Stromberg-Carlson

Stromberg-Carlson was a telecommunications equipment and electronics manufacturing company formed in 1894 as a partnership of Alfred Stromberg and Androv Carlson. Along with four other companies, it controlled the United States national supply of telephone equipment until after World War II.

Products

Switching systems

Stromberg-Carlson produced several unique switching systems, including:

XY, a "flat motion" switch logically similar to Strowger switching. The "XY Selector" was not invented by SC, but licensed from L.M. Ericsson of Sweden in the late 40's and re-engineered for U.S. switching applications (Ericsson used it for PABX and a very small Rural Exchange application). XY was very popular with REA (RURAL ELECTRIFICATION ADMINISTRATION) funded independent telephone companies and out sold all other vendors in the less than 1000 line applications in the 50's. The largest XY ever in service was installed in Anchorage, AK by RCA Corporation for the U.S. Air Force. Later purchased by Anchorage Telephone Co, it eventually grew to over 10,000 lines.

CrossReed 400/800/1600, an electronically controlled, wired-logic PBX with expansion up to 2,400 ports; notable for its quick dial tone speed & first video telephone in the world.

ESC, an early electronic, wired logic, reed-switch with a matrix similar to the AE EAX. The ESC, was not however Stored Program Control and had more in common with crossbar switching than other SPC electronic switching systems. It was however notable for its quick dialtone speed. (ESC-1, ESC-2, ESC-3 and ESC-4)

DBX-288/1344/5136 & Excalibur, the first fully digital PBX. Used a LSI/PDP-11 microprocessor in the early models and grew up to over 32,000 ports & 128,000 directories in the Excalibur.

Military, institutional and consumer electronics

In addition to telephone equipment Stromberg-Carlson produced military communications gear, institutional sound systems, and high-end stereophonic equipment. Many included Stromberg Carlsons "Acoustic Labyrinth" loudspeaker enclosure design, a forerunner of the modern transmission line loudspeaker enclosures.

Among Stromberg-Carlson's ventures were:

Radio and television receivers, loudspeakers, paging systems, commercial sound amplifiers, and microphones

The ubiquitous BC-348 HF radio, manufactured during World War II and for a decade after

Institutional intercom and public address systems

Ground-Air-Ground tactical communications, AUTOVON and secure systems used by various government agencies worldwide

Non U.S. Branding

In Argentina, the brand was acquired by Gularo S.A., a manufacturer of MP3 players, DVDs, phones, GPS, MP4s, televisions and speakers.

History

In 1894, Alexander Graham Bell's patent for the telephone expired. Stromberg and Carlson, Chicago employees of the American Bell Telephone Company, each invested $500 to establish a firm to manufacture equipment (primarily subscriber sets) for sale to independent telephone companies.

Stromberg-Carlson was originally located in Chicago, with Carlson managing manufacture and Stromberg responsible for marketing. Stromberg-Carlson quickly established a reputation for reliable equipment and stable prices.

In 1901, the temporary chief executive of the Kellogg Switchboard & Supply Company, Wallace De Wolf, assisted executives of rival telephone equipment manufacturer Western Electric in an attempt to take over Stromberg-Carlson. A bitter stockholder fight ensued, and the takeover attempt failed. Stromberg-Carlson reincorporated as a New York state corporation in 1902, where state law better protected the company from takeover efforts.

In 1904, Stromberg-Carlson was purchased by Home Telephone Company, a relatively large service provider based in Rochester, New York. The new owners quickly relocated all Stromberg-Carlson operations to New York. In 1955, Stromberg-Carlson was purchased by General Dynamics.

In 1970, Stromberg delivered the first CrossReed PBX to the newly constructed Disney World in Orlando Florida. Over the next 10 years more than 7,000 CrossReeds were delivered globally.