ELKHART, IN--From its humble beginnings in 1947, Crown International has grown to become one of the world's largest and most respected manufacturers of power amplifiers and microphones for professional audio markets.
"Six decades after Mr. Moore first established this company, Crown still adheres to its founder's reputation for creating innovative products that are both sonically superior and highly reliable," says Crown International president Mark Graham. "And with the resources and support of Harman International combined with our dedicated network of employees, reps, distributors and dealers around the globe, Crown is well-poised to carry on that legacy for yet another 60 years."
Crown's history traces back to an Elkhart, IN, minister named Clarence C. Moore (1904-1979). Moore, a longtime radio enthusiast, had spent the early part of the '40s in Quito, Ecuador working for HCJB, a non-profit Christian broadcasting and engineering group. Following his return to the United States, he felt the desire to supply Christian broadcasters like HCJB with quality electronic products. As a result, Moore founded International Radio and Electronics Corporation (IREC) in 1947 and converted a former chicken coop into the budding manufacturer's first production facility.
Eventually, Moore's wife and co-founder, Ruby (deceased 2002), suggested that 'International Radio and Electronics Corporation' was too long a name for the company. Since IREC had by this point produced vacuum tube tape recorders branded 'Royal' and 'Imperial', in addition to the fact that the emblem on those products was a fancy crown, she felt that the company should simply be called Crown. Her husband agreed, and, in the '60s, the company's name was changed to 'Crown International, a division of International Radio and Electronics Corporation'.
With the company's acquisition by Harman International in March of 2000, this millennium has already found Crown continuing to engineer forward-thinking solutions. For more information visit www.crownaudio.com.
