Amdek
Amdek was once the name in PC monitors.
Amdek Corporation, originally called Leedex Corporation, was an American maker of computer peripherals and systems that operated from 1977 into the mid-1990s. It was best known for its standalone computer monitors, which worked with many different machines from the early microcomputer era through the personal computer age. In 1994, PC World noted that Amdek had once been a leading name in PC monitors, and that most monochrome monitors people used likely carried the Amdek label.
The company was founded in 1977 by Go Sugiura, born in Osaka, Japan in 1936, and Ted McCracken. Sugiura had moved to the United States in the 1950s, earning a Bachelor of Economics and learning English. In 1960, he worked as a consumer electronics importer in Caracas, Venezuela, where he learned Spanish. Later in the 1960s, he started his own business importing steel from Japan into Venezuela. In the early 1970s, he worked as a U.S. sales representative for Sakata, a Japanese semiconductor fabricator. While at Sakata, he negotiated to use the Sakata trademark for his own independent trading company, Sakata International. Sakata agreed, but the company was soon merged back into its parent because demand for Sakata products in the U.S. was too high for Sugiura to pay in advance with his limited capital. Still wanting his own business, he incorporated Leedex as a side job to import car radio components. A manufacturer in Ohio already using the name Leedex threatened a trademark infringement lawsuit, so Sugiura changed the company’s name to Amdek. According to Ikutaro Kakehashi, founder of Roland Corporation, the name stood for Analog, Music, Digital, Electronics, and Kits, but Sugiura said in 1984 that it was simply a random combination of syllables.
As microcomputers emerged in the late 1970s, Sugiura wanted to enter the industry but lacked computer experience and electrical engineering knowledge. He contacted Ted McCracken, a friend and computer science professor at the University of Missouri. They had met at a foreclosure of an electronics company, where Sugiura was a creditor and McCracken was an actuary handling liquidation. McCracken had been the first dealer in Missouri to import the Apple II. As they discussed computers over the year, Sugiura realized there was a shortage of aftermarket monitors for early microcomputers.
Quick Facts
- Former Name
- Leedex Corporation (1977–1981)
- Industry
- Computers
- Founded
- in Elk Grove, Illinois
- Founders
- Go Sugiura · Ted McCracken
- Defunct
- 1986 (as an independent company)
- Fate
- Acquired by Wyse Technology
- Parent
- Roland Corporation ( 1981–1983)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Amdek was founded in 1977 by Go Sugiura and Ted McCracken. Sugiura, born in Osaka, Japan in 1936, had a varied career before Amdek, including importing steel in Venezuela and working as a U.S. sales representative for a Japanese semiconductor fabricator. He incorporated Leedex as an importer of car radio components but changed the name to Amdek after a trademark infringement threat. The meaning of the name is disputed: Roland Corporation founder Ikutaro Kakehashi said it stood for Analog, Music, Digital, Electronics, and Kits, while Sugiura said it was a random combination of syllables.
In the late 1970s, Sugiura and McCracken identified a market for aftermarket monitors for early microcomputers. Sugiura found a suitable monochrome terminal in Taiwan, and McCracken suggested repurposing it as a composite monitor for the Apple II. At a summer 1978 computer show in Texas, a single sample unit drew significant interest. Sugiura ordered 500 units from the supplier and sold each for $129, $50 less than the only other aftermarket monitor. By 1981, the company was selling 2,000 to 3,000 monochrome monitors per month.
In 1981, Amdek released its first color monitor, based on a Hitachi chassis and an adapter board designed by McCracken. Although priced at $1,000, it was immensely popular with IBM PC buyers, as IBM initially offered no color monitor option. Amdek sold over 600,000 units of this color monitor by 1984. In the early 1980s, Roland Corporation's Taiwanese subsidiary acquired a majority stake in Amdek, which also sold guitar pedal kits under the Amdek name. Roland relinquished its stake in 1983, and the company became independent again.
Reader's Guide
Amdek's significance lies in its role as a pioneer of the aftermarket computer monitor market. At a time when early microcomputers like the Apple II lacked dedicated displays, Amdek provided affordable monochrome and later color monitors that became essential for home and business users. The company's 1981 color monitor filled a critical gap for the IBM PC, which initially had no color option, and sold over 600,000 units by 1984. According to Ikutaro Kakehashi, the Amdek name became a genericized catch-all for any aftermarket computer monitor among the buying public. At its peak in 1986, Amdek supplied half of all monochrome monitors on the market. However, after its acquisition by Wyse Technology in 1986, the division lay largely dormant, with PC World noting in 1994 that 'the few new products it has introduced have been out of step with the rest of the monitor market.' A brief comeback in 1994 introduced several new models, but the brand faded by the mid-1990s. Amdek's legacy is that of a company that defined the early monitor market and whose name was once synonymous with the category.
Did You Know?
- Amdek was originally named Leedex but changed its name after a trademark infringement threat from an Ohio manufacturer.
- The company's first color monitor, released in 1981, was based on a chassis manufactured by Hitachi.
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