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Chicago Telephone Supply


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Being from Paducah, I'm interested in the history of Chicago Telephone supply but I can't find much.  I don't even know where it was other than "Paducah".  In 1967 they made the K-33-P woofer for Klipsch Cornwalls.  The founders of Eminence (Bob Gault) and Peavey (Hartley Peavey) worked here.  Sidney Corderman and Roger Russell from McIntosh came here looking for parts.  Engineer Ed Long from Bag End worked here.  Just wondering if there's any additional stories or insights you might have.  

 

Also interested in another local place, Hawley.  They make most paper cones for pro audio drivers, especially Eminence, and since Klipsch has long used Eminence, most likely lots of Klipsch cones have been made right here under the radar for quite awhile.  

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I can only supply a few anecdotes.  CTS was Rola's major competitor when I started with Rola in 1974.  The two of them probably had greater than a 75% market share in the US.  In the late 70's CTS moved their Paducah production facility to Brownsville, TX.  The K-33-B's were made there.

 

I believe Hawley Products was the inventor of the felted cone process.  Their 7DF stock was incredibly rigid and light, the goal of all cones.  I heard that the formula for 7DF brought the highest bid at the auction after their demise.  Klipsch used Hawley extensively when we manufactured drivers in-house.  Larry Young used to worked there, and he or his son Bart may be "locatable" in the Paducah area. 

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29 minutes ago, JRH said:

I believe Hawley Products was the inventor of the felted cone process.  Their 7DF stock was incredibly rigid and light, the goal of all cones.  I heard that the formula for 7DF brought the highest bid at the auction after their demise.

 

The demise of Hawley?  They're still around.  They now have a sister company up in Wisconsin, Todd owns both:  http://www.rdmco.com/

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Phoenix!  There was definitely an auction.  RDM was a competitor to Hawley, and apparently swallowed them up.  In the day I remember Hawley, RDM, LCC, Nuway, Welsh, and Donal as the domestic cone/spider/dust cap players.  In 1974 Welsh was still putting out "girlie" calendars for those male transducer engineers!

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