Standard-Horizon: A bit of history

Electrical and electronic topics for small boats
jimh
Posts: 11673
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Standard-Horizon: A bit of history

Postby jimh » Thu May 04, 2017 2:01 pm

I was looking for information about the history on Standard-Horizon. I found an interesting article at

http://www.radiomuseum.org/dsp_hersteller_detail.cfm?company_id=5454

The article was written in both English and Spanish, mixed together. Here is a translation into all-English:

Name: Standard Radio Corp. (SR), Tokyo (J)
Abbreviation: standard
Products: Model types
Summary:
Standard Radio Corporation, Ltd., 3622 Kamitsuruma, Sagamihara-Shi, Tokyo, Japan;
formerly: Nippon Kogata Musen Lab. Tokyo.
"Micronic Ruby"

Info Jean Claude Pigeon: (SR) Standard Radio Co., Ltd, Tokyo in 1955. From about 1960: Standard Radio Corporation: No. 11, 1-Chome, Ebisu-Minami, Shibuya-Ku Tokyo. About 1964 Standard opened a subsidiary as «Waltham Standard, Dublin (Ireland)». Standard Radio Corp. later has been bought by Marantz. There are other Standard Radio companies in the world which have nothing to do with this Standard Radio Company from Japan. In France, "Waltham Standard Supertone - 3 avenue de l'Opéra Paris" was the distributor in 1960.

Founded: 1953
History:
The Standard Radio Corporation was established in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan in 1953 when they began manufacturing portable tube radios. In 1957 they manufactured their first transistor radio, the ultra rare SR-F31. In 1959 a new factory was built in Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan and this became the company's headquarters. Some papers from around 1962 (SR-H25) show the address "No. 11, 1-Chome Ebisu-Minami Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo. In 1965 Standard released the first of its very successful line of Micronic Ruby miniature radios. In March of 1975, Standard Radio Corporation changed its name to Marantz Japan, Inc.

[Translated from Spanish]
Since 1980 it operates in the USA as Standard Communications Corp. P.O. Box 92151 Los Angeles, CA 90009 Tel: (310) 532-5300 Fax: (310) 715-3890 In the decade of 2000-2010 joins Yaesu and Vertex and forms the Vertex-Standard group. In 2010 they were purchased by Motorola.


The purchase by Motorola occurred c.2008. See this article:

Standard-Horizon To Be Acquired by Motorola
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum6/HTML/001665.html

Here is the press-release:

Motorola Commences Tender Offer to Acquire Controlling Interest in Vertex Standard Co., Ltd., to Form Joint Venture with Tokogiken

Transaction to Enhance Motorola's 2-Way Radio Product Offering, Development Expertise and Channels to Market

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. and TOKYO, JAPAN

5 November 2007

Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) announced today that its subsidiary, MI, Inc., will launch a tender offer to acquire a controlling interest in Vertex Standard Co., Ltd. (JASDAQ: 6821), a global provider of 2-way radio communication solutions. Upon successful completion of the tender offer and subsequent restructuring process, Motorola will own 80% of Vertex Standard and Tokogiken, a privately held Japanese company, controlled by Jun Hasegawa, current president and CEO of Vertex Standard, will retain 20%, forming a joint venture. On 5 November 2007, the Board of Directors of Vertex Standard expressed their support of the tender offer.

"As a leading provider and pioneer in 2-way radio communication solutions, Motorola is an excellent strategic partner for our business," said Jun Hasegawa, president and CEO of Vertex Standard. "The joint venture will give Vertex Standard access to Motorola's global distribution channels, presenting considerable opportunities for Vertex Standard to drive growth. We also expect to reduce costs, as we will benefit from Motorola's global scale and resources. With Motorola, Vertex Standard will be stronger and better positioned to deliver new and innovative 2-way radio solutions for professionals and consumers around the world."

"This joint venture will enable Motorola and Vertex Standard to deliver an enhanced combined product offering to new regions and customers worldwide," said Mark Moon, senior vice president of Motorola's Government and Commercial Markets. "We are extremely pleased to announce this transaction, which will improve our ability to address the growing needs of our 2-way radio customers worldwide. We look forward to the continued leadership of Jun Hasegawa and making this new joint venture a success."

The tender offer price is Yen2,214 (approximately US $19.38) per share of common stock. This price represents:

--A premium of 38.4% over 1600 yen, the closing price of Vertex Standard's shares on the JASDAQ Securities Exchange, Inc. on 2 November 2007

--A premium of 40.8% over 1573 yen, the average closing price of Vertex Standard's shares on the JASDAQ Securities Exchange, Inc. over the last three months to 2 November 2007

The total purchase price for 80% of the outstanding shares on a fully diluted basis will be approximately Yen12.3 billion (approximately US $108 million).

Vertex Standard is a leader within the Land Mobile Radio segment, where the company continues to demonstrate particular brand strength in high value, entry level solutions. The joint venture will develop and sell Vertex Standard branded products and develop select Motorola branded products. The Motorola brand will continue to focus on higher featured, higher tier products and continue to utilize existing Motorola distribution channels.

The joint venture will expand and develop a comprehensive suite of products to address the rapidly growing demand for 2-way radio solutions. Vertex Standard's strength in the Amateur, Marine and Airband (Avionics) segments will also provide Motorola with access to new business opportunities. In addition, Vertex Standard's solutions are highly complementary with Motorola's products and will add greater depth and breadth to Motorola's Government and Public Safety business. The venture will also provide additional engineering talent for Motorola.

Additional Transaction Details
Upon successful completion of the tender offer and subsequent planned restructuring, Vertex Standard will be de-listed from the JASDAQ. The joint venture company will continue to be called "Vertex Standard Co., Ltd" and will become a subsidiary of Motorola, with headquarters in Tokyo.

The shareholders of Vertex Standard who do not tender their shares in the tender offer will receive cash consideration for the shares which they hold as a result of the restructuring following successful completion of the tender offer.

The tender offer, which is subject to regulatory and other customary conditions, is expected to close in early January 2008. In addition, Motorola must complete the tender offer within 60 working days of its commencement, as required by Japanese law.

About Motorola
Motorola is known around the world for innovation and leadership in wireless and broadband communications. Inspired by our vision of seamless mobility, the people of Motorola are committed to helping you connect simply and seamlessly to the people, information and entertainment that you want and need. We do this by designing and delivering "must have" products, "must do" experiences and powerful networks -- along with a full complement of support services. A Fortune 100 company with global presence and impact, Motorola had sales of US $42.8 billion in 2006. For more information about our company, our people and our innovations, please visit http://www.motorola.com.

About Vertex Standard
Vertex Standard Co. Ltd is a company primarily engaged in radio communication products for land, marine, airband, and amateur Since the company was incorporated in 1956, Vertex Standard has become a global two-way radio manufacturer with advanced technologies. With customer satisfaction as its number one priority, the company has supplied products that meet the changing demands of the 2-way radio communications market. Sales for the fiscal year-ending March 2007 were approximately 21,983,000,000 yen. Details for Vertex Standard are available at http://www.vxstd.com/jp/


In c.2012 Motorola kept the land-mobile radio business and sold back the amateur, aviation, and marine businesses to Yaesu. Here is more about that transaction:

Yaesu’s Amateur Radio Division Breaks with Motorola, Changes Name to Yaesu Musen
http://www.arrl.org/news/yaesu-s-amateur-radio-division-breaks-with-motorola-changes-name-to-yaesu-musen

After four years under the Motorola umbrella, Yaesu has split from that company. According to Vertex Standard President and Chief Executive Officer Jun Hasegawa, effective January1, 2012, Motorola will keep the Vertex Standard Land-Mobile Division, while the amateur, marine and air-band will be under the Yaesu Musen banner. The new company will be known as Yaesu USA here in the US.


Based on this history, the brand name of "Standard" goes back as far as 1953. I don't have any information on when the "Horizon" name came into use.

jimh
Posts: 11673
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: Standard-Horizon: A bit of history

Postby jimh » Thu May 04, 2017 2:14 pm

Contradicting some of the information above on the earlier history, I found this account on the VERTEX STANDARD website in a time line, which I have converted to a table from an illustration:

HISTORY OF VERTEX STANDARD

1956: General Television Service Co., Ltd. founded in Ota-ku Tokyo, Japan
Introduced amateur radios with improved signal strength and voice transmission

1962: Introduced HF Single Side Band Transmitter

1964: Changed company name to Yaesu Musen Co., Ltd.

1966: Introduced first Japanese transceiver, FT-100

1970: Introduced the first solid state all-mode single unit HF station, FT-101

1995: Introduced Vertex Land Mobile Radio brand in the USA

1998: Established Standard Co., Ltd. the Japanese sales company

2000: Changed name to Vertex Standard Co., Ltd.

2005: Introduced P25 interoperable mobile radio, VX-7100/VX-7200

2006: Introduced P25 Portable Radio Series, VX-P920
Introduced the smallest submersible P25 radio, VX-P820
Introduced compact, full featured mobile radios, VX-2100/VX-2200

2008: Joined DMR Association as a Category 1 Member

2011: Introduced the durable, on-the-job family of radios, VX-450 series

2012: Changed company name to Vertex Standard LMR, Inc.

The 2012 entry must be when they were owned by Motorola, and operated as a subsidiary.

jimh
Posts: 11673
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: Standard-Horizon: A bit of history

Postby jimh » Fri May 05, 2017 9:14 am

Here is a c.2001 web page archive showing the Vertex-Standard and Yaesu name plates:

https://web.archive.org/web/20010208095931/http://www.vxstd.com/jp/