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Zenith Electronics LLC is an American brand of consumer electronics owned by South Korean company LG Electronics. The company was previously an American manufacturer of radio and television receivers and other consumer electronics, and was headquartered in Glenview, Illinois. After a series of layoffs, the consolidated headquarters moved to Lincolnshire, Illinois. For many years, their famous slogan was "The quality goes in, before the name goes on." LG Electronics acquired a controlling share of Zenith in 1995 and eventually Zenith became a wholly owned subsidiary in 1999. Zenith was the inventor of subscription television and the modern remote control, and the first to develop HDTV in North America.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.zenith.com/heritage/ )〕 Zenith-branded products are sold in North America, Germany, Thailand (to 1983), Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, India and Myanmar. ==History== The company was co-founded by Ralph Matthews and Karl Hassel〔McMahon, Morgan E. ''A Flick of the Switch 1930–1950'' (Antiques Electronics Supply, 1990), p.187.〕 in Chicago, Illinois as Chicago Radio Labs〔McMahon, p.187.〕 in 1918 as a small producer of amateur radio equipment. The name "Zenith" came from ZN'th, a contraction of its founders' ham radio call sign, 9ZN. They were joined in 1921 by LCDR Eugene F. McDonald,〔 and Zenith Radio Company was formally incorporated in 1923. Zenith introduced the first portable radio in 1924,〔 the first mass-produced AC radio in 1926,〔 and push-button tuning in 1927.〔 It added automobile radios in the 1930s with its ''Model 460'', promoting the fact that it needed no separate generator or battery, selling at US$59.95.〔Mahon, p.189.〕 The first Zenith television set appeared in 1939, with its first commercial sets in 1948.〔 The company is credited with having invented such things as the wireless remote control and FM multiplex stereo. In fact, Zenith established one of the very first FM stations in the country in 1940 (Chicago's WWZR, later called WEFM, named for Zenith executive Eugene F. McDonald), which was among the earliest FM multiplex stereo stations, first broadcasting in stereo in June of 1961. The station was sold in the early 1970s and is now WUSN. Zenith also pioneered in the development of high-contrast and flat-face picture tubes, and the MTS stereo system used on analog television broadcasts in the United States and Canada (as opposed to the BBC-developed NICAM digital stereo sound system for analog television broadcasts, used in many places around the world.) Zenith was also one of the first companies to introduce a digital HDTV system implementation, parts of which were included in the ATSC standard starting with the 1993 Grand Alliance. They were also one of the first American manufacturers to market a home VCR, selling a Sony-built Betamax video recorder starting in 1977. The 1962 Illinois Manufacturers Directory ( 50th Anniversary edition ) lists Zenith Radio Corporation as having a total of 11,000 employees of which at least 6,460 were employed in seven Chicago plants. The corporate office was in plant number 1 located at 6001 West Dickens Ave. where 2,500 workers made radio and television sets and Hi-Fi stereophonic phonographs. Plant number 2 was located at 1500 North Kostner Ave. where 2,100 employees made government electronics, radio and television components, transistors and hearing aids. Plant number 3 was located at 5801 West Dickens Ave. where 300 employees made electronics and servicing. Plant number 4 was located at 3501 West Potomac Ave. where 60 employees performed warehousing. Plant number 5 located at 6501 West Grand Ave. employed 500-600 workers who made government Hi-Fi equipment. A subsidiary of Zenith, the Rauland Corporation located at 4245 North Knox Ave. employed 850 workers who made television picture tubes. The other Zenith subsidiary in Chicago was Central Electronics, Incorporated located at 1247 West Belmont Ave. where 100 employees made Ham radio equipment and performed auditory training. The other Central Electronics plant was located at State Route 133 and Grandview in Paris, Illinois where 500 employees made radio receivers raising the total Zenith work force in Illinois to at least 6,960.〔1962 Illinois Manufacturers Directory, Manufacturers' News, Inc., Chicago, IL., copyright 1962, p. 1311〕 Zenith encountered increasing financial difficulty as their market share progressively went to Japanese companies. In 1974, Zenith, concerned about losing market share to Japanese companies, filed suit in federal court in Philadelphia against the major Japanese television and electronic manufacturers charging violation of United States Antitrust Laws and the Antidumping Act of 1916.〔''The New York Times'', September 21, 1974〕 Zenith joined two United States companies Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Motorola, Inc. as co-conspirators.〔''Washington University Law Review'', 58 Wash. U.L.Q. 1055 (1980) 〕 The suit later, styled ''In re Japanese Electric Products Antitrust Litigation'', sought $900,000,000.00 in damages.〔''Chicago Tribune'', September 30, 1974〕 By the end of 1983, Zenith had spent millions of dollars in connection with the litigation.〔''Philadelphia Enquirer'', December 15, 1983〕 In 1981, the trial court entered summary judgment for all defendants on the antitrust and antidumping claims and dismissed the lawsuits.〔''The New York Times'', Late Edition (East Coast), March 28, 1981〕 Plaintiffs appealed and the appellate court affirmed the summary judgment for Sears, Roebuck & Co., Motorola, Inc. and Sony.〔''Chicago Tribune'', December 6, 1983〕 In March 1986 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of the defendants on Zenith’s antitrust claims.〔''The New York Times'', Late Edition (East Coast), March 27, 1986〕 Zenith’s hopes to salvage a victory on the claims that the defendants violated the Antidumping Act of 1916 ended in April 1987 when the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from the U.S. District Court of Appeals in Philadelphia which upheld the ruling of the trial court in favor of the Japanese.〔''The Wall Street Journal'', Eastern Edition, April 28, 1987〕 In 1979, Zenith entered the computer market with the purchase of Heath Company from Schlumberger for $64.5 million, and formed Zenith Data Systems (ZDS). The company changed its name to Zenith Electronics Corporation in 1984, to reflect its interests in computers and CATV, and since it had left the radio business two years earlier. By the late 1980s ZDS's profits sustained Zenith while its television business had lost money for years. To raise money for HDTV research efforts and reduce debt, Zenith sold ZDS to Groupe Bull in October 1989 for $635 million. By 1990, Zenith was in trouble and looking more attractive to a hostile takeover. To avoid this, Zenith sold 5% of itself to LG Electronics as part of a technology-sharing agreement. With their analog line aging (the last major update to the line had been the ''System³'' chassis in 1978), and the adoption of HDTV in the United States decades away, Zenith's prospects were dim. LG was forced to come to the rescue in 1995 by raising its stake to 55 percent, enough to assume controlling interest. Zenith filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1999, and in exchange for its debts, LG bought the remaining 45 percent of the company. During this era, some of Zenith's products were being rebadged as OEM under the Admiral name. Their profitable Network Systems division—that produced set-top boxes for cable and satellite TV—was sold to Motorola in the summer of 2000 and became part of Motorola BCS (Broadband Communications Sector). Today, LG produces the Zenith DTT-900〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Digital TV Transition )〕 and Zenith DTT-901 ATSC digital television converter box. LG also offers some Zenith branded plasma, LCD, and direct view televisions through selected retail outlets. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Zenith Electronics」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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