Quantegy: The company and the man behind the tape that recorded the world
Tamiko Lowery Staff Writer Opelika-Auburn News Thursday, January 6, 2005
In the beginning, it wasn't about the money - it was about the people, according to H.D. Norman.
Norman, 54, a native of Opelika and protege under John Herbert Orr - the mastermind behind Ampex, what is now Quantegy - remembers how Orr put Opelika on the map.
"Orr had an entrepreneurial spirit. He always said his education came from the school of hard knocks. Business men are not as they once were - they run things strictly by the bottom line," Norman said. "Orr never went to business school, he learned how to make things on his own. He was a visionary, a pioneer - ahead of his time. He could have taken his invention anywhere in the world but instead he brought it back to his own hometown - back to Opelika. He was a down-to-earth man. If you ever needed anything, he'd give it to you. He believed in treating everybody right."
Norman says Orr understood people which was why he was so successful.
In November 1995, the Ampex Recording Media Corporation was put up for sale, and the recording media pioneer became Quantegy Inc., according to www.quantegy.com.
But on Dec. 31, 2004, the Opelika plant shut its doors. A brief statement released by the company that day said that "Quantegy Inc. has ceased operations pending restructuring. This is due to financial issues that have plagued the industry and Quantegy for some time. All employees are on layoff pending further notice."
"I feel for the people who have lost their jobs. I would not want to be at the short end of that stick. The CEO was here for a day or so without knowing the people here; he'll just catch a plane in Atlanta and go home," Norman said. "To lose your job is hard enough but especially around the holidays - it's callous the way it was done.... Orr did it for the community, to give back to the people. He knew it was the people who made the company. Orr knew the people and everything about the place. He knew which light bulbs needed changing, and when the toilet paper in the men's restroom ran out, he'd change it. He believed in the people first."
Orr died in 1984.
"I think if he were alive today, he would be very hurt," Norman said. "He used to smoke this big ol' cigar and if he didn't like somebody he'd fill that room with smoke to smoke 'em out. He'd be doing that now. He's buried down in Loachapoka, and I believe he's rolling over in his grave." Norman said the people, who worked for him, gave him faith in the company.
Deloris Waller, manager of the Alabama State Employment Services at Opelika Career Center, said hope is what they've tried to give to Quantegy employees who feel they have been forgotten.
"Monday at 8 a.m. there were 50 or so Quantegy employees waiting for doors to open," Waller said. "As of Wednesday there have been 120 come in, and they're still coming. The vast majority of them have worked there 25 years and up. They have been upbeat, as a whole, but they've got a lot of questions that only the company can answer. And I hope they get their answers soon."
Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller said during Tuesday's City Council meeting, "In a week to 10 days we should know more. They're working to restructure the plant and continue operations. We have our fingers crossed it will all work out."
Waller said any closing affects the community but is optimistic about the future with new industry coming in.
"Already there have been at least five local companies who have contacted us, even a company out of Georgia, indicating interest in these employees," Waller said. "We have given them all a packet of papers to bring back. Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday are all booked for appointments where small groups of employees will come in. There will be people from Montgomery here talking about how folks can survive layoffs and career links to talk about training. I feel for
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Quantegy:
... Orr did it for the community, to give back to the people. He knew it was the people who made the company. Orr knew the people and everything about the place. He knew which light bulbs needed changing, and when the toilet paper in the men's restroom ran out, he'd change it. He believed in the people first."
The company and the man behind the tape that recorded the world
Tamiko Lowery
Staff Writer
Opelika-Auburn News
Thursday, January 6, 2005
In the beginning, it wasn't about the money - it was about the people, according to H.D. Norman.
Norman, 54, a native of Opelika and protege under John Herbert Orr - the mastermind behind Ampex, what is now Quantegy - remembers how Orr put Opelika on the map.
"Orr had an entrepreneurial spirit. He always said his education came from the school of hard knocks. Business men are not as they once were - they run things strictly by the bottom line," Norman said. "Orr never went to business school, he learned how to make things on his own. He was a visionary, a pioneer - ahead of his time. He could have taken his invention anywhere in the world but instead he brought it back to his own hometown - back to Opelika. He was a down-to-earth man. If you ever needed anything, he'd give it to you. He believed in treating everybody right."
Norman says Orr understood people which was why he was so successful.
In November 1995, the Ampex Recording Media Corporation was put up for sale, and the recording media pioneer became Quantegy Inc., according to www.quantegy.com.
But on Dec. 31, 2004, the Opelika plant shut its doors. A brief statement released by the company that day said that "Quantegy Inc. has ceased operations pending restructuring. This is due to financial issues that have plagued the industry and Quantegy for some time. All employees are on layoff pending further notice."
"I feel for the people who have lost their jobs. I would not want to be at the short end of that stick. The CEO was here for a day or so without knowing the people here; he'll just catch a plane in Atlanta and go home," Norman said. "To lose your job is hard enough but especially around the holidays - it's callous the way it was done.
Orr died in 1984.
"I think if he were alive today, he would be very hurt," Norman said. "He used to smoke this big ol' cigar and if he didn't like somebody he'd fill that room with smoke to smoke 'em out. He'd be doing that now. He's buried down in Loachapoka, and I believe he's rolling over in his grave." Norman said the people, who worked for him, gave him faith in the company.
Deloris Waller, manager of the Alabama State Employment Services at Opelika Career Center, said hope is what they've tried to give to Quantegy employees who feel they have been forgotten.
"Monday at 8 a.m. there were 50 or so Quantegy employees waiting for doors to open," Waller said. "As of Wednesday there have been 120 come in, and they're still coming. The vast majority of them have worked there 25 years and up. They have been upbeat, as a whole, but they've got a lot of questions that only the company can answer. And I hope they get their answers soon."
Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller said during Tuesday's City Council meeting, "In a week to 10 days we should know more. They're working to restructure the plant and continue operations. We have our fingers crossed it will all work out."
Waller said any closing affects the community but is optimistic about the future with new industry coming in.
"Already there have been at least five local companies who have contacted us, even a company out of Georgia, indicating interest in these employees," Waller said. "We have given them all a packet of papers to bring back. Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday are all booked for appointments where small groups of employees will come in. There will be people from Montgomery here talking about how folks can survive layoffs and career links to talk about training. I feel for