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-   Model Rocket History (http://www.oldrocketforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2)
-   -   "Damon" period at Estes (http://www.oldrocketforum.com/showthread.php?t=3966)

joecool 10-01-2008 11:32 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shreadvector
"Centuri" is a company name.


i knew that :)

Quote:

Centuri was not absorbed by Estes. Centuri did not shut down.

Centuri corporation actually owned (and may still own - don't know how it's currently structured in the "Estes-Cox" era) Estes.

Centuri corp simply stopped making Centuri branded rocket products for retail sale. Look at the Estes catalogs and copright info in the not-so-distant-past. They say "Centuri corp."


interesting. but does it really matter? seems to me the bottom line is that there aren't, nor have there been for some time, centuri designed and styled rockets. that's too bad 'cause from what i've seen they made some neat stuff. and it is pretty clear that neither centuri nor estes exist as independent companies any more - estes is the brand name of a line of products from a company called cox. the centuri name seems dead - it hasn't been applied to a rocket, no matter who designed it, for some time.

tbzep 10-01-2008 11:49 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by luke strawwalker
Yes... but it was more of a 'merger' than Centuri 'shutting down'... go to http://www.ninfinger.org/~sven/rockets/rockets.html and scroll down and check out the last couple or three Centuri catalogs... You'll find that the last Centuri catalog is produced EXACTLY like the Estes catalog of the time. The layout, symbols, everything except the products (most of them, interestingly enough the Pola-Pulse (Estes) launch controller is an exact duplicate of the Power-Pulse (Centuri) controller). If you read the last three, you'll see that about 1/3 of the Centuri line had been dropped by the time of the last catalog. Now Centuri was before my time, but I've really been enjoying reading all their old catalogs and stuff. Both companies were owned by Damon and Centuri was simply 'absorbed' into Estes and faded away...



That's exactly what I said....except I used about 1/4 of the words. ;)

As for it fading away, I'm sure you know that Estes actually became the Centuri corporation on paper due to tax benefits in Phoenix.

joecool 10-01-2008 01:38 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by tbzep
That's exactly what I said....except I used about 1/4 of the words. ;)

As for it fading away, I'm sure you know that Estes actually became the Centuri corporation on paper due to tax benefits in Phoenix.


that was my point - the name may still be around for some business reason, but what made the company great is long gone.

tbzep 10-01-2008 01:42 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by joecool
that was my point - the name may still be around for some business reason, but what made the company great is long gone.


Technically, yes. But the service, quality, cool designs, etc. that made both Centuri and Estes great is still alive in Fliskits, Semroc, Sirrus, Shrox, BMS and a handful of other small rocket companies. It's just on a much smaller scale. :cool:

joecool 10-01-2008 01:46 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by tbzep
Technically, yes. But the service, quality, cool designs, etc. that made both Centuri and Estes great is still alive in Fliskits, Semroc, Sirrus, Shrox, BMS and a handful of other small rocket companies. It's just on a much smaller scale. :cool:


i couldn't agree more - i love fliskits and semroc and need to check out some of the others. it's nice to know that the hole that was left when estes "went corporate" has been filled.

shockwaveriderz 10-01-2008 02:29 PM
I've never understood why Estes-Cox who owns all the rights to the Centuri product line has never bothered to come out with a line of Old-new Centuri rockets like they do with their older Estes rockets. Anybody have any insights into this conundrum?

terry dean

ghrocketman 10-01-2008 02:35 PM
Yeah....I have insight into that conundrum....it's called hideously poor management and greed above satisfying loyal decades long customers.

joecool 10-01-2008 02:45 PM
i've got another answer - it's called ignorant and too lazy to get educated. if it was just greed they would bring back the centuri catalog - 1000's of BARs would be tripping over themselves to get these kits at any reasonable price, and they'd spark a new interest in the younger crowd who haven't ever seen this kind of exciting design.

thompsonfive 10-01-2008 03:07 PM
My Mom worked as an office assistant at Damon back in the day. I think I remember them having something to do with Interferon. One day she grabbed a catalog off a table at work and brought it home to me, and that's how I got started. She also got an employee discount which was nice. I think I must have gone over that catalog until it disintegrated. I should get myself a replacement someday.

LeeR 10-01-2008 10:09 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by thompsonfive
My Mom worked as an office assistant at Damon back in the day. I think I remember them having something to do with Interferon. One day she grabbed a catalog off a table at work and brought it home to me, and that's how I got started. She also got an employee discount which was nice. I think I must have gone over that catalog until it disintegrated. I should get myself a replacement someday.


One word -- eBay. :)
I've found a number of old catalogs from my youth. The one I just cannot seem to ante up enough for is a '64. I was up to about $120, as I recall, and got considerably outbid by a couple people in the final few seconds (probably fellow YORF members!). Afterwards, I actually felt some relief that I lost, thinking it was insane to pay that much. But, I still feel that I've got to get that one someday - it was my first Estes catalog.

One of the Damon-era catalogs can be found in great shape at reasonable prices if you just keep watching.


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