James Bullough Lansing

James Bullough Lansing was born James Martini, 14 January 1902, in Macoupin County, Millwood Township, Illinois. His parents were Henry Martini, born in St. Louis, Missouri, and Grace Erbs Martini, born in Central City, Illinois. His father was a coal mining engineer, and his work required that the family moved about quite a bit during Lansing’s early years. Lansing was the ninth of fourteen children. For a short time, Lansing lived with the Bullough family in Litchfield, Illinois. He later took their name when he changed his from Martini to Lansing.

Lansing graduated eighth grade at Lawrence School in Springfield, Illinois, attended Springfield High School and also took courses at a small business college in Springfield.

As a young lad he was very interested in all things electrical and mechanical. At about the age of 10, he built a Leyden Jar which he used to play pranks on his playmates. He also constructed crystal sets, and at one time, probably about the age of 12 or so, built a small radio transmitter from scratch. The signals from this set were apparently strong enough to reach the Great Lakes Naval Station in Illinois; naval personnel determined the source of these signals and later supervised the timely dismantling of the young Lansing’s radio transmitter.

For a while Lansing worked as an automotive mechanic, specializing in fine engine repair work. He attended an automotive school for mechanics in Detroit through the courtesy of the dealer he worked for in Springfield.

His mother died on November 1, 1924 when he was 21; he then left home. He met his future wife, Glenna Peterson, in Salt Lake City in 1925. At the time he was working for a radio station as an engineer. He also worked for the Baldwin loudspeaker company and met his future business partner, Ken Decker in the city.

Lansing and Decker moved to Los Angeles where they set up a business manufacturing loudspeakers. It was called the Lansing Manufacturing Company. Just before the company was registered on March 9, 1927 Lansing changed his name from James Martini to James Bullough Lansing at the suggestion of his future wife, Glenna. Most of his brothers had adopted the surname Martin, two of which (Bill and George) came to LA to work with him.

In 1928, AT&T’s Western Electric established a division for the specific purpose of installing and servicing their loudspeakers and electronic products for motion picture use. Called “E.R.P.I.” (Electrical Research Products, Inc.), it was purchased as part of a consent decree in 1936 by a group of E.R.P.I. executives, including George Carrington, Sr. and Mike Conrow. They changed the name to “All Technical Service Company”, in short ALTEC. The principals of this new company were George Carrington and E. L. Conrow. It became apparent to Carrington and Conrow that they would have to develop a source for new manufactured items if they were to be a viable force in the business on a long-term basis.

In 1939, Ken Decker, Lansing’s business partner and a reserve officer with the United States Army Air Force, was killed on maneuvers when the airplane he was piloting crashed. Without Decker, Lansing’s business suffered, and it became apparent in 1941 that the sale of the company was the only way to keep it afloat. Altec Service Corporation bought Lansing Manufacturing in 1941, seeing the company as a valuable source for loudspeaker components. The combined company was named Altec Lansing. They were reputed to have paid a price of $50,000 for the acquisition, and there were nineteen employees at the Lansing Manufacturing Company at that time. Lansing assumed the title of Vice-President of Engineering in the new Altec Lansing Corporation.

In 1941, when the Altec Service Corporation bought the assets, goodwill and trade names of the Lansing Manufacturing Company, Lansing agreed that he would not go into business for himself for a period of at least five years. While there were continuing disagreements between Lansing and Carrington, Lansing did honor this commitment and in 1946, five years after the acquisition, he left Altec Lansing to form a new company. Everyone at Altec Lansing wished him well; they had known that he would eventually leave after the five-year commitment had been met.

In 1946, Lansing after leaving Altec lansing started a new company called “Lansing Sound, Incorporated”. Altec Lansing had a problem with that name’s similarity to trademarked brands they had developed, so James Bullough Lansing renamed his new company “James B. Lansing Sound, Incorporated”. Eventually, this became shortened to JBL on product branding and then officially as the company name.

The company had been formed during the economic slump immediately following World War II. As we have noted before, Lansing was not a shrewd businessman, and the company never prospered under his direction. In November of 1947, Lansing secured additional funding from Roy Marquardt of the Marquardt Aviation Company. With this agreement, Marquardt Aviation agreed to furnish manufacturing space for a cost to Lansing of 10% of net sales, with the Marquardt company receiving the right to take assignment of accounts receivable to satisfy at any time the amount due. Marquardt further agreed to lend money to Lansing for working capital in such amounts as would not be a burden on the Marquardt corporation itself. The Marquardt company was further given an option on 40% of the stock of the Lansing company, and the Marquardt Aircraft Company was represented on the Board of Directors by William H. Thomas, who was at that time the Treasurer of Marquardt. The company moved its offices and manufacturing facilities to the Marquardt plant at 4221 Lincoln Boulevard in Venice, California. In late 1948, the company moved to the Marquardt facility at 7801 Hayvenhurst Avenue in Van Nuys, California.

At the end of its second fiscal year in 1948, James B. Lansing Sound, Incorporated, showed an operating loss of some $2,500; and this with most of the tooling and development costs still in the process of being capitalized. By December of 1948, the debt to the Marquardt Aircraft Company had reached almost $15,000, and it was inevitable that the company would have to be taken over by Marquardt with Lansing continuing on as an employee. Lansing further bought out the interest held by Messrs. Snow and Noble so that he became the sole spokesman for the company in negotiations with Marquardt. In early 1949, Marquardt was purchased by the General Tire Company, who were not interested in continuing the relation with Lansing. The tie between Marquardt and Lansing was severed, and at that point, William Thomas left Marquardt and assumed an important role in the operation of James B. Lansing Sound, Incorporated. The company then moved to new headquarters at 2439 Fletcher Drive in Los Angeles.

During the first three years James B. Lansing Sound, Incorporated made no profit at all; it barely stayed afloat. Over the short span of three years, the company occupied four locations, and that had an impact on production efficiencies. There were rarely enough funds to pay all suppliers. By late 1949 the company had amassed a total debt of some $20,000. One supplier who was very sympathetic to Lansing and his work was Robert Arnold of the Arnold Engineering Company in Chicago. Arnold Engineering extended favorable terms and deep credit to Mr. Lansing. It may be said that it is through the sufferance of Arnold that JBL is in existence today. At one time, James B. Lansing Sound, Incorporated, had an indebtedness to Arnold Engineering Company stretching over a period of two years. It is not sure why Arnold provided this extra measure of lenience to Lansing, but it may have had to do with the fact that Lansing was an avid promoter of Alnico V magnet material for loudspeaker use. Lansing’s endorsement of the new material would ensure its general acceptance by the rest of the industry.

James Lansing was noted as an innovative engineer, but a poor businessman. Mr. Lansing struggled to pay invoices and ship product. As a result of deteriorating business conditions and personal issues, he took his own life on September 4, 1949. The company then passed into the hands of Bill Thomas, JBL’s then vice-president. Mr. Lansing had taken out a $10,000 life insurance policy naming the company as the beneficiary. That allowed Mr. Thomas to continue the company after Mr. Lansing’s death. It must remember that $10,000 was a great deal of money in 1949. When Lansing died he left his one-third share of the company to his wife. During the early fifties, Thomas negotiated the purchase of this amount from Mrs. Lansing and thus became the sole owner of James B. Lansing Sound, Incorporated. Mr. Thomas was responsible for revitalizing the company and saving it from extinction.