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Radio Companies: Ultra Electric Ltd:
Late 1950's, Buying Pilot Radio |
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| 1955 |
Ultra Chalk Farm
Factory Celebrates 25 Years
It is the custom of Ultra Electric,
Ltd., to present employees who have completed 25 years with the company
with a gold watch to mark the occasion. Mindful of this the
employees of Ultra's Chalk Farm factory had the happy thought of
presenting the managing director, E. E. Rosen, and Mrs. Rosen with gifts
to mark the 25th anniversary of their factory.
Accordingly, on November 22 Mr. Rosen was presented with a leather-bound
message of goodwill. Mrs. Rosen was presented with an enamelled
silver compact and cigarette case. The presentation was made by Mrs.
Woolston, who has completed 25 years with the company.
Later in the evening Mrs. E. E. Rosen reciprocated by presenting Mrs.
Woolston with a gold watch to commemorate her 25 years with the company
and made a similar presentation of a gold watch to Mrs. Grace Merrington,
BEM.
The occasion was a dance held by the employees of the Chalk Farm factory
at Willies Hall, Prince of Wales Road, St. Pancras.
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| Dec |
 Event:
24 Dec 1955; One of the Ultra apprentices receiving his award from Dr. J.
Topping, M.Sc., Ph.D., the principal of the Acton Technical College, who
presented the awards at the Ultra apprentices' prize giving recently.
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| 1956 |
  Ultra
uses Arthur Askey in new advert series and in store promotions posters. It
was still a novelty for advertisers in the radio industry to use
celebrities to endorse their product. With the advent of pop music
in the 1960's it became far more common. This famous comedian would have
been well known and liked by the public at this time and was used to push the new Minstrel FM/VHF radio.
New Scottish Depot & Service: 40 Wellington Street, Glasgow, C.2
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Aug
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Company New:
Consolidated trading results of Ultra Electric (Holdings), Ltd., and Ultra
Electric, Ltd., show that group profit for the year to March 31, 1956,
including a profit of £44,573 on realization of investment in the Belgian
Congo, is £250,820, as compared with £279.314. After taxation, net
profit is £147,419 (£143,557). Net balance of the parent company
for 1955-6, after providing for the dividend, is £538 (£91).
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Oct
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Ultra Inaugurate Gosport
Factory
For Radio and TV Production
Ultra Electric Ltd. entertained a large
party of civic and other prominent local personalities at Gosport on
Tuesday [October 1956] to mark the inauguration of their new radio and
television factory on the Fareham-Gosport road on the outskirts of
town. The factory is equipped with the most modern plant for the
production of domestic radio and television receivers under the best
possible working conditions. 
The whole of the company's domestic receiver
production will be centralized at Gosport, thus freeing the Ultra factory
at Western Avenue for the production of special products. About
100,000 sq. ft. of actual production space is available and, in addition,
there are administration departments, canteen and other amenities.
For some time past Ultra have been training local labour to be ready for
the opening of the factory which, when it is in full operation, will
employ well over 1,000.
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| Oct |
E. E. Rosen at
Yorkshire R.I. Club
At the October luncheon meeting of the Radio Industries Club of Yorkshire,
the principal guest was E. E. Rosen, Ultra Electric Ltd., who addressed a
well attended meeting, and the title of his talk was "Out Virile
Industry."
Mr. Rosen gave a vivid account of the history and progress made by the
industry, and its close liaison with the BBC in all spheres. The
advent of ITA he regarded as of great importance in that it acted, as a
spur to further improvements by means of the competition it created in
which all concerned shared the benefits.
Mr. Rosen then ventured on the shape of things to come, and he personally
believed that they would justify his contention that the radio industry
was not only virile, but well able to take care of any challenge from any
quarter in the future. |
| Oct |
Ultra Autumn Campaign
Starts
half-page advertisement in the Daily
Herald last week started off Ultra's autumn campaign. Eighty
newspapers are being used throughout the country to provide a coverage
wider than ever before. It is estimated that the advertisements in
the whole series will be seen 203 millions times!
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| 1958 |
The
axe man Trevor Standeven was brought in to cut costs at the inefficient
Gosport factory. Whilst the Special Products Division was doing
well, the consumer products were not. |
| 1959
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 People:
10 Jan 1959; announced the appointment of Donald Mackay as publicity
manager of the radio and TV division, in place of Gordon Harris, who has
resigned to take up a new position. Mr. Mackay comes from the
publicity department of Associated-Rediffusion Television, where he was in
the sales promotion section, mainly responsible for merchandising. |
| May |
In
order to expand their business, Ultra decided to purchase Pilot
radio. By the tone of the last paragraph in this press release, it
was far from a friendly take-over.
Ultra Purchase Pilot
Radio
Supplies and Service Continue - Separate Identity Preserved
The directors of Ultra
Electric Ltd. announced on Monday that negotiations had been completed for
the purchase for cash of Pilot Radio Ltd. Ultra Electric will
acquire on April 1, 1959, all the issued capital of Pilot Radio, which
will then become a wholly owned subsidiary of Ultra Electric Ltd. On the
same date Ultra will also acquire the Pilot trade marks in 17 European
countries from the Pilot Radio Corporation of U.S.A.
The directors consider that the resources currently available to Ultra
Electric will be sufficient to meet the payments in respect of these
acquisitions and that no issue of shares will be required.
Pilot Radio Ltd. is a private company with works at Park Royal,
Middlesex. It was founded in 1935 and has association with the Pilot
Radio Corporation of U.S.A., with whom it has maintained close ties.
Ultra Electric Ltd. is the operating wholly-owned subsidiary of Ultra
Electric (Holdings) Ltd. It was founded in the early twenties by
Edward E. Rosen, its chairman, who is among the best-known pioneers of the
radio industry. Its works are situated in Gosport and Acton, and its
laboratories are at Ruislip. The Ultra Special Products Division has
a world reputation for its receiver and location beacons, of which Sarah
is best known.
Commenting on the purchase of Pilot Radio, T.C. Standeven, commercial
manager of the Radio and Television Division of Ultra Electric said:
"It is our intention to preserve the identity of Pilot as a separate
unit within the Radio and Television Division and present supplies and
services will continue."
He said that as far as possible the models in the two ranges would be
different and distinctive and the aim would be to keep prices as low as
possible to cater for an expanding market.
He explained that on April 1 the existing directors of Pilot will resign
and the Ultra directors will be appointed to the Pilot board.
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U ltra
were really pushing the boat out with this 6pp colour fold out in the 31
Oct 1959 edition of Wireless and Electrical Trader. Depicted here is
their Ultra 21" Transportable TV featuring the new 110° tube.
Covered in hard-wearing , easy-clean "Vynair" fabric, it may
have had a telescopic handle - but I'm not sure I could have lifted
it! The foldout has six TVs, one stereo radiogram (with one speaker)
and a Transistor radio for the Xmas season.An
advert for the radiogram a month later gave the new Ultra sales address.
Address:
Stonefield Way, South Ruislip, Middlesex |
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