Original Date: 09/14/1998
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

In 1922, Laurence K. Marshall and Vannevar Bush joined forces with Charles G. Smith who had developed a prototype for a home refrigerator using artificial coolants. Together, the young entrepreneurs founded the American Appliance Company with dreams of prosperity. Unfortunately, the product was a bust and never left the laboratory. Facing failure, Marshall and Bush suggested revisiting an earlier idea of Smith’s: a new kind of gaseous tube that enabled radios to operate on electricity, rather than batteries, by plugging them into a wall socket. This gaseous rectifier was perfected in 1925, and marketed under the brand name Raytheon meaning a beam of light (rai) from the gods (theon). Also that year, the company officially became the Raytheon Manufacturing Company due to another’s claim on the original name.

Since the 1920s, the company has diversified and expanded its operations into the defense sector. Strategic acquisitions and mergers also helped strengthen Raytheon’s innovative capabilities, and added to its legacy of technological advancements. Among these were the first commercial microwave oven (Amana Radarange); miniature tubes for hearing aids; the first electronic depth sounder (Fathometer); mass production of magnetron tubes; early shipboard radar; the first missile guidance system (Lark) that could hit a flying target; a space communications system for Apollo XI; mobile radio telephones; the first combat-proven air defense missile system; and the Terminal Doppler Weather Radar.

Today, the Raytheon Company is a global technology leader that operates in three core business segments: defense and commercial electronics; business aviation and special mission aircraft; and engineering and construction. The corporation is headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts; employs more than 100,000 employees worldwide; and achieved $20 billion in revenues for 1997. The BMP survey focused on Raytheon’s Defense Systems Segment, specifically the Raytheon Missile Systems Company (RMSC) in Tucson, Arizona. This facility was originally established in 1951 by Howard Hughes to produce the Falcon, the world’s first air-to-air radar guided missile. Raytheon acquired the plant site through its 1997 merger with Hughes Missile Systems. Currently, RMSC employs approximately 8,800 personnel, and achieved $2.1 billion in sales for 1997.

RMSC is the world’s premier producer and developer of tactical missile systems, including the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile, Phalanx, Stinger, Rolling Airframe Missile, and Tomahawk. The Tucson plant is the only facility in the country that can produce fully-assembled missiles from start to finish for all U.S. and allied military customers. RMSC uses an agile manufacturing approach to anticipate and respond to the changing marketplace and its customers’ needs, while increasing affordability, performance, quality, and technology innovation. As a result of its efforts, this facility won the Arizona Pioneer Award for Quality in 1994 and the Arizona Governor’s Award for Quality in 1997. Among the best practices documented were RMSC’s rapid prototyping; wargaming laboratory; flexible work cells; hybrid microelectronic assembly; remediation control room; advanced modular factory; agile improvement process; integrated process architecture; technology roadmaps; unified community advisory board; Knowledge Center Southwest; and Raytheon Missile Systems Company University.

Although the founders of Raytheon were dreamers, they could never have imagined the extent to which their company would actually contribute to shaping the 20th century. Raytheon’s pioneering efforts created a legacy of excellence and innovation. Continuing in this tradition, the company is striving to strengthen its competitiveness; advance its high standard of performance and dependability; and enrich its vision for the next century. The BMP survey team considers the following practices to be among the best in industry and government.

TABLE OF ACRONYMS:
The following acronyms were used in this report:

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.