Loral Corporation
Encyclopedia
Loral Corporation was a defense contractor founded in 1948 in New York
by William Lorenz and Leon Alpert as Loral Electronics Corporation. The company's name was taken from the first letters of each founder's surname.
It originally worked on developing RADAR
and SONAR
detection methods for the U.S. Navy. In 1959, it went public with an initial offering of 250,000 shares at $12 each. Part of the proceeds from this offering were used to build a new headquarters on its 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) site at 825 Bronx River Avenue, in the Soundview
section of The Bronx
, New York.
In 1959, it began to diversify, buying several smaller companies, through which it won more military contracts. Some purchased companies included Willor Manufacturing Corp., American Beryllium Co., Inc., of Sarasota, Florida, Arco Electronics, and several plastics companies.
In 1961, it formed a division for developing communications, telemetry
, and space navigation systems for satellites.
As its expansion and buying other companies increased, it borrowed $15 million from the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
in 1965.
In the late 1960s, it was awarded many military contracts, including a $3.9 million US Navy contract for Doppler navigation radar
in 1965, a $14 million contract from General Dynamics
for advanced electronics for the US Air Force F-111
airplane in 1969, and a $3.9 million contract for airborne countermeasures for the Phantom RF-4C
reconnaissance plane. By the late 1960s, Loral specialized in radar receivers, which identified signatures of enemy radar systems on missiles and anti-aircraft guns.
However, by the late 1960s, Loral's corporate purchases were causing problems for the company. In 1971, it had lost $3 million and was sometimes unable to meet its loan payments. Many acquisitions were not profitable and also not in Loral's primary business. The founders, Lorenz and Alpert, were prepared to sell half their interest in the company.
Loral was on the verge of bankruptcy
in 1972 before it was acquired by Bernard Schwartz
, who over the course of the next two decades built it into a major player in the global aerospace
and defense industry, acquiring 16 other defense and aerospace companies. In 1995, Loral had $5.5 billion in revenue. In 1996, Loral sold its defense electronics and system integration businesses to Lockheed Martin
; its remaining units became Loral Space & Communications
. The following year, several of those former Loral units were spun off by Lockheed Martin to become the core of L-3 Communications
.
Loral was accused of transferring technology to China
in 1996. The incident arose as a result of an investigation into the launch failure of Intelsat 708
, a Space Systems/Loral
–built satellite. The company settled the matter with the State Department
and Department of Justice
and was never indicted
.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
by William Lorenz and Leon Alpert as Loral Electronics Corporation. The company's name was taken from the first letters of each founder's surname.
It originally worked on developing RADAR
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
and SONAR
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
detection methods for the U.S. Navy. In 1959, it went public with an initial offering of 250,000 shares at $12 each. Part of the proceeds from this offering were used to build a new headquarters on its 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) site at 825 Bronx River Avenue, in the Soundview
Soundview, Bronx
Soundview is primarily a residential neighborhood geographically located in the South Central section of the Borough of The Bronx in New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 9...
section of The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York.
In 1959, it began to diversify, buying several smaller companies, through which it won more military contracts. Some purchased companies included Willor Manufacturing Corp., American Beryllium Co., Inc., of Sarasota, Florida, Arco Electronics, and several plastics companies.
In 1961, it formed a division for developing communications, telemetry
Telemetry
Telemetry is a technology that allows measurements to be made at a distance, usually via radio wave transmission and reception of the information. The word is derived from Greek roots: tele = remote, and metron = measure...
, and space navigation systems for satellites.
As its expansion and buying other companies increased, it borrowed $15 million from the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
Founded in 1851, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company is a leading mutual life insurance company with 1800 offices and 13 million clients worldwide. Mass Mutual is one of the largest Life Insurance companies globally and is currently ranked 93rd in the Fortune 500 list...
in 1965.
In the late 1960s, it was awarded many military contracts, including a $3.9 million US Navy contract for Doppler navigation radar
Doppler radar
A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that makes use of the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. It does this by beaming a microwave signal towards a desired target and listening for its reflection, then analyzing how the frequency of the returned signal has been...
in 1965, a $14 million contract from General Dynamics
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...
for advanced electronics for the US Air Force F-111
General Dynamics F-111
The General Dynamics F-111 "Aardvark" was a medium-range interdictor and tactical strike aircraft that also filled the roles of strategic bomber, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare in its various versions. Developed in the 1960s by General Dynamics, it first entered service in 1967 with the...
airplane in 1969, and a $3.9 million contract for airborne countermeasures for the Phantom RF-4C
F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...
reconnaissance plane. By the late 1960s, Loral specialized in radar receivers, which identified signatures of enemy radar systems on missiles and anti-aircraft guns.
However, by the late 1960s, Loral's corporate purchases were causing problems for the company. In 1971, it had lost $3 million and was sometimes unable to meet its loan payments. Many acquisitions were not profitable and also not in Loral's primary business. The founders, Lorenz and Alpert, were prepared to sell half their interest in the company.
Loral was on the verge of bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
in 1972 before it was acquired by Bernard Schwartz
Bernard L. Schwartz
Bernard Leon Schwartz was the Chairman of the Board and CEO of Loral Space & Communications, Chairman and CEO of K&F Industries, Inc., Chairman and CEO of Loral Corp., and president and CEO of Globalstar. He retired from Loral and his positions at its various subsidiaries and affiliates as of...
, who over the course of the next two decades built it into a major player in the global aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
and defense industry, acquiring 16 other defense and aerospace companies. In 1995, Loral had $5.5 billion in revenue. In 1996, Loral sold its defense electronics and system integration businesses to Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
; its remaining units became Loral Space & Communications
Loral Space & Communications
Loral Space & Communications Inc. is a satellite communications company headed by Michael B. Targoff and incorporated in Delaware. The company was formed in 1996 from the remnants of Loral Corporation when Loral divested its defense electronics and system integration businesses to Lockheed Martin...
. The following year, several of those former Loral units were spun off by Lockheed Martin to become the core of L-3 Communications
L-3 Communications
L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. is a company that supplies command and control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems and products, avionics, ocean products, training devices and services, instrumentation, space, and navigation products. Its customers include...
.
Loral was accused of transferring technology to China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in 1996. The incident arose as a result of an investigation into the launch failure of Intelsat 708
Intelsat 708
Intelsat 708 was a telecommunications satellite built by the American company Space Systems/Loral intended to be launched into a geostationary orbit and operated by Intelsat...
, a Space Systems/Loral
Space Systems/Loral
Space Systems/Loral , of Palo Alto, California, is the wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications. It was acquired in 1990 for $715 million by Loral Corp. from Ford Motor Company as the Space Systems Division of Ford Aerospace...
–built satellite. The company settled the matter with the State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
and Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
and was never indicted
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
.
History
- 1948. Loral Electronics Corporation founded
- 1959. Loral makes a public stock offering and becomes a public corporation
- 1972. Loral is on the verge of bankruptcyBankruptcyBankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
, Bernard SchwartzBernard L. SchwartzBernard Leon Schwartz was the Chairman of the Board and CEO of Loral Space & Communications, Chairman and CEO of K&F Industries, Inc., Chairman and CEO of Loral Corp., and president and CEO of Globalstar. He retired from Loral and his positions at its various subsidiaries and affiliates as of...
acquires it. - 1987. Loral acquires Goodyear Aerospace Corporation, which becomes Loral Defense Systems.
- October 1990. Loral acquires Ford AerospaceFord AerospaceFord Aerospace & Communications Corp. was the aerospace and defense business of Ford Motor Company. It consisted of the Space Systems Division and the Western Development Labs .Partial company timeline:*1956 Aeronutronic becomes Ford Motor Company division.*1961 Ford Motor Company...
, the divisions of which become Space Systems/LoralSpace Systems/LoralSpace Systems/Loral , of Palo Alto, California, is the wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications. It was acquired in 1990 for $715 million by Loral Corp. from Ford Motor Company as the Space Systems Division of Ford Aerospace...
and Loral Western Development Labs. - 1991. With QualcommQualcommQualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
, Loral begins the GlobalstarGlobalstarGlobalstar is a low Earth orbit satellite constellation for satellite phone and low-speed data communications, somewhat similar to the Iridium satellite constellation and Orbcomm satellite systems.-History:...
project, and at the peak owns a 42% share in the company. - 1994. Loral acquires IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
's Federal Systems Division, which becomes Loral Federal Systems. - May 5, 1995. Loral acquires Paramax, the defense unit of UnisysUnisysUnisys Corporation , headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States, and incorporated in Delaware, is a long established business whose core products now involves computing and networking.-History:...
, for $862 million in cash. - January 8, 1996. Lockheed Martin acquires the defense electronics and system integration businesses of Loral for $9.1 billion. Loral becomes Loral Space and Communications.
Other past units
- Loral Aeronutronic (Rancho Santa Margarita, CaliforniaRancho Santa Margarita, CaliforniaRancho Santa Margarita is a city in Orange County, California. One of Orange County's youngest cities, Rancho Santa Margarita is a master planned community set upon rolling hills. Most neighborhoods in Rancho Santa Margarita are within various homeowners associations...
) - Loral Command Control Systems
- Loral Conic (San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
) - Loral Defense Systems (Akron, Ohio)
- Loral Instrumentation (San Diego)
- Loral/Liris
- Loral ROLMROLM-Products:The company first produced rugged mil-spec computers which used Data General software. The company divisionalized in 1978 becoming Rolm Mil-Spec Computers and Rolm Telecom...
Mil-Spec Computer Systems (San José, CaliforniaSan Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
) - Loral Space Information Systems
- Loral Space & Range Systems (Sunnyvale, CaliforniaSunnyvale, CaliforniaSunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...
) - Loral Terracom (San Diego)
- Loral VoughtVoughtVought is the name of several related aerospace firms. These have included, in the past, Lewis and Vought Corporation, Chance Vought, Vought Sikorsky, LTV Aerospace , Vought Aircraft Companies, and the current Vought Aircraft Industries. The first incarnation of Vought was established by Chance M...
Systems (Grand Prairie, TexasGrand Prairie, TexasGrand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Ellis, and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas and is a part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Grand Prairie is a suburb of both Dallas and Fort Worth and had a population of 175,396 at the 2010 census.- History :The city of...
) (now part of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire ControlLockheed Martin Missiles and Fire ControlLockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control is a Lockheed Martin business unit based in the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie, Texas. The unit's offensive and defensive arsenal includes air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, naval rockets and missiles, fire control and sensor systems, fire support...
) - Loral Narda
- Loral Randtron
- Loral Western Development Laboratories
- Loral Infrared & Imaging Systems, LIRIS (Lexington, MassachusettsLexington, MassachusettsLexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...
) - Loral Electro Optical Systems, LEOS (Pomona, CaliforniaPomona, California-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Pomona had a population of 149,058, a slight decline from the 2000 census population. The population density was 6,491.2 people per square mile...
)