ARLA/CLUSTER: Heathkit volta ao mercado após 20 anos de ausencia.

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

Heathkit returning to the kit supply marketplace

Heathkit says it is re-entering the kit business that it abandoned
almost two decades ago, this according to a report appearing in this
week's Amateur Radio Newsline.

In an announcement posted to its website, Heathkit Educational Systems
which is the current name for the company states that
in late August the company will debut its new line of do-it-yourself
kits for common around-the-house items.

Don’t look for ham radio gear to be a top priority even though the
word on the street is that kits for the amateur radio market may be
down the pike. Right now the company is starting off with more general
interest kits with their first entry being a Garage Parking Assistant
or G-P-A for short. The Garage Parking assistant kit lets someone
build their own system that uses
ultrasonic sound to locate a car as it enters the garage. The system
signals to the driver using LED lights mounted on the wall when the
car is detected and in the perfect spot for parking. Next on the
market will be a Wireless Swimming Pool Monitor kit followed by many
more novel items.

For those of you to young to remember, it was on March 30, 1992, that
the then managers of Heathkit announced that after some 45 years the
company was closing out its kits and leaving the business. In its
hey-day, Heathkits were products of the Heath Company of Benton
Harbor, Michigan.
Their build it yourself product line included everything from
electronic test equipment to high fidelity home audio equipment,
television receivers, and of coarse amateur radio gear.
It was the emergence and subsequent domination of the world electronic
marketplace by Pacific Rim manufacturers who could produce and market
completely assembled equipment at prices far less than Heathkit or
anyone else could supply a do it yourself version that lead to the
demise of names like Eico, Paco, and of coarse Heathkit.

So why has Heathkit decided to re-enter the kit market?
To hazard a guess you have to remember that the current incarnation of
Heathkit is an educational materials supplier.
As such it has likely taken notice of the burgeoning maker and hacker
community. This is an ever expanding group of technology hobbyist’s
world wide that in recent years has grown into a multi-million dollar
business opportunity for those smart enough to recognize it and are
ready to fill the void. These are also the people that many believe
will be the next generation of technology leaders and radio amateurs.

The Heathkit announcement says nothing about the business rationale
for going back into the kit supply business but it does state that the
company wants to bring to its customers interesting and unique
products. As such it is interested in learning what types of products
that kit builders would like to see brought to the marketplace. Anyone
interested can submit their suggestions by mail addressed to 2024
Hawthorne Avenue St. Joseph, Michigan, 49085 or at www.heathkit.com.


Fontes: ARNewsline™ with some information supplied by KC8VWM, N4OZ and others.