An image from the Larcan website.
Canadian television and radio transmitter manufacturer LARCAN has closed its doors.
The company has been in operation since the early 1950s ceased operating on July 10, several sources familiar with the situation confirmed to Radio World. The company shut its doors and executives dismissed the roughly 35–40 total employees remaining at its Mississauga, Ontario and Lafayette, Colo., operations, according to one source.
Employees were given no notice of the impending closure. They were told only that they were now without jobs and given orders to remove their personal belongings and turn in keys and company-issued credit cards, according to one source.
Another source told RW that the order to discontinue operations had come from Sumavision, Larcan’s majority owner based in China. LARCAN began a partnership with Beijing’s Sumavision Technologies Co. Ltd. in 2009, with that company acquiring a controlling interest in LARCAN in late 2013.
Multiple LARCAN executives did not respond to queries about the shutdown, which one source said came after orders for transmitters “dried up.”
LARCAN had a long-established global reputation in the field of both solid-state and vacuum television transmitters in all power ranges. The company also manufactured FM broadcast transmitters and translators, as well as mobile DTV products. LARCAN also provided engineering services in connection with transmitter installations.
LARCAN was formally established in 1981 when employees of the Canadian General Electric and the LeBlanc and Royale organization purchased CGE’s broadcast equipment operation. The name LARCAN is an acronym for LeBlanc And Royal CANada. Until recently, LARCAN has been Canada’s only manufacturer of both radio and television transmitters.
The company’s website is still operational.
—Deborah D. McAdams contributed to this story.
