I just found out that AWA has recently gone into receivership. It would be good if the company's fortunes can be salvaged, not only for the employees but also to keep alive one of the country's oldest brand names.

ABC Report.

Our industrial icons keep falling off the wall. AWA has a grand history but the company today is nothing like the innovator and manufacturer it used to be. Like similar firms in all the once-leading industrial economies, it lost out to emerging competitors, mainly from Asia, and eventually shareholders sold out to financial engineers, not electronic engineers. Only the memories, and perhaps the brand, are worth preserving now.

Maven

Only the memories, and perhaps the brand, are worth preserving now.

At the very least, I hope they preserve the original AWA board room table that is at the current head office.

Just like Ampex shrank to become a small Data memory device company!

Quite a change from making reel-reel tape machines...

Ampex got its start when American armed forces invading Germany in 1945 "liberated" the magnetic tape technology developed by BASF. Bing Crosby was one of the founding shareholders, and the increased sensitivity of tape recording over acetate, together with improved studio microphones, helped the "crooning" style of singing to take over from the "belting" style inherited from Broadway and vaudeville. For a while, at least. Yelling seems to be popular again in some quarters.

Maven

Sad... but seems the way of today...most everything we knew even if the names still there the goods are not made here anymore, Stanley Clipsal HPM

Anyway hope they do survive but I guess it would take some innovative thought on someone's part to make it so

I remember the old Stanley Works at Balmain. It'd surely be blocks of flats by now.

HPM had a factory in Alexandria, NSW (I think) and Clipsal was based in Bowden, SA. The death sentence for both which were massive operations was finally issued when these companies were taken over by Legrand and Schneider respectively. Both are French companies that previously played in the commercial and industrial arenas.

Coopertools still make a few things here, tin snips and Crescent pliers after previously shutting shop and getting all tools made elsewhere. I replaced my pliers about five years ago and asked the bloke at the wholesaler if I was getting old stock and he asked why and I pointed at the green triangle and he laughed and said, "nah mate, all brand new, believe it or not".

HPM's factory was in an old building at 4 Hill St, Surry Hills. I recall walking there in the early 1990s for a special part that nearby Salmon Bros didn't stock, and being amazed at the manual nature of operations. It was like a time-warp of pre-war manufacturing. Hand-written receipt, too.

I lived in the inner City and remember all those factories (generally I mean) closing down and YEP pigeon holes in the sky is what the land is now for a lot of what once was...

I was never more then 20 minutes from work at the most ...some jobs I could walk to...try that these days (unless you live in the inner city and work in an office)

Were Warren joey's was all apartment complexes now...I loved the inner city but well I wouldn't go back there now...apart from the mega bucks you need to by a 100 year plus old house you'd need..I like the old terraces

Fond memories, but life is change I guess

Getting back to topic, I have just been watching on DVD the opening speeches from the AWA Centenary event held at Burwood RSL on 28 July 2013. Although I was present at the event, the RSL's sound system was not well managed and I didn't hear every word on the day.

In his speech AWA director (former Chairman, and the man who bought the AWA IP assets and customer service contracts back from Tabcorp in 2004) John Dougall said he looked forward to the beginning of the second century of the company. I remember thinking at the time "Good luck with that".

On disc 1 of the 4 DVD set there's a 14 minute AWA corporate video made in 1987 showing AWA's technological prowess and its reach in various regional export markers for its as aircraft landing and road traffic management systems. It's a comprehensive reminder of the former greatness of the company. Copyright owner -- the current AWA company -- should put it up on YouTube. (Think I'll write to them with that suggestion.)

Meanwhile, this is the latest info I can find since it went into Administration in January:

http://www.applianceretailer.com.au/2014/05/future-remaining-percentage-awa-decided-creditors/.

I remember AWA's foray into traffic well and with that I remember them installing the first traffic cameras in Sydney and also replacing all the old fibreglass Philips traffic controllers with the AWA "Delta" ones in metal cabinets. AWA also made the traffic light modules themselves. A lot has changed since AWA got out of traffic though. The controllers are once again provided by Philips and a mob called Aldridge make the signal fittings and the call buttons for the pedestrian crossings. Hundreds of the AWA underground junction boxes are still in situ though, as a reminder of who used to call the shots. Back when the now-mighty China was a manufacturing minnow, AWA was even flogging traffic systems to them.

AWA's website indicates that they have got out of audio-visual and will now concentrate on IT. All the manufacturers that AWA performed warranty work for will now be finding someone else to do this work or taking it back in house.

I am not sure why a healthcare provider would be interested in an electronics company/technology service provider. You could barely even describe such an arrangement as a bolt-on acquisition in corporate terms, especially since AWA no longer builds nurse-call systems. But, if the new owner can keep AWA afloat and prosperous then who am I to say otherwise. I indeed wish Cabrini Health the best with their future goals.

If AWA goes down the drain we will have lost a giant ---- of radio history hm ! it is amazing all our 20th century icons are vanishing ! it sucks !

Steve

It could be time for me to re-write the "Where are they now" article. There will be some out of date information in it.