Top of page

Audio Recording "In my mind's eye, we're trying not to be custom."

"In my mind's eye, we're trying not to be custom."

About this Item

Title

  • "In my mind's eye, we're trying not to be custom."

Names

  • McLaughlin, Ian M. Watson (Narrator)
  • McCarl, Robert (Interviewer)

Created / Published

  • 1994-08-17

Headings

  • -  Interviews
  • -  Oral history
  • -  Sound recordings
  • -  Family-run businesses
  • -  Watson Machine International
  • -  Machinery industry
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  United States -- New Jersey -- Paterson

Genre

  • Ethnography
  • Interviews

Notes

  • -  Interview with Ian McLaughlin, CEO, Watson Machine International.
  • -  Summary of audio segment: Ian goes on to talk about philosophy of the company. "In my mind's eye we're trying not to be custom. If we are going to manufacture, we are going to try to refine the manufacturing process. We we're not going to be a . . . there used to be a fitting department because everything that came out of the machine shop had to be fitted together. Now you've got to make sure it comes out right the first time so you don't have to fit it. That's the basic precept from hand-craftsmanship . . . I mean, in the 'seventies everything was hand-crafted; and the tolerances weren't on the drawings right and all that; and to come back and re-do all of that has been a big sweat. But the custom side of things is very difficult to make money on. Unless you've got a very good reputation. And we had a reputation for being moribund. "There's Watson, you want to see how a place can go downhill?" There's a great story and you know, Watson machines are still a backbone machine in the wire industry. And they run forever. Everybody would like to have a Watson. But if you can make a Watson come back and perform . . . and pragmatically moved with the punches, so we've aligned ourselves with the Japanese and we've aligned ourselves with various Europeans. We do have a knowledge of the market, we are Americans, we don't have, you know, when I look at the Kinrei machine to begin with back in 1978, I came back to the engineers, they said, 'oh, we can make that.' I said 'Well what the hell do we want to do that for? If they're making it, and they've rationalized it, we'll join them.' And that was well before anybody ever thought the Japanese were really as serious as they were. That was just the beginning, the Japanese started becoming the miracle people in the 'eighties. That would be a big switch, and I don't think my great grandfather would be able to do something like that. He'd say 'we'll make it ourselves.' I mean he went down with the ship in the car business; he wanted to make his own cars, because he liked cars."

Medium

  • Analog Audio Cassette

Call Number/Physical Location

  • AFC 1995/028: WIP-RM-A011

Source Collection

  • Working in Paterson Project Collection (AFC 1995/028)

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Online Format

  • audio

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is not aware of any U.S. copyright protection (see Title 17, U.S.C.) or any other restrictions in the material in this collection, except as noted below. Users should keep in mind that the Library of Congress is providing access to these materials strictly for educational and research purposes. The written permission of the copyright owners and/or other holders of rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. See our Legal Notices and Privacy and Publicity Rights for additional information and restrictions.

The American Folklife Center and the professional fieldworkers who carry out these projects feel a strong ethical responsibility to the people they have visited and who have consented to have their lives documented for the historical record. The Center asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here. Researchers are also reminded that privacy and publicity rights may pertain to certain uses of this material.

Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these collection materials should contact the Folklife Reading Room for assistance.

Credit line

Working in Paterson Project collection, 1993-2002 (AFC 1995/028), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Mclaughlin, Ian M. Watson, and Robert McCarl. "In my mind's eye, we're trying not to be custom.". -08-17, 1994. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/afcwip003221/.

APA citation style:

McLaughlin, I. M. W. & McCarl, R. (1994) "In my mind's eye, we're trying not to be custom.". -08-17. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afcwip003221/.

MLA citation style:

Mclaughlin, Ian M. Watson, and Robert McCarl. "In my mind's eye, we're trying not to be custom.". -08-17, 1994. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afcwip003221/>.