Music Manufacturing
Gary Beckerman was introduced to TEAC and TASCAM when he consulted on inventory control in the early 1970s. The company appreciated his ideas and dedication and soon asked him to join full time. Over the next thirty years, Gary’s position and responsibilities changed, and before retiring he was a...
Rick DePiro fell in love with music when he first decided to play the organ at the young age of 10, getting his first official gig just a few years later playing the electric piano in his community church and started to tour at the age of 20 as a keyboard player, pianist, organist and singer-...
Mark Darnell, as a musician, often wondered about the inner workings of the microphones he used, so he set out to learn more and in 1992 was asked to join the Crown International team in the customer service department covering the company’s microphone products. He soon became an expert on the...
Brenda Mortimer worked for Crown International in Elkhart, Indiana for 36 wonderful years. Her mother and aunt both worked in the factory, so Brenda grew up understanding and appreciating the family centric culture in the company. She began in 1981 as a wire cutter but soon advanced, becoming a...
Verne Searer began working part-time for Crown International in 1963. He left to earn his engineering degree at Purdue and returned to Crown in 1970. He stayed nearly twenty more years with the company in several positions including as a technician, engineer, the Director of Engineering, and the...
Tom Szerencse worked his way up to an Engineering Group Manager overseeing Crown International’s design prototyping efforts. In the mid 80’s his team worked with the Marketing department to define new products that would solve customer requirements. Then later he moved to manufacturing as a...
Mary Miller interviewed for a factory job with the founder of Crown International, Clarence Moore. Mary recalled that day in 1966 as the interview was long, but it gave her a chance to understand the company and its values. She left for a year but returned in 1968 and stayed until her retirement in...
Dave McLaughlin began his long career with Crown International as a part time employee in 1968. He later went to college and earned an electrical engineering degree and returned to Crown. He worked alongside famed engineer Gerry Stanley helping with the circuit boards for the DC300 Amps. He also...
Ken Woodcox was an early adopter of computer technology when he proudly joined Crown International in the 1970s. Bringing his skill set to Crown and having the company embrace computers resulted in faster customer service and a wider global reach. Ken became the Sales Manager for the Western United...
Steve Peer has a very interesting take on the 1971 fire that destroyed the Crown International factory in Elkhart, Indiana. Steve just joined the company a few months before the Thanksgiving Day fire but was told the factory started in two chicken coops. Over the years the factory was expanded a...