Stromberg-Carlson

Lore & Background

Stromberg-Carlson was formed in 1894 after Alexander Graham Bell's patents expired. Alfred Stromberg and Androv Carlson, employees of the American Bell Telephone Company in Chicago, each invested $500 to manufacture equipment for independent telephone companies. Carlson managed manufacturing, Stromberg handled marketing. The company quickly gained a reputation for reliable equipment and stable prices. In 1901, a takeover attempt by executives of Western Electric, assisted by the temporary chief executive of Kellogg Switchboard & Supply Company, failed after a bitter stockholder fight. Stromberg-Carlson reincorporated in New York in 1902, where state law better protected it from takeovers. In 1904, the company was purchased by Home Telephone Company of Rochester, New York, and operations were relocated to the Rochester area.

The company expanded into consumer electronics, producing home telephones, radio receivers, and after World War II, television sets. It also entered broadcasting, acquiring WHAM in Rochester, building one of the first three FM stations in the United States (dating from 1939, possibly the oldest still in operation, now WBZA), and a pioneer television broadcaster (now WROC-TV). In 1955, General Dynamics purchased Stromberg-Carlson and within a year sold all three broadcasting stations. In 1970, the company delivered the first CrossReed PBX to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and over the next decade delivered more than 7,000 CrossReeds globally. During the 1970s, Stromberg-Carlson developed one of the first (or perhaps the very first) fully-digital PBX systems, the DBX, first installed in Export, Pennsylvania in 1977 with 960 ports. The company also developed the first digital AUTOVON switching system and the first digital Command and Control communications system.

In 1982, General Dynamics sold off Stromberg-Carlson operations: the key-systems division to ComDial, the PBX/DBX division to United Technologies, and the Central Office division to Plessey of the UK. Plessey sold the digital central office business to Siemens in 1991. Siemens Stromberg-Carlson became the third-largest vendor of central office switches in the United States, with five million access lines installed. In 2006, the digital central office line was sold to GENBAND. In 2001, the brand was acquired by Gularo S.A., and commercialization and distribution were taken over by Lenford Far East Ltd, which expanded into Latin American markets and emphasized the slogan 'The Sound of People' and the call to action 'Let’s Party Together.'

Reader's Guide

Stromberg-Carlson's significance lies in its long history as a major force in telecommunications, from the early days of independent telephone equipment to pioneering digital switching. It was one of five companies that controlled the national supply of telephone equipment until after World War II. The company's development of the CrossReed PBX and the DBX, one of the first fully-digital PBX systems, marked important milestones in business communications. Its digital central office switch was the first Class-5 digital local office switching system installed in the United States. Beyond telephony, Stromberg-Carlson produced military communications gear, institutional sound systems, and high-end stereophonic equipment, including the 'Acoustic Labyrinth' loudspeaker enclosure, a forerunner of modern transmission line designs. The company also created the SC4020 computer-controlled film recorder, used for Computer Output Microfilm and some of the first computer-generated animation. After being sold off by General Dynamics in 1982, the brand was revived in 2001 by Gularo S.A. and Lenford Far East Ltd, which focused on audio products and global distribution, leveraging the brand's established identity.

Did You Know?

• The company developed one of the first (or perhaps the very first) fully-digital PBX system, called the DBX, first installed in 1977.
• Stromberg-Carlson's 'Acoustic Labyrinth' loudspeaker enclosure design was a forerunner of modern transmission line loudspeaker enclosures.
• The SC4020 computer-controlled film recorder was used to create some of the first computer-generated animation.

Founding and the Fight for Independence

Born from the expiration of Alexander Graham Bell's telephone patent in 1894, Stromberg-Carlson emerged from the ambitions of two Swedish immigrants working in Chicago for the American Bell Telephone Company. Alfred Stromberg, born in Varnhem, and Androv Carlson, born in Tommared, each put forward $500 to launch a firm manufacturing subscriber sets for independent telephone companies. Carlson oversaw manufacturing while Stromberg handled marketing, and the pair quickly built a reputation for dependable equipment at stable prices. That reputation attracted unwanted attention. In 1901, Wallace De Wolf, acting as temporary chief executive at the Kellogg Switchboard & Supply Company, aided Western Electric executives in a hostile takeover bid. A fierce stockholder battle followed, and the acquisition collapsed. To shield itself from future hostile moves, the company reincorporated under New York state law in 1902, taking advantage of that jurisdiction's stronger anti-takeover protections. The episode cemented Stromberg-Carlson's identity as a fiercely independent player in a market dominated by far larger rivals.

Rochester, Broadcasting, and Consumer Electronics

In 1904, the Rochester, New York–based Home Telephone Company acquired Stromberg-Carlson and relocated its operations from Chicago to the Rochester area. Under new ownership, the firm expanded well beyond telephone hardware into consumer electronics, producing home telephones, radio receivers, and, after World War II, television sets. The company also stepped into broadcasting itself, acquiring WHAM—the oldest radio station in Rochester—and rebuilding it into a high-power outlet. It launched one of the first three FM stations in the country in 1939, a station that today operates as WBZA and may be the oldest FM broadcaster still on air. In television, Stromberg-Carlson became a pioneer in upstate New York, a station now known as WROC-TV. By the mid-1950s, the company was one of five firms controlling the national supply of telephone equipment. In 1955, General Dynamics purchased Stromberg-Carlson, and within a year all three broadcasting stations had been divested to separate buyers, ending the company's direct involvement in media.

Digital Switching and Defense Innovation

The 1970s marked Stromberg-Carlson's most technologically ambitious period. In 1970, the company delivered its first CrossReed PBX to the newly built Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and over the following decade shipped more than 7,000 CrossReed units worldwide. The CrossReed line, available in 400, 800, and 1600 port configurations with expansion to 2,400, was notable for its rapid dial tone and for housing what is described as the world's first video telephone. Around the same time, Stromberg-Carlson developed what may have been the very first fully digital PBX system, the DBX. The initial installation went live in Export, Pennsylvania, in 1977 with 960 ports, followed by the DBX-240, DBX-1200, and DBX-5000 variants. The company also engineered the first digital AUTOVON switching system and the first digital Command and Control communications system, cementing its role in defense and government telecommunications. Earlier, in the late 1940s, it had licensed the XY Selector from L.M. Ericsson of Sweden and re-engineered it for U.S. rural exchange applications, where it outperformed all competing vendors in sub-1,000-line installations throughout the 1950s.

Fragmentation and the Long Afterlife of the Brand

Stromberg-Carlson's identity as a unified company dissolved in 1982 when General Dynamics sold off its operations across three buyers: ComDial received the key-systems division, United Technologies took the PBX and DBX lines, and Plessey of the United Kingdom acquired the Central Office business. Plessey later passed the digital central office unit to Siemens in 1991, creating Siemens Stromberg-Carlson, which grew into the third-largest vendor of central office switches in the United States with a combined installed base of five million access lines. Production of the Siemens EWSD was eventually moved from New York to a Lake Mary, Florida facility. In 2006, GENBAND, a Texas-based next-generation networking firm, purchased the digital central office line. The brand's story continued in a different register: in 2001, Gularo S.A. acquired the Stromberg name for the audio equipment market, and Lenford Far East Ltd in Hong Kong took over commercialization and distribution, expanding into Latin American markets through partnerships with major retailers such as Walmart, Carrefour, and Coppel.