Litton Industries facts for kids
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| Industry | Defence |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquired by Northrop Grumman |
| Successor | Northrop Grumman |
| Founded | 1953 |
| Defunct | 2001 |
| Headquarters | Beverly Hills, California, U.S. |
Litton Industries was a very large company in the United States. It was named after a clever inventor called Charles Litton Sr.. This company mostly worked on making things for defense, like military equipment.
In the 1960s, Litton Industries started buying many different kinds of businesses. It became one of the biggest "conglomerates" in the U.S. A conglomerate is a company that owns many unrelated businesses. At its biggest, Litton owned companies that made typewriters, home appliances, and even Stouffer's frozen foods. They also owned companies that made office equipment and furniture.
Like many large companies that own many different things, Litton Industries faced problems in the 1970s. They sold off many of their unrelated brands. By the 1980s, they mostly focused again on defense work. The company continued to get smaller after the Cold War ended. In the late 1990s, another company wanted to buy them. Northrop Grumman bought Litton Industries in 2001.
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History of Litton Industries
Litton Industries began as an electronics company in 1953. It was founded by a business leader named Charles Bates "Tex" Thornton. He started it with his friends Roy Ash and Hugh Jamieson. The company was first called 'Electro Dynamics Corporation.'
In 1954, Thornton bought another company called 'Litton Industries Inc.' from its founder, Charles Litton Sr.. He then decided to use the name Litton Industries for his own company. Litton Industries was based in Beverly Hills, California.
Growing the Business
Even though Litton Industries didn't have much money at first, Thornton believed the U.S. Department of Defense would need more advanced weapons. He thought there would be a big demand for a new electronics company.
Over the years, Litton Industries bought many smaller companies. One important merger was with Monroe Calculating Machine. Monroe used Litton's technology, and Litton used Monroe's sales and service stores. By the late 1950s, about half of Litton's business was with the U.S. Government. Besides calculators, they made systems that help aircraft know where they are going.
In 1961, Litton bought Ingalls Shipbuilding. This meant they started making ships, including submarines. By 1963, Litton Industries was a very large company. In 1973, after some tough years, Thornton changed the company's leader. Litton then sold some parts of the business that were not making money. They focused on the parts that were profitable. The company also made a huge deal to sell equipment to the Saudi Arabian Air Force.
In December 1964, Litton also bought Royal McBee, a company known for typewriters. The company's profits grew in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Focusing on Technology
During the 1980s, Litton stopped making things like medical products, office furniture, and microwaves. They decided to focus on advanced technology. Because of this, they bought electronic companies like Itek Corp. and Core Laboratories.
In the early 1990s, Litton Industries split into two separate companies. One part focused on military products, and the other on commercial (non-military) products. The commercial business was named Western Atlas, Inc. It included Litton's oilfield services and automated factory lines.
In 1998, Litton Industries bought TASC, Inc.. In 2000, TASC sold off some of its commercial businesses. Litton Industries reported sales of $5.6 billion in 2000. On December 21, 2000, Litton Industries and Northrop Grumman announced that Northrop Grumman would buy Litton. The deal was completed on May 31, 2001. Northrop Grumman officially took over Litton Industries.
What Litton Industries Made
Litton Industries had many different parts, called divisions. Here are some of the main ones:
- LITEF GmbH (in Germany)
- Litton Advanced Systems
- Litton Aero Products
- Litton Automated Marine Systems (AMS), which included:
- Sperry Marine
- C.Plath
- Decca Radar (which used to be part of another company)
- Decca Navigator, an old system for finding your way
- Litton Bionetics
- Litton Computer Services
- Litton Data Systems
- Litton Electron Devices (now part of L3 Technologies)
- Litton Electro-Optical Systems Incorporated
- Litton Encoder
- Litton Guidance and Control Systems
- Litton Industries, Potentiometer Division
- Litton Integrated Systems
- Litton Italia
- Litton Kester
- Litton Network Access Systems
- Litton PRC
- Litton Ship Systems, which included:
- Avondale Shipyards
- Ingalls Shipyards
- Litton Space Systems
- Litton Systems Canada
- Litton Westrex
- TELDIX
- Western Atlas, a company formed with Dresser Industries, which included Litton's old company Western Geophysical. This company became separate in 1994.
