Comdial
Encyclopedia
Comdial Corporation was a telecommunications company based in Sarasota, Florida
and was headquartered in a former Lockheed plant building shared with L3 Communications. Because of the history of manufacturing at the facility, the grounds surrounding the site has been the subject of claims of environmental contamination, namely underground toxic chemicals.
Comdial was founded in Oregon
in 1977 as a telecommunications research firm. On October 1, 1982 it acquired the telephone manufacturing division of General Dynamics
for $53.7 million, gaining the company a major product design and manufacturing operation located in Charlottesville
, Virginia
.
Comdial was a former manufacturer and designer of telecommunication systems. Some of Comdial's more popular discontinued products include the DSU and DSUII, the Concierge (marketed to hotel/motels), FXT/S, Unisyn, and the Comdial Digitech and Executech systems. Comdial sold most of their systems through wholesalers in the US such as Graybar Electric and Tech Data. Comdial also had a large network of Authorized Dealers that marketed the small telephone systems as well as the larger PBX's.
In the mid-1980s, Comdial supported an R&D facility in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Under the operating name of Scott Technologies, a large portion of the unused Remington Arms building complex was employed. ST developed LCR (Lowest Cost Routing) and station control hardware. Mainframe PBX computers were developed and a limited production facility produced Comdial telephones. The ST facility was closed in 1985-6 and several key engineering employees were offered positions at the Charlottesville, Virginia facility.
Throughout the 1990s Comdial was a large manufacturer of telecommunications equipment in the USA. After several mismanaged years when telecommunications services were in demand during the dot-com boom
(1998-2001) and a brief frenetic attempt to sell directly to the consumer with a retail program in order to generate revenue, Comdial filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2005. In September 2005, Comdial was acquired by Vertical Communications
of Cambridge, Massachusetts
. Vertical continues to sell the Comdial DX-120, FX II, and MP5000 systems under the name Vertical Comdial.
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
and was headquartered in a former Lockheed plant building shared with L3 Communications. Because of the history of manufacturing at the facility, the grounds surrounding the site has been the subject of claims of environmental contamination, namely underground toxic chemicals.
Comdial was founded in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
in 1977 as a telecommunications research firm. On October 1, 1982 it acquired the telephone manufacturing division of General Dynamics
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...
for $53.7 million, gaining the company a major product design and manufacturing operation located in Charlottesville
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Comdial was a former manufacturer and designer of telecommunication systems. Some of Comdial's more popular discontinued products include the DSU and DSUII, the Concierge (marketed to hotel/motels), FXT/S, Unisyn, and the Comdial Digitech and Executech systems. Comdial sold most of their systems through wholesalers in the US such as Graybar Electric and Tech Data. Comdial also had a large network of Authorized Dealers that marketed the small telephone systems as well as the larger PBX's.
In the mid-1980s, Comdial supported an R&D facility in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Under the operating name of Scott Technologies, a large portion of the unused Remington Arms building complex was employed. ST developed LCR (Lowest Cost Routing) and station control hardware. Mainframe PBX computers were developed and a limited production facility produced Comdial telephones. The ST facility was closed in 1985-6 and several key engineering employees were offered positions at the Charlottesville, Virginia facility.
Throughout the 1990s Comdial was a large manufacturer of telecommunications equipment in the USA. After several mismanaged years when telecommunications services were in demand during the dot-com boom
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
(1998-2001) and a brief frenetic attempt to sell directly to the consumer with a retail program in order to generate revenue, Comdial filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2005. In September 2005, Comdial was acquired by Vertical Communications
Vertical Communications
Vertical Communications, Inc. is a corporation that specializes in premise-based private branch exchanges, i.e., business telephone systems. Vertical Communications changed its name on January 1, 2005 from Artisoft, Inc. after acquiring Vertical Networks in September 2004. In September 2005,...
of Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. Vertical continues to sell the Comdial DX-120, FX II, and MP5000 systems under the name Vertical Comdial.