West Orange Edison had an
excellent chemical laboratory, and staff with considerable
experience finding substitutes for chemicals. The demands of
quality control record manufacture had led thorough
investigation the chemistry the raw materials.
Edison's chemists knew that this was area for improvement.XII-12
THE WEST ORANGE LABORATORY DURING THE WORLD WAR. Edison was
concerned with good reason; was the largest importer of
phenol the U. and the brilliant tone the diamond disc
records depended their condensite finish.
The Edison enterprise was founded the international
flow information and materials.
The shortages chemicals became evident the very
OI
beginning the war, the fall 1914. Edison mobilized
. But Edison had built his laboratory meet the
demands this situation. The
experiments diminish the surface noise disc records had
pointed the poor quality the phenol used manufacture. The war severely disrupted
this network and placed TAE Inc. The sudden elimination of
this source raw material might have crippled another
company. quickly made made TAE Inc.S. precarious position.
Edison's phonograph business had made him major importer of
chemicals from Germany, for example.
self-sufficient strategic chemicals and made handsome
profits selling off his surplus
