Litton Industries
Encyclopedia
Named after inventor Charles Litton, Sr., Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States
, bought by the Northrop Grumman Corporation
in 2001.
company building navigation
, communication
s and electronic warfare
equipment. They diversified and became a much bigger business, with major shipyards, etc., and even manufacturing microwave oven
s.
In the early 1990s, Litton Industries split into separate military
and commercial
companies. The US$2 billion commercial business, which included Litton's oilfield services, business and automated assembly line
operations, was named Western Atlas
, Inc.
The early "li" was designed by Robert Miles Runyan, but was modified in 1986 by designer Gregory Thomas after a worldwide comprehensive study and analysis of the corporate identity. For much of the early 1980s and 90s, "li SWEDA" and "li COLE" were commonly found on product goods but it was modified to bring emphasis to the parent company, whose name was little known.
Consumer and office products:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, bought by the Northrop Grumman Corporation
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...
in 2001.
History
Litton started in 1953 as an electronicsElectronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
company building navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
, communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
s and electronic warfare
Electronic warfare
Electronic warfare refers to any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults via the spectrum. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent the advantage of, and ensure friendly...
equipment. They diversified and became a much bigger business, with major shipyards, etc., and even manufacturing microwave oven
Microwave oven
A microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating, using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food...
s.
In the early 1990s, Litton Industries split into separate military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
and commercial
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
companies. The US$2 billion commercial business, which included Litton's oilfield services, business and automated assembly line
Assembly line
An assembly line is a manufacturing process in which parts are added to a product in a sequential manner using optimally planned logistics to create a finished product much faster than with handcrafting-type methods...
operations, was named Western Atlas
Western Atlas
Western Atlas was formed in 1987 through the merger of Western Geophysical and Dresser Atlas. The resulting company was a joint venture of Litton and Dresser Industries until it was spun off as a publicly traded company in 1994....
, Inc.
The early "li" was designed by Robert Miles Runyan, but was modified in 1986 by designer Gregory Thomas after a worldwide comprehensive study and analysis of the corporate identity. For much of the early 1980s and 90s, "li SWEDA" and "li COLE" were commonly found on product goods but it was modified to bring emphasis to the parent company, whose name was little known.
Divisions
- Litton Guidance and Control Systems
- Litton Aero Products
- Litton Electron Devices → now L-3 Communications, Electron Devices: San Carlos CA & Williamsport PA
- Litton Data Systems
- Litton Space Systems
- Litton Integrated Systems
- Litton Ship Systems
- Avondale ShipyardShipyardShipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
s - Ingalls Shipyards
- Avondale Shipyard
- Litton Marine Systems
- Sperry Marine
- C.Plath
- Decca RadarDecca RadarThe Decca Company, a British gramophone manufacturer that, as Decca Records, released records under the Decca label, contributed to the British war effort during the Second World War...
(formerly a division of RacalRacalRacal Electronics plc was once the third-largest British electronics firm. Listed on the London Stock Exchange and once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, Racal was a diversified company, offering products including: as voice and data recorders; point of sale terminals; laboratory instruments;...
)- Decca Navigator, a historical VLF navigation system
- Litton Systems Canada
- Litton Italia
- Litton Network Access Systems
- LITEF
- TELDIX
- Litton KesterKesterKester is the Scottish form of ChristopherKester may refer to:People with the given name Kester:* Kester Berwick , Australian actor and writer* King Kester Emeneya , Congolese musician...
- Litton Advanced Systems (formerly Litton Amecom)
- Litton Datalog (formerly the New York Times Facsimile Company and the printer part of Monroe Calculator; merged into Amecom 1982)
- Litton Westrex (Formerly Western ElectricWestern ElectricWestern Electric Company was an American electrical engineering company, the manufacturing arm of AT&T from 1881 to 1995. It was the scene of a number of technological innovations and also some seminal developments in industrial management...
, provider to the film industry of magnetic and photographic sound recording systems. Credits on nearly every Columbia, Fox, M-G-M, Paramount and Universal features, and several independents, including Quinn Martin. Developer of the 45-45 system of stereo phonograph recording, StereoDisk.) - Western AtlasWestern AtlasWestern Atlas was formed in 1987 through the merger of Western Geophysical and Dresser Atlas. The resulting company was a joint venture of Litton and Dresser Industries until it was spun off as a publicly traded company in 1994....
, a joint venture formed with Dresser IndustriesDresser IndustriesDresser Industries was a multinational corporation headquartered in Dallas, Texas, United States, which provided a wide range of technology, products, and services used for developing energy and natural resources...
, including former Litton subsidiary Western GeophysicalWestern GeophysicalWestern Geophysical was a company founded in California in 1933 by Henry Salvatori for the purpose of using reflection seismology to explore for petroleum....
. Spun off in 1994.
Consumer and office products:
- Litton Cole (filing cabinets and office furniture)
- Litton Moffat (major appliances)
- Litton Sweda (cash registerCash registerA cash register or till is a mechanical or electronic device for calculating and recording sales transactions, and an attached cash drawer for storing cash...
s) - Litton Monroe (adding machineAdding machineAn adding machine was a class of mechanical calculator, usually specialized for bookkeeping calculations.In the United States, the earliest adding machines were usually built to read in dollars and cents. Adding machines were ubiquitous office equipment until they were phased out in favor of...
s/calculators) - Litton RoyalRoyal Typewriter CompanyThe Royal Typewriter Company was a manufacturer of typewriters headquartered in New York City with its factory in Hartford, Connecticut.-History:...
(typewriterTypewriterA typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical device with keys that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on a medium, usually paper. Typically one character is printed per keypress, and the machine prints the characters by making ink impressions of type elements similar to the pieces...
s) - Litton Adler (typewriters)
External links
- Northrop Grumman Website
- LITTON Industries Alumni - LITTON Industries Alumni group on LinkedIn
- Litton Industries