Set in the heart of the Sussex countryside at the foot of the south downs SME is the home of arguably the finest precision gramophone pick-up arms and turntables in the world. Some say to own an SME product is to possess a jewel of near perfection in both performance and construction...
The original company was formed in 1946 under the title The Scale Model Equipment Company Limited to manufacture scale models and detail parts for the model engineering trade.
During the 1950's movement was away from model making to precision engineering, principally parts for aircraft instruments and business machines.
In 1959 Alastair Robertson-Aikman, the Company's founder and Managing Director, required a pick-up arm for his own use and an experimental model was built. It received such an enthusiastic reception from friends in the sound industry that it was decided to produce it commercially and the first SME precision pick-up arm appeared in September 1959.
Production was 25 units per week composed entirely of individually machined components. At this time a new factory situated in Mill Road, Steyning was opened and the Company's name was changed to SME Limited, a less committal title to suit its new activities.
Read some more>>
Vinyl Records Still Live: dedicated to the preservation of vinyl records and antique audio equipment
0 comments:
Post a Comment