Packard Bell (1926)
| Herbert Anthony Bell | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Herbert Anthony Zwiebel May 19, 1890 Burlington, Wisconsin |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Herb Bell |
| Occupation | Co-founder of Packard Bell Company |
| Known for | Radio and television sets sold west of the Rocky Mountains and defense electronics |
 |
|
| Industry | consumer and military electronics |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1926 originally Jackson Bell then reorganized in 1933 as Packard Bell |
| Founder | Leon Packard and Herbert Bell |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
|
Area served
|
Western United States |
| Products | Radios, televisions and home entertainment |
Packard Bell was an American regional radio manufacturer founded in 1933 by Herbert A. Bell and Leon Packard. Packard Bell expanded into defense electronics during World War II. After the war ended, they started manufacturing other consumer electronics, such as television sets. Teledyne acquired the business in 1968. In 1986, Israeli investors bought the name for a newly formed personal computer manufacturer, Packard Bell.
The original Packard Bell was founded in 1933 in Los Angeles, California, USA, by Leon S. Packard and Herbert A. Bell as a maker of consumer radios. Often websites state the company has the founding date of 1926. In 1926, the founder Herb Bell was part owner of Jackson Bell Co of Los Angeles. Jackson Bell closed in 1933.
The following summary is from "Los Angeles Radio Manufacturing- The First Twenty Years (1922-1942)" by Floyd A. Paul
The original Packard Bell name began in September 1933. Herb Bell (birth name Herbert Anthony Zwiebel), a former business partner of Jackson Bell Radio Company in Los Angeles, formed Packard Bell with Leon S. Packard who was previously from radio manufacturing in San Francisco. Jackson Bell went into receivership that year due to financial problems. Jackson Bell was one of the few RCA-licensed radio manufacturers on the west coast of the United States. Bell partnered with Leon S. Packard. In 1934 they marketed their first radio the Model 35A (carryover from Jackson Bell). Herb Bell managed to obtain the RCA license for manufacturing superheterodyne radios. Based in Los Angeles, Packard Bell along with Hoffman Radio became well known regional makers of consumer electronics. Packard Bell ventured into television quickly due to the RCA royalty-free patents. Leon Packard was not very pleased with the direction of Packard Bell Company was going and asked Herb Bell to buy his share out in 1935.
Packard Bell was a family business, and he and his four brothers Arthur, Albert, Elmer and Willard participated in major departments from design, manufacturing and marketing.
Packard Bell did quite well and like Hoffman Electronics became a recognized name in regional consumer electronics. During World War II and through the 1960s Packard Bell was a very profitable company. Packard Bell expanded into defense electronics at the beginning of World War II and continued until the Teledyne buyout. One of Packard Bell products during the Second World War was an IFF transponder unit used for identifying friendly versus enemy aircraft. In 1955, the company went public and issued stock.
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Wikipedia