Wang Laboratories

Wang Laboratories

Wang logo, c. 1976
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Computer hardware
Fate	Acquired by Getronics
Founded	Cambridge, Massachusetts, US (1951)
Headquarters	Tewksbury, Massachusetts, US (1963–1976) Lowell, Massachusetts, US (1976–1997)
Key people	Dr. An Wang (founder)
Products	Word Processors, Minicomputers, Microcomputers
Revenue	N/A
Number of employees	N/A

Wang Laboratories was a computer company founded in 1951, by Dr. An Wang and Dr. G. Y. Chu. The company was successively headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts (1954–1963), Tewksbury, Massachusetts (1963–1976), and finally in Lowell, Massachusetts (1976–1997). At its peak in the 1980s, Wang Laboratories had annual revenues of $3 billion and employed over 33,000 people. It was one of the leading companies during the time of the Massachusetts Miracle.

The company was directed by Dr. Wang, who was described as an "indispensable leader" and played a personal role in setting business and product strategy until his death in 1990. Under his direction, the company went through several distinct transitions between different product lines.

Wang Laboratories filed for bankruptcy protection in August 1992. After emerging from bankruptcy, the company eventually changed its name to Wang Global. Wang Global was acquired by Getronics of The Netherlands in 1999, becoming Getronics North America, then was sold to KPN in 2007 and CompuCom in 2008, after which it no longer existed as a distinct brand or division.

In the 1970s, a new policy was introduced of announcing the office name after the city of location, e.g. "Wang London", "Wang Paris". But the German HQ was in Cologne, quickly changed to "Wang Germany"

Dr. An Wang took steps to ensure that the Wang family would retain control of the company even after going public. He created a second class of stock, class B, with higher dividends, but only one-tenth the voting power of class C. The public mostly bought class B shares; the Wang family retained most of the class C shares. (The letters B and C were used to ensure that brokerages would fill any Wang stock orders with class B shares unless class C was specifically requested). Wang stock had been listed in the , but this maneuver was not quite acceptable under NYSE's rules, and Wang was forced to delist with NYSE and relist on the more liberal .

The company's first major project was the Linasec in 1964. It was an electronic special purpose computer, designed to justify papertape for use on automated Linotype machines. It was developed under contract to Compugraphic, who manufactured phototypesetters. Compugraphic retained the rights to manufacture the Linasec without royalty. They exercised these rights, effectively forcing Wang out of the market.