Tandy Corporation is creating tomorrow's technology today in its new Tandy Technology Center in Fort Worth.
The new seven-story, 270,000 square foot Center provides a unique work environment designed specifically for the needs of Tandy's Information Services and Tandy Electronics Research and Development Groups.
"The Center is where much of the technology that drives our business is housed," said John V. Roach, Chairman and CEO of Tandy Corporation. "We've built the best technical facilities in the world to recruit, retain, and motivate the people who will help us win technically in the 1990's." Tandy Information Services (TIS), which occupies three floors, controls Tandy Corporation's inventory, payroll, sales data, accounting, networking, and telecommunications. Tandy Information Services played a major role in designing and installing Tandy's Point-of-Sale (POS) system used by Radio Shack, McDuff Electronics and Appliances, and VideoConcepts retail outlets. It is the largest POS system of its kind in the nation. The TIS mainframe does more than 300 jobs per hour, issuing about 120 million instructions per second. One outstanding feature is the NASA-style "command center", with banks of computers constantly monitoring TIS functions.
Floors five, six, and seven house the Tandy Electronics Research and Development Groups, which design Tandy's new consumer and computer products, and produce technical publications. Research and Development is vital to Tandy's efforts to maintain its competitive edge in the technology marketplace. It is also essential to insure that Tandy customers continue to receive the highest quality consumer electronics and personal computer products.
For years, R&D has kept Tandy on the leading edge of developments in audio, video, telephony, personal computers, and magnetic media technology. Now, Tandy continues to lead with its developments in Multimedia Personal Computing and digital recording. Earlier this year, Tandy Corporation became the first manufacturer to unveil fully-configured Multimedia Personal Computer systems and hardware products. This technology combines text, graphics, sound, and animation to create an exciting new computing environment. Tandy R&D teams are developing new products based on Digital Compact Cassette (DCC) technology. DCC adds a new dimension to sound by combining the quality of digital recording with the convenience of a compact cassette.
All R&D floors have multiple laboratories dedicated to the research, development, and testing of new products. The labs are flexibly designed to meet any space, power, communications, signal, or safety requirements that are needed. All floors, in both the R&D and Tandy Information Services departments, are raised to accommodate more than two million feet of phone and data cables.
The Tandy Technology Center provides a totally flexible, productive, energy efficient work environment. Offices and work zones are equipped with motion sensors that turn off lights and temperature controls when no movement is detected for a specific time. Interior walls may be dismantled, so offices can be moved or created as the need arises. Sensitive computer equipment is protected from power surges by special, color coded outlets designed to provide a clean source of electrical power.
Construction began January 9, 1990 on a 4-acre site adjacent to Tandy's headquarters in downtown Fort Worth. The building is surrounded by an attractive, fully landscaped, multi-tiered park; a 400 seat outdoor amphitheater for musical or theatrical performances; and an aesthetically pleasing, tree-lined parking lot. The central core features a glass-domed atrium with an arboretum that gives the Center's 600 employees a pleasant view and a relaxing break environment.
The first floor houses the Lewis Kornfeld Conference Room, named in honor of the former president of Radio Shack. This attractive, acoustically designed room includes a theater presentation area with rear screen projection, sophisticated electronic communication equipment, and worldwide satellite conferencing capabilities.
A satellite transmitter dish, atop the building, is used by the Tandy Satellite Television Network for sales and training seminars and to pass news and information to employees at 250 company downlink locations nationwide. "As Tandy continues to grow and expand its operations globally, this state-of-the-art satellite network will be the key communications vehicle for the corporation," said Roach.
To maintain its prominent leadership role in the consumer electronics and personal computer industries, Tandy Corporation traditionally looks to the future. Carroll Leu, vice president of Tandy Information Services says, "The work performed in the Center concentrates on the development and application of tomorrow's technologies. The new Tandy Technology Center represents our commitment to the future." Radio Shack, McDuff, and VideoConcepts are registered service marks used by Tandy Corporation.
Also see:
Medical Electronics--A Career Opportunity
adapted from: Electronics Handbook 1992