Polaroid kicks the bucket

By Hiawatha Bray
Globe Staff / February 8, 2008

Polaroid Corp., the Massachusetts company that gave the world instant
film photography, is shutting down its film manufacturing lines in the
state and abandoning the technology that made the company famous.

"The Norwood plant is shutting down, and we will soon be winding down
activities at the Waltham facility as well," said Kyle MacDonald,
senior vice president of Polaroid's instant photography business
segment. The closures, set for completion during this quarter, will
eliminate about 150 jobs. In the late 1970s, Polaroid employed about
15,000 in Massachusetts.

The Norwood and Waltham plants make large-format films used by
professional photographers and artists. Polaroid also makes
professional-grade films in Mexico, and its consumer film packs come
from a factory in the Netherlands. All these plants are slated for
closure this year. Polaroid chief operating officer Tom Beaudoin said
the company is interested in licensing its technology to an outside
firm that could manufacture film for faithful Polaroid customers. If
that doesn't happen, Polaroid users would have to find an alternative
photo technology, as the company plans to make only enough film to
last into next year.

Polaroid has already quietly halted production of instant cameras. "We
stopped making commercial-type cameras about 18 to 24 months ago, and
we stopped making consumer cameras about a year ago," said Beaudoin.

"It's about time," said Ron Glaz, director of digital imaging program
at IDC Corp. "The fact that they're getting out of film makes complete
sense."

In the years following World War II, Polaroid's instant photography
products established the company as one of Massachusetts' leading
industrial concerns, and made its brand name famous worldwide. But in
the late 1980s the company went deeply into debt to fend off a hostile
takeover. It invested heavily in products that failed and was
unprepared for the surging popularity of digital cameras. By 2001,
Polaroid was forced into bankruptcy; privately held Petters Group
Worldwide of Minnetonka, Minn., bought the company's remaining assets
in 2005.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development
is providing employment assistance to laid-off workers, some of whom
were warned about the cuts two years ago. Along with standard job-
placement services, the state agency joined with Worcester Polytechnic
Institute last year to retrain laid-off Polaroid workers for
manufacturing jobs at biotechnology companies. About 30 workers have
been retrained under the program so far.

The company will retain about 150 executive and administrative
employees at its headquarters in Concord and a smaller office in
Waltham. "We'll continue to have a strong presence in Massachusetts
for the next 30 or 40 years," said Beaudoin. But Polaroid will now
focus on flat-panel TVs and digital photography gear.

Polaroid has also struck an alliance with Zink Imaging Inc. of
Bedford, a company founded by former Polaroid scientists and
executives. Zink makes a system that generates pocket-sized prints of
digital photos. Polaroid will begin selling Zink photo printers under
its brand name this year.

Ed Lee, a digital photography analyst at InfoTrends Inc. in Weymouth,
said the Zink printer could have a bright future in the long run. But
he said the current model, which produces images about the size of a
business card, probably won't appeal to the mass market. "I don't see
a lot of people using it for printing photos that will wind up in
photo albums," he said.

IDC's Glaz added that sales of home photo printers have slowed in
recent years. He said today's consumers prefer to look at photos on
their computer screens, and are more likely to say, "E-mail that to
me, rather than give me a hard copy."

RichA wrote:
> By Hiawatha Bray
> Globe Staff / February 8, 2008
>
> Polaroid Corp., the Massachusetts company that gave the world instant
> film photography, is shutting down its film manufacturing lines in the
> state and abandoning the technology that made the company famous.
I was talking to a rep from the Australian distributor of
Polaroid recently - he said that the last 6 months of '07
have seen a strong upsurge in sales of polaroid instant film
and of the cameras. When I asked him if he knew why, he said
he didn't know, it just seemed to be taking off again. He
thought maybe it was the nostalgia aspect perhaps.

I wonder if some commercial users had been tipped off that
it was going to die, and so were starting to buy up?