChicago©2005ChicagoHistoricalSociety. TheEncyclopediaofChicago©2004TheNewberryLibrary.AllRightsReserved.Portionsarecopyrightedbyotherinstitutionsandindividuals. Additionalinformationoncopyrightandpermissions.