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White’s Electronics Done After 70 Years


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I'm honestly surprised they lasted this long. In 2004 they told me they didn't accept resumes for engineers at all. I offered to work for free, just to get experience in the detector industry after I graduated and they told me they didn't take interns either. At the time I had some ideas about updating detector design, especially moving to digital and incorporating signal processing capabilities of rapidly advancing MCU's, some of which have now become more or less situation normal in the industry for upper end products. 

This, with 2 research level universities within a stones throw from Sweet Home graduating plenty of inexpensive tech workers. Not to mention a massive number of engineers loosing their jobs to globalism at the time and competing with each other to work for below living wages. HP had a manufacturing campus right across the interstate where I lived in Corvallis, Intel in Portland, and a slew of compiler, gaming, database, and internet oriented companies between Eugene and Portland. All of which were bleeding engineers as outsourcing was speeding up to India and China. Whites was positioned in one of the best places in the world to develop and grow as a tech company, outside maybe Silicon Valley or Seattle, both of which ironically were also not exactly really far away.

Meanwhile, I do notice Minelab hired on a new generation of engineers and scientists to keep moving that company into the future for some time.

It sounds like Whites had equally deep problems with their overall business/sales model. But just based on their response when I tried submitting a resume, I assumed they would be gone in 10 years or less since it was a time of some of the most rapid consumer based tech advancements in our history and they didn't appear to be interested in joining it.

I hope the other US detector companies don't make the same mistake of ignoring the next generation of engineers and scientists. 

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Must admit i am also very surprised that they have lasted this long,i am not knocking the company as i still own 4 machines DFX,IDX Pro,Xlt and the TDI Pro,only 3 are used 2 occasionally ie xlt and TDI Pro and DFX the latter on was my main machine for well over e decade as it was in the 1st batch that came into the UK,still in very good condition not the deepest machine going but apart from my T2 its found me the widest selection of finds of all my detectors and trust me i still own about 25 detectors and about 50 coils.But the DFX with the Hotshot coil and also the 10x6 has been the deadliest combinations.

TDI Pro that is still the same condition as when it came off the production line,was slightly concerned about the battery packs after they stopped shipping them but was lucky to be able to buy a brand new one within a week or so of buying the TDI Pro,this detector is a for ever stayer.

Service up in the Scottish factory have been totally amazing in providing help,advice and also providing new parts free of charge both in or out of warranty,but i have never had any major problems that require a machine or a coil to be returned for faults.

Its a total shame that they have closed down across the pond,not sure what is happening with the UK factory as yet,but i hope it can be kept open.The main reason/s they closed is that although the detectors worked well and built like tanks,and all the comments are usually along the lines of they had one say 20-30 years ago and found some items,but folks dont want heavy tank like detectors nor do they want to keep them for decades.They built detector that they thought folks wanted and not what folks actually wanted and that is basically when the wheels started falling off,the VX3 or what ever the top of the range was is a technically marvel with that brilliant colour screen and more adjustments that setting up a flight to the moon,but folks dont want too spend so much time adjusting all the variables to get the best results out of it,hence why i never bought one but i did use one.

Th writing was on the wall from 7-8 years ago and they never had the technical boffins in recent years to pull a magical detector that folks had suggested some time back,and as they say the rest is history....,,.all this BS about china had a big downward affect on sales is just that BS.

Of course its terrible news and we hoped it would never happen but if the companies management had not buried the heads in the sand and listened then it could well of survived.

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It's funny because most of us have never met and some of us are from all over the globe yet the opinions appear to be a mirror image of each other with similar comments being made and I hope they read this and take it all on board, I truly hope there is a last minute save for the company, I just don't want it to end like this.

J.

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48 minutes ago, jasong said:

I'm honestly surprised they lasted this long. In 2004 they told me they didn't accept resumes for engineers at all. I offered to work for free, just to get experience in the detector industry after I graduated and they told me they didn't take interns either. At the time I had some ideas about updating detector design, especially moving to digital and incorporating signal processing capabilities of rapidly advancing MCU's, some of which have now become more or less situation normal in the industry for upper end products.

I started there in 2008 and already a former intern had been hired on as full-time. I brought in another intern and also hired another former intern. I suspect you simply didn't reach the right person. The front office was sometimes not cognizant of engineering needs, you'd need to get all the way to the Engineering manager (probably was Mark Rowan at the time).

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15 minutes ago, Geotech said:

This is 100% on Howard, not White's. I also tried to work with him but he was excessively obstinate. I told him his behavior was gonna get him sued by Minelab and there was no way I would risk putting White's in the middle of that mess. And I was right. So Howard had 2 opportunities to work a deal (and even avoid a lawsuit) that would have made him a small fortune.

You're feeling sorry for the wrong people. The family was very much the root of the problem. Lots of people tried to steer the company away from the rocks but with no success. I was still there at the start of the MX Sport, I argued against the mechanical design as being way too bulky but a big pod and 8AA batteries were must-haves, along with that "White's sound" (bonk-bonk). No, the people to feel sorry for are the employees, who were the best bunch of people I've ever worked with.

I remember when you left and that worried me back then being the start of something bad, I know you had to go but you were the last great thing about the company, And you were always there to help and answer dumb questions,  That said it's a good thing you left when you did and still play a major part in the hobby today,

I didn't know that about the family, I knew about the other person and his attitude along with a few other bits, I just don't get how those is power can not see the negative input their actions have on a company

J.

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Mary Hudson is a jewel - happily for her, she retired last year. Todd is an Ace, with high tech companies around in OR, hopefully he will get a better job! Or maybe he would like a warmer climate - there is always El Paso - lots of high-tech stuff there now!!

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1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Somebody will want to buy them, it just boils down to price and if Ken will sell. Sadly, there is little possibility that the Sweet Home facility would survive. The key to fixing the current problem is low cost manufacturing in up-to-date facilities.

I keep wondering, who? I can say with confidence it ain't FTP. Minelab was interested 10-12 years ago, but I can't imagine they would still be interested now, they are so far beyond what White's has. Garrett now has the Apex platform to build off of, so not much there for them, either. Nokta/Makro? It would be a huge stretch for them to want a US manufacturing facility, and there is again not much IP that would interest them. I do know that a price I heard for selling the company 10 years ago was about 10X the real value, and I suspect that will be the case now. I will be surprised if there is a whole buy-out, I expect it will end in a big auction.

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Like I said, some Chinese outfit. Buy the name, move manufacturing to China. But Ken may want too much money, and then he just gets liquidation value. His choices are a very low price, or a super low price. All I can tell you as a business owner/entrepreneur there is value here I could sell, and something is better than nothing. But Ken may be a “by God, I’ll take nothing before I’ll sell to the Chinese” type. Whatever, it’s all just blah blah blah anyway. Time will tell.

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I hope its bought by Ukranians or Turks, maybe Detech or Nokta/Makro, and left to run where it is now. They are on the cutting edge of electronics these days and would infuse a lot of new tech into the company quickly.

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