Potatoswatter t1_j8w5wku wrote on February 17, 2023 at 11:26 AM

Reply to comment by Cerulean_IsFancyBlue in Why Nikola Tesla is So Famous (and Westinghouse is not) by pier4r

Besides lightbulbs, Westinghouse Electric was one of the biggest companies in the US in the postwar period. They made nuclear reactors and invested heavily in media.

We don’t hear the name much anymore because it was diluted so much by being a conglomerate. They pursued a lot of research and high tech ideas that didn’t pan out. There was no kernel to form the core of a new company, so the divisions were all sold off and renamed.

tampering t1_j8wnu2d wrote on February 17, 2023 at 2:13 PM

They were the equal to GE in terms of the range of what they produced. They even had CBS to match GE's NBC.

A problem was that at the end Westinghouse's strongest business divisions (ones that bore the brand) were not consumer facing and strong units that were (like CBS) didn't really carry the Westinghouse name. So over time the brand faded.

In the 1990s, GE which actually grew stronger as a brand as it got rid of its consumer facing businesses like consumer electronics (radios and the like). To replace the consumer recognition, remember all those ads in the Jack Welch era promoting GE products that your average joe Blow would never buy (MRI machines and such). Sure they had to create that equipment but if they didn't advertise would you know what brand your doctor used for a medical imager.

buldozr t1_j8wfyhw wrote on February 17, 2023 at 1:09 PM

Westinghouse is still in the nuclear power business. That does not get them much brand recognition in the general public, though.

Terminus0 t1_j8wzi8z wrote on February 17, 2023 at 3:33 PM

WABTEC (which used to be known as Westinghouse Airbrake company, and now stands for Wabtec), which acquired GE Transportation recently is also a 800 lb gorilla in the train industry but most people don't know about it.

tfks t1_j8wh96g wrote on February 17, 2023 at 1:20 PM

That's probably the issue. People retain fame, not companies. Up until recently, there wasn't really a company trying to capitalize on Tesla's name and it was wholly his own.