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| Long life batteries |
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| IanB:
--- Quote from: MK14 on February 03, 2022, 03:05:08 pm ---It just seems so crazy, these days. There is (hypothetically speaking) a successful, UK company. Which employs tens of thousands of happy, reasonably well paid, UK employees. All the suppliers, big customers, and end users, really like their company and its products, because of its reliably, consistent quality, and nice business ethnics. --- End quote --- There is a very comprehensive article online somewhere that goes over the decline and fall of Ever Ready. The company was already doomed by the time Hanson Trust made a last ditch attempt to rescue them. The basic problem was a strategic failure of management, investing heavily in zinc chloride technology while the market was switching over to alkaline batteries. When they did eventually recognize the way the tide was going it was too late to catch up. |
| MK14:
--- Quote from: IanB on February 03, 2022, 02:57:27 pm ---Yes, Ever Ready was the gold standard brand of battery all through my childhood. Unfortunately, it seems they rejected the alkaline battery revolution and tried to stick with zinc chloride technology. They figured people would not want to buy the much more expensive alkaline batteries and would prefer the cheaper option. But of course they didn't recognize that the price of alkaline batteries would come down and down over time and until they became mainstream. --- End quote --- That is sad. But in all fairness to the original company. Future developments/markets and relatively unpredictable events, such as pandemics, sudden (unexpected) component shortages, wars, etc etc. Make it difficult to always be 100% right, about things like that. We still have, basically the same (there are some differences), Lead-acid car batteries (which have been around for a very long time). So, not everything changes (except they became maintenance-free). But I suppose, they should have invested some time and money, into alkaline battery technologies. So that if they did end up being the popular, affordable choice. Ever-ready could move into the upcoming market, rather than watch their company, decline, fade-away and eventually disappear. tl;dr I think part of it was a lack of forward/futuristic thinking, but part of it was perhaps hindsight, as they couldn't be that sure of what the future would be like. E.g. In the early 1950s, some realized the new transistors were coming along, and would take over the market. But (I suspect), others thought that valves (tubes), would hold out, as the new fangled, hand-made (early) Germanium transistors, were weak, rather unreliable, hated high temperatures, very expensive (hand-made, early on), and unsuitable for higher voltages or higher power levels, originally. |
| MK14:
--- Quote from: IanB on February 03, 2022, 03:12:42 pm ---There is a very comprehensive article online somewhere that goes over the decline and fall of Ever Ready. --- End quote --- I'd love to read that article. Is this it ? https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/assault-and-battery-the-fall-of-the-ever-ready-empire-a-classic-tale-of-british-decline-by-david-bowen-1494225.html |
| IanB:
--- Quote from: MK14 on February 03, 2022, 03:27:02 pm ---I'd love to read that article. Is this it ? --- End quote --- Yes, I think it is. |
| MK14:
--- Quote from: IanB on February 03, 2022, 03:53:31 pm --- --- Quote from: MK14 on February 03, 2022, 03:27:02 pm ---I'd love to read that article. Is this it ? --- End quote --- Yes, I think it is. --- End quote --- Thanks for confirming that. I've just finished reading it, and it was really good. Each step of the very long story, makes a lot of sense, for various practicality reasons. But from an overall perspective, it (the story) is about something which took (perhaps 67 years, 1914..1981), to build up, and then 15 or so, years (1981..1996) to somewhat completely destroy (as regards the UK, ignoring a tiny remnant), the company. |
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