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WE Sends Microwave Job Fro Kansas City to Merrimack Valley

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WE Sends Microwave Job Fro Kansas City to Merrimack Valley @ Vol. II, Number 2 Western Electric, Merrimack Valley Works March,1979 WE sends microwave job fro Kansas City to Merrimack Valley The Works is assuming Western Works General Manager Charlie Electric's entire microwave manufac­ DeBell issued a letter to all employees ture, a project that will create in 1979 February 2 announcing that WE is more than 100 jobs and an estimated transferring to the Works microwave $24, million in product output. equipment currently being manufac­ The jobs to be created will range tured at Kansas City. from entry-level bench hand positions DeBell wrote that the Works plans to to positions requiring more experience. consolidate the transferred microwave The equipment to be manufactured products with newer microwave equip­ constitutes eight different microwave ment that has been introduced at systems. The finished products will be Merrimack Valley during the past year. used primarily to transmit long dis­ "This consolidation will provide an tance calls and will be associated with opportunity to develop a strong capa­ the familiar microwave towers located bility to better serve the Bell Operating across the country. Companies as well as potential inter­ Initial manufacture of the equip­ national customers." ment is scheduled to begin within the The Works will supply Bell Operat­ next two weeks, according to George ing companies with microwave equip­ Ziady, Department Chief, Microwave ment. Western Electric International is Plug-In Panel and Bay Dept. The negotiating with foreign governments department is located in the southwest for additional microwave contracts. corner of the second floor shop. 1978 a' ost successful year' for Western Electric, ell Syste Western Electric and AT&T, in deButts, Chairman since April 1, separate announcements January 30, 1972, retired and Charles L. Brown reported record earnings for 1978. became Chairman February I. ~ ~'. v"'- AT&T reported earnings per share for The Company reported a 12 .6 1978 of $7.74 compared with $6.86 in percent increase in the number of long . , 1977 . Net income for 1978 was distance call s over the previous year . ; .. $5.27 billion, an increase of 17 .7 and a four percent increase in the percent over the $4.48 billion earned in number of telephones added. At the 1977 . Return on average total capital end of 1978, the Bell System had 133.4 of $82.6 billion was 9.7 percent million telephones in se rvice, five compared with 9.1 percent in 1977. * million more than at the end of 1977. During 1978 operating revenues in­ (continued on page 8) creased 12.5 percent to $41.0 billion, compared with $36.4 billion in 1977 . Operating expenses increased in 1978 Inside -----, to $26.5 billion, up 12.7 percent from the $23.5 billion spent in 1977. **Short or long, income tax forms are Former Board Chairman John D. no fun to fi le. What are the latest deButts characterized the results - rulings that may save you money? " In many ways the Bell System's most Page 3. successful year" - as "testimony to **What's unusual about a Works the skills and energies of the very tester who serves as a Boy Scout nearly one million ... men and women Cubmaster? Page 5. of the Bell Companies throughout the nation whose contributions at every **The Canteen Corporation held a step of the se rvice process - from Health Fair in the Works cafeteria research and development through to teach employees how to count A NEW MEMBER OF THE WORKS PRODUCTION LINE. Western Electric is transferring the manufacture and supply to operations calories and balance their diets. manufacture of the 7-foot TH-3 Microwave Radio Bay (above) and other microwave systems from and customer service - produced Page 6. Kansas .City to Merrimack Valley. them." 2 - -BELL NOTE Few people have ever heard of Bead Ie Mountain, N. Y. Even fewer Hosford Replaces Nemecek would associate it with the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, located some 100 miles to the north. But Beadle Mt. nevertheless will be an important part of the Games. Becomes Western Electric is now installing power and radio equipment at a new microwave tower site there as part of Vice President, an expanded telephone system in upstate New York. The route will carry over 900 message and private telephone Manufacturing- lines through the Adirondacks, from Mt. Pisgah (a few miles from Lake Placid) to Albany, about 150 miles Transmission away. So, when that first giant slalom Making waves will soon be the job of this Beadle skier streaks down the course at Lake Mountain, N. Y., microwave tower, being looked Placid to the cheers of thousands, over by workmen. Voice and data communi­ Equipment cations from the Olympic Games at Lake Placid unknown and unsung Beadle Moun­ 100 miles away will be transmitted through the tain will be silently transmitting the station, after Western Electric in stalls radio and excitement. power equipment at each of ten such sites in the Adirondacks region. JAMES HOSFORD **** Creating incentives for learning is a big part of educating handicapped James A. Hosford, formerly Vice Works from February 1964 to March children. The Telephone Pioneers at the Reading Works and at the Engineering President, Manufacturing-Electronic 1965 . Research Center in Hopewell, N.J., have created those incentives in two separate Components, became Vice President, Hosford has written a number of projects. Two-year-old Chad Wojciechowsky, who is almost totally deaf, works Manufacturing-Transmission Equip­ published articles dealing with the on making sounds with voice-activated race cars in Reading. In Princeton, N.J., ment, replaci ng John M. Nemecek on design of automatic manufacturing autistic children at the Eden Institute discover with delight that a mechanical March I. Nemecek was elected Exec­ facilities. He holds five patents. squirrel will climb a pole when they talk into a microphone. utive Vice President in November. While working at the Engineering Hosford, presently located at Gate­ Research Center, he was elected Mayor way II in Newark, N.J., will be located of the Borough of Rocky Hill, N.J. at the Morristown, N. J. offices for WE and served two years . vice presidents. Hosford married Mary Jones in As Vice President, Manu facturing­ 1945. They have four children. Transmission Equipment, Hosford will direct the Company's three transmis­ sion equipment plants, the Merrimack Valley Works, the North Carolina ecord sales, Works, and the Richmond Works. • Born on January 2, 1922 in Chicago, ear 1 gs or Ill., Hosford graduated from Colum­ bia High School (South Orange, N.J.) WE in 1978 in 1940. After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree (1944) in mechanical Western Electric last month an­ engineering, he served in the U.S. Navy nounced record sales and earnings as an electronic technician'S mate. for 1978 of $9,521,835,000 and Hosford began his Western Electric $561,200,000, respectively. The fig­ ures are preliminary and unaudited. (ABOVE) And the cars move ahead, as career in N ovem ber, 1946, as an Chad Wojciechowsky, 2, plays with his ass istant engineer at the New York City Sales and earnings for the pre­ new race set that the Reading (Pa.) Wo rk s Tube Shop. During his rise to Vice vious year were $8,134,604,000 and Pioneers gave him. President, he served as assistant Works $490,076,000 respectively. (LEFT) "Up squirrel! Squirrel up!," says manager at the Merrimack Valley Robert Steller to the cl imbing squirrel. 'Ste ller, a student at the Eden Inst itut e for Autistica ll y Handicapped Chil dren in Princeto n, N.J. , makes the squirrel climb the pole by speaking into th e microphone that hi s in structor ho ld s. Published for the employees of **** Western Electric's Merrimack Valley Works Louisiana's standing as the last bastion of the nickel telephone call in the U.S. North Andover, MA 01845 ended when the state Public Service Commission approved an increase in the coin 617/681-2307 telephone charge to a dime. The PSC's 3-2 approval of the rate increase followed Nancy Rigazio a recent state district court order. The order sent back a South Central Bell Editor Telephone Co. rate case and directed the regulatory agency to allow the company Correspondents: $4.4 million in addition to a $39 million revenue increase approved earlier. The company had requested rate changes to produce $105 million additional revenues Joe Ponti, 01200 Andy Clancy, 27580 Lena Bistany, 21510, 21550 Bob Zingali, 27530 in an April 1977 application. Mike Oeloge, 81980 Bob Grieco, 81943 **** First Aid course enables e ployee to elp in·ured son 3 By Joan Moss Would you know what to do if someone in your family was seriously injured? Would you be able to help? Engineering Associate John T. Cal­ lahan, 27510, used to ask himself those questions - especially when watching his two sons play hockey for the Junior League. Says Callahan, "Over the past two years I'd seen my sons injured in minor mishaps. But I wondered what I would do if it were a major injury." The First Aid and Safety Program offered at the Works last year provided Callahan with his answers. And soon after completing the course, Callahan had the opportunity to use his training. It was Dec. 9, 1978. Callahan's nine-year-old son Gregg was playing defense. There was some action in front of Gregg's goal. Scrambling. When the mob cleared, Gregg was on the ice - hurt. "I came down from the stands," says Callahan, "thinking it was just another minor injury." But this time it wasn't so minor. It was Gregg's arm - he had jammed it between another player and himself.
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