A fingertip view of a “2A” transistor, one model of the astonishing electronic device invented by Bell Laboratories and now being produced by Western Electric.
In a recent year Western Electric purchased from 28,000 large and small suppliers located in over 3,000 towns and cities in all the 48 states. Purchases included, in addition to all kinds of raw materials, finished products ranging from pencils and pen points to automobiles and telephone poles.
Western Electric operates 29 distributing houses through which materials flow to the Bell companies. Each house is set up to meet the supplies requirements of the telephone company it serves. It works closely with the telephone organization to deliver the goods promptly and efficiently. Each distributing house maintains a repair shop to recondition service-worn telephone apparatus so that it will give good service again, or, if not economical to repair, to dismantle it for salvage. In a recent year the repair shops reconditioned over $155,000,000 worth of used equipment for the telephone companies, including 5,400,000 telephones.
Highly trained Western Electric men install central office equipment for the Bell telephone companies. Altogether, Western Electric is able to supervise all steps in making the equipment ready for use, from purchase of raw materials to finished installation. This assures the telephone companies that new apparatus will give the best possible service.
A national asset
Time and again the unified service of supply within the Bell System has proved to be a national asset. After hurricanes, floods and fires, when telephone company people go “all out” to restore service, Western Electric swings into action to deliver the needed equipment and supplies. And this equipment is standardized. It is familiar to all telephone people and can be installed quickly anywhere.
Western’s productive capacity is ready also in any national defense emergency. Throughout World War II all of the company’s resources were devoted to the needs of the United States and its allies for electronic and communications equipment, including radar, sonar and various types of radio equipment.
In the present national defense program, Western is not only helping to expand and improve America’s telephone system, but is using experience gained in its regular telephone job to supply specialized military equipment to the armed forces.
After World War II Western Electric produced record-breaking quantities of equipment to meet America’s telephone needs. It increased its production tremendously to meet the big demand for telephones, willingly undertaking the financial risks of a big expansion program so that the operating companies could serve millions of people faster than otherwise possible.