Wednesday, January 8, 2025

First In Color. With Help.





















Admiral Corporation Inc. is best known worldwide for its home appliances and electronics. The company was originally known as the Transformer Corporation of America and by 1929 it was the biggest supplier of radio parts in the world. The Great Depression took its toll and Ross Siragusa, founder, was forced to declare bankruptcy. Later in 1934, he purchased the “Admiral” trademark, which officially became Admiral Corporation America Inc. in 1936.

Admiral’s global operations started in 1946 with the opening of its factory in Toronto, Canada with subsequent region entities in Mexico, Italy, Taiwan and India. By 1966 the company had a staff of over 14,000 with operations in 110 countries. In 1952 the U.S. National Television Systems Committee (NTSC) set a goal of creating an “industry color system.” At the end of 1953, Admiral introduced their first electronic color television system, the C1617A (pictured above) using a 15-inch tri-color 15GP22 CRT and other components by RCA. Sales were understandably dismal at a cost of $1,175 ---over $13,000 today--- a limited production run, and no color broadcasting. It would take about a decade for color sets to become profitable. Admiral’s overall sales revenue sky-rocketed to $414 million in 1966.

Acquired by Rockwell International in 1973, its appliance division was sold to Magic Chef, Inc., which was then acquired by the Maytag Corporation in 1986.  Whirlpool Corporation acquired Maytag in 2006. Under Whirlpool, the Admiral brand became exclusive to The Home Depot. During the 1990s, the Admiral brand name was being used on Zenith products, and for Montgomery Ward as well as VCRs made by Sharp. The television business continues with AOC International, originally Admiral Overseas Corporation, an international brand of LCD and HDTV display devices.

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