The company was also a pioneer in the introduction and development of television, both black and white and especially color television. RCA also created the first nationwide American radio network, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). RCA was at the forefront of the mushrooming radio industry in the early 1920s, as a major manufacturer of radio receivers, and the exclusive manufacturer of the first superheterodyne sets. In 1932, RCA became an independent company after the partners were required to divest their ownership as part of the settlement of a government antitrust suit.Īn innovative and progressive company, RCA was the dominant electronics and communications firm in the United States for over five decades. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Company. The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919.
All of those cities were growing in the 1950s with lots of people who had the money to buy a new TV set.Technicolor SA (trademark rights only, 1987–present) It was a good location for a factory, too, between Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. RCA opened a television assembly plant in the St. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation began its TV network the previous year. Manufacturers and retailers were having a hard time keeping up with demand for sets. Television was entering its boom years in 1953. Today, the plant site is a complex of medical and government offices. RCA Victor closed the Smiths Falls pressing plant in 1978. The RCA plant in Smiths Falls pressed thousands of them. Picture discs–records that had photos of the artist printed right on the record, were popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Several Elvis Presley records were pressed in Smiths Falls, along with Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and Led Zeppelin. It was only released in Canada and was called Beatlemania! With the Beatles. In 1963, the first Beatles album for the North American market was pressed by RCA in Smiths Falls. Smiths Falls Record-News photo, courtesy of Smiths Falls Heritage House Museum. Even though it was an RCA facility, it pressed records under contract for all major record labels.Įmployee Shirley McRory is seen here inspecting picture discs with plant manager Harry Fisher. There were 350 people on staff and three shifts by the mid-1970s.
The Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways both pass through, making it a good place to easily press out the hits that were in demand by baby boomers.ġ25 people worked at RCA in Smiths Falls on a single shift in 1954. The town supplied a competent workforce and good location between Montreal and Toronto, not far from the U.S. RCA opened the Smiths Falls plant in 1954. RCA operated a major vinyl record pressing plant in Smiths Falls, Ontario for many years, and a factory that made televisions in Prescott, Ontario.
We’ve all seen the old RCA logo of the dog sitting in front of the phonograph with the slogan “His Master’s Voice.” RCA, the Radio Corporation of America, is one of those iconic brands that was a cornerstone of the golden age of television and radio. Smiths Falls Record-News Photo, courtesy of Smiths Falls Heritage House Museum. A Smiths Falls RCA employee on the job in the mid-1950s.