Harris Corporation Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Its RF Communications Division

ROCHESTER, N.Y., July 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS), an international communications and information technology company, today celebrated the 50th anniversary of its RF Communications Division, the world's leading provider of tactical communication systems to military and government agencies.

At a special event held in Rochester, New York, the company gathered current employees and former RF executives to pay tribute to the extraordinary story of RF Communications, launched by three engineers and a local attorney in a Park Avenue basement in 1960.  

Those four entrepreneurs – Bill Stolze, Elmer Schwittek, Roger Bettin and Herbert VandenBrul – came together with the common goal of providing superior long-range two-way radio communications to a wide range of government markets.  Armed with a belief and a dream, the four founders spent six months in 1960 developing their initial radio products in a Park Avenue basement in Rochester before opening the first official RF Communications offices in a vacant beauty parlor on Merchants Road.  Two years later, the fledgling firm moved to 1680 University Avenue in Rochester, which remains a headquarters for administrative and engineering staff.  RF Communications was acquired by Harris Corporation in early 1969.

Since that time, Harris RF Communications has grown into a $2 billion business serving military and government agencies in the United States and more than 100 allied nations.  The Harris Falcon III® family of radios is becoming the standard for advanced tactical communications, with more than 120,000 AN/PRC-152(C) handheld radios deployed around the world.  The Falcon III AN/PRC-117G manpack, the company's newest radio, has been fielded by the U.S. military to mission areas to provide next-generation wideband networked communications, while the Unity® XG-100P is providing first-of-its-kind multiband radio communications to public safety agencies.

"Harris RF was founded and has grown by focusing on basic principles: anticipate your customer's needs and build them the best products, with uncompromising standards of quality, sooner than competitors," said Dana Mehnert, group president, Harris RF Communications.  "Those principles continue to guide Harris RF today as we enter a new era of excellence, where innovation, time-to-market and customer support are more important than ever.  We owe our founders a debt of gratitude for the values they have instilled at every level of RF Communications."

Today's celebration included all of the 2,300 Rochester-based Harris RF Communications employees.  Schwittek and Bettin, the two surviving founders, along with family members of all four men, were guests of honor at the event at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center.

In addition to today's event, Harris RF Communications has been recognizing its 50th anniversary in a variety of ways in 2010.  Earlier this year, Harris donated $300,000 to local educational institutions to promote learning in math and science.  The company later this year will sponsor and its employees will lead construction of a Habitat for Humanity House in the city of Rochester.

"The founders of RF Communications viewed their company as an investment -- in employees, in customers and in the greater Rochester community.  We're proud to renew this investment," Mehnert said.

Harris RF Communications is the leading global supplier of secure radio communications and embedded high-grade encryption solutions for military, government and commercial organizations.  The company's Falcon® family of software-defined tactical radio systems encompasses manpack, handheld and vehicular applications.  Falcon III is the next generation of radios supporting the U.S. military's Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) requirements, as well as network-centric operations worldwide.  Harris RF Communications is also a leading supplier of assured communications® systems and equipment for public safety, utility and transportation markets — with products ranging from the most advanced IP voice and data networks to portable and mobile single- and multiband radios.

About Harris Corporation

Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries.  Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has approximately $5 billion of annual revenue and more than 15,000 employees — including nearly 7,000 engineers and scientists.  Harris is dedicated to developing best-in-class assured communications® products, systems, and services.  Additional information about Harris Corporation is available at www.harris.com.

SOURCE Harris Corporation

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