So far as I know, "the" Western Electric officially died with Altec Lansing. The tube manufacturing, which was a minor section of WE, was sold previously, possibly when Altec was controlled by LTV.
Sparkomatic, of $19.99 car stereo "fame", bought the rights to the Altec name, along with the professional products line, & renamed themselves Altec Lansing Technologies. They now make computer & iPod speaker systems, a few professional pieces, & lately a limited edition of the old Voice of the Theatre A7s.
For what it's worth...a small company comprised of former Altec employees bought the inventory of Altec parts & the right to service Altec speakers. They also reproduce Altec ribbons & other parts, etc., as well as design their own speaker line. They were asked by Altec Lansing Technologies to duplicate/redesign the A7 drivers & build prototypes for the (at the time) upcoming A7 re-release. They did it in good faith, hoping to get the contract...at which point A.L.T. took the prototypes & had them duplicated & produced in China. So, for your limited edition $5800 APIECE A7 Legacys, you get Chinese parts. The website says American made components, but allegedly it's American assembled. It's not enough that companies like ProComp steal from & screw American companies....now American companies do it to each other. No, the small company didn't actually have a production contract, only prototypes...it was all legal...but there is such a thing as morality. I find it difficult to believe that anyone who would pay $11,600 for a pair of speakers wouldn't pay the extra few hundred for the American-sourced components. Now officially getting off the soapbox.
