Kodak

The bankruptcy filing of Eastman Kodak Company this week marked the end of a chapter in American manufacturing history. The venerable corporation that gave the world the Brownie camera and the slogan "You push the button, we do the rest" once dominated the photographic world with its inexpensive cameras and amazing variety of amateur and professional films. But by the end of last year it was rapidly running out of cash, its market share had plunged, and its stock was selling for just 54 cents a share.

Vienna, Va. ABBA The Concert You've seen the movie and the musical, so why not see the tribute concert to the 1970s Swedish pop group? Dance and sing along to hits such as "Mamma Mia!," "Dancing Queen," "Waterloo," and more. Named "the best ABBA tribute band in the world" by the Official ABBA Fan Club, ABBA The Concert has performed more than 1,000 time since its inception in 1996. ABBA The Concert is at 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 12, at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna, Va. Tickets are $38 for in-house and $25 for the lawn.

Kodak advertised in the program of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. For the centennial Games, the longtime Olympic sponsor has a variety of items for collectors.One, expected to be available during the spring and summer, combines photographic technology and a traditional collectible. Kodak has taken a photograph that captures each modern Olympiad and put it on a one-inch pin."These are historic photographs," says Greg Walker, a marketing director at Kodak. "The marvel of the technology is that we can re-create these images . . . on a pin that does justice to the photograph."

Your editorial "A sad 'Kodak' moment" of Jan. 21 clearly identified the problem that resulted in Kodak's bankruptcy as a lack of vision by the executives. As you pointed out, it's ironic that Kodak invented digital photography in 1976 but didn't move forward aggressively. Kodak's failure to capitalize on a technology that it invented is not the first example of an American company lacking the vision to fully develop products into marketable items. Ampex invented video recording only to see foreign companies such as Sony move the technology forward and capture the major share of the market while Ampex disappeared.

Your editorial "A sad 'Kodak' moment" of Jan. 21 clearly identified the problem that resulted in Kodak's bankruptcy as a lack of vision by the executives. As you pointed out, it's ironic that Kodak invented digital photography in 1976 but didn't move forward aggressively. Kodak's failure to capitalize on a technology that it invented is not the first example of an American company lacking the vision to fully develop products into marketable items. Ampex invented video recording only to see foreign companies such as Sony move the technology forward and capture the major share of the market while Ampex disappeared.

Largely abandoning forays into pharmaceuticals, household products and medical tests, Eastman Kodak Co. announced yesterday that it would adopt the strategy George Eastman formulated over 100 years ago and concentrate on pictures.Chief Executive Officer George M. C. Fisher, who came to the company from Motorola Inc. in December, said Kodak would sell its "noncore" businesses, including Sterling Winthrop Inc., which makes pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter drugs; L&F Products, which makes Lysol and other home and personal-care products, and the Clinical Diagnostics division, which produces medical testing devices.

A memorial service for Paul E. Pallett, 68, a photographer and retired Eastman Kodak Co. representative, will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday at his Chevy Chase home, 8605 Springdell Place.Mr. Pallet, who was bedridden with cancer, died at home Friday. The former Annapolis resident moved to Chevy Chase 10 years ago.Born in Cozad, Neb., Mr. Pallet moved east to attend the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y. He graduated in 1949 with a bachelor of science degree in photography.Mr.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Eastman Kodak Co. will eliminate as many as 5,000 more jobs than originally planned as it accelerates its withdrawal from the consumer film business. The world's biggest photography company said yesterday that it now expects job cuts to total 28,000 to 30,000, shrinking the work force to about half its size four years ago, compared with an earlier forecast of 25,000 to 27,000. That will boost restructuring costs to as much as $3.8 billion, Kodak said. Chief Executive Officer Antonio Perez is stepping up his restructuring plans to deliver on his promise to complete Kodak's transformation into a digital company this year amid slumping film demand.

WHEN I WAS eight, my parents gave me a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye, the simplest camera you could buy in 1955. All I had to do was look down through the prism viewfinder, find what I wanted to shoot, push the button and wind the film for the next shot. I was a great button-pusher, but that film-winding thing always gave me trouble. As a result, I could expect some amusing double, triple and even quadruple exposures on every roll. Mom and Dad thought they were a waste of film. I thought they were great art. With today's digital cameras, you don't have to worry about wasting film, because you can delete the shots that don't turn out before they see the light of day. Double exposures, of course, are a relic of the past.

NEW YORK -- Stocks closed higher yesterday, buoyed by a rally in shares of Eastman Kodak and by expectations that the Senate would approve President Clinton's compromise budget package.The Dow Jones industrial average rose 11.46 points, to 3,560.43, closing the week with a gain of 20.96 points. Kodak, which soared $3.25, to $58.625, on the company board's decision to replace Kodak's chairman, Kay Whitmore, accounted for about 8 points of the Dow's increase. The Dow stands a few points below its record closing high of 3,567.

The bankruptcy filing of Eastman Kodak Company this week marked the end of a chapter in American manufacturing history. The venerable corporation that gave the world the Brownie camera and the slogan "You push the button, we do the rest" once dominated the photographic world with its inexpensive cameras and amazing variety of amateur and professional films. But by the end of last year it was rapidly running out of cash, its market share had plunged, and its stock was selling for just 54 cents a share.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Eastman Kodak Co. will eliminate as many as 5,000 more jobs than originally planned as it accelerates its withdrawal from the consumer film business. The world's biggest photography company said yesterday that it now expects job cuts to total 28,000 to 30,000, shrinking the work force to about half its size four years ago, compared with an earlier forecast of 25,000 to 27,000. That will boost restructuring costs to as much as $3.8 billion, Kodak said. Chief Executive Officer Antonio Perez is stepping up his restructuring plans to deliver on his promise to complete Kodak's transformation into a digital company this year amid slumping film demand.

The Eastman Kodak Co., still struggling with the accelerating demise of its mainstay film business, said yesterday that it lost $37 million, or 13 cents a share, in the third quarter. It was the company's eighth consecutive quarterly loss, and it was accompanied by a sales drop. Still, Antonio M. Perez, Kodak's chairman, chief executive and president, insisted that Kodak was on track to be a profitable digital company by 2008, the timeline he has been stressing for more than two years.

Sept. 4 1881 George Eastman received a patent for his roll-film camera and registered his trademark: Kodak.

CHICAGO - Eastman Kodak Co., an icon of photography for more than a century, said yesterday that it is shedding up to 10,000 more jobs as digital imaging devours its traditional film business at a faster-than-expected pace. Analysts say Kodak is in a race to build sales of its digital cameras and, more importantly, its photo printers and other digital supplies. Meanwhile, sales of traditional film products are plunging faster than the company's executives had forecast. The company also posted a loss for the quarter that ended June 30. Analysts had expected Kodak, still the world's largest photography company, to show a small profit.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Eastman Kodak Co., the world's biggest photography company, said demand for digital products and services is rising faster than it had expected and that more than half of its sales should come from that business by next year. Digital sales will increase at an annual rate of 36 percent from this year to 2007, Kodak said yesterday at a meeting in New York with investors. The Rochester, N.Y., company had projected annual growth of 26 percent from 2002 and 2006. Total revenue should increase by 7 percent to 8 percent from this year to 2007 as waning demand for film limits gains made in digital markets, Kodak said.

The Eastman Kodak Co., still struggling with the accelerating demise of its mainstay film business, said yesterday that it lost $37 million, or 13 cents a share, in the third quarter. It was the company's eighth consecutive quarterly loss, and it was accompanied by a sales drop. Still, Antonio M. Perez, Kodak's chairman, chief executive and president, insisted that Kodak was on track to be a profitable digital company by 2008, the timeline he has been stressing for more than two years.

Eastman Kodak Co. has developed an image problem among professional photographers, who wonder how Kodak's plans for electronic imaging technology fit into its recent purchase of the country's largest stock photo agency.Despite antitrust objections raised by 43 stock houses around the country and scattered threats of a boycott by professional photographers, Kodak completed its $24.9 million purchase of Image Bank Inc. in late October.Since then, Kodak has tried to ease concerns of these customers of its equipment and supplies, but some resentment and mistrust linger.

NEW YORK - Eastman Kodak Co., the world's biggest photography company, reported yesterday that its second-quarter net income rose 38 percent as sales of digital cameras increased and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Carp cut costs. The company's shares jumped 9.1 percent, their biggest daily gain in six months. Profit rose to $154 million or 54 cents a share, from $112 million, or 39 cents, a year earlier, Carp said. Profit, excluding the costs of job cuts and plant closures, was 88 cents a share, higher than the company's April forecast of 55 cents to 65 cents.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Facing a sharp drop in demand for conventional photographic film, Eastman Kodak Co. said yesterday that it was speeding its transition to digital imaging while cutting costs in its film business by eliminating up to 15,000 jobs worldwide, more than a fifth of its work force. The job cuts will come over the next three years, and the company said it would take restructuring charges of up to $1.7 billion against its earnings during that period. Worldwide sales of consumer film, one-use cameras and Advanced Photo System film stock fell 11 percent in terms of dollars and 15 percent in units in the fourth quarter compared with the corresponding quarter a year earlier, the company said.