Marshall Amplification plc - A Growth Surge in the 1980s
A Growth Surge in the 1980s
The 1980s were a period of renewed growth for Marshall Amplification. With the expiration of the distribution contract with the Rose Morris Agency in 1981, Marshall was able to lower the retail prices of his amps to levels that made them affordable not only for headline acts but also for garage bands and hobby musicians. The company's sales surged. In the United States, in particular, sales increased 360 percent in a three-year period. The remarkable upswing earned Marshall the Queen's Award for Export in 1984. So successful was the firm during the 1980s that it was only natural it would be targeted for a takeover. In 1989, Harmon Instruments, a manufacturer of musical instruments, offered £100 million in cash for the company together with a fifteen-year personal contract for Jim Marshall at £1 million a year. Marshall, who owned 100 percent of the business, refused the offer, and the company remained in Marshall's hands.
In the late 1980s, to meet growing international economic uncertainties, Marshall introduced a new emphasis on research and development. One result was a series of new amps for players of more modest means. Particularly noteworthy was the Valvestate line, a collection of hybrid amps that enabled Marshall to lower costs—and prices—by replacing the tubes in the power section with solid state circuitry while at the same time retaining much of the trademark Marshall sound. Other new products around that time included the JCM900 series and the JMP-1 MIDI pre-amp.
In the early 1990s, the company refurbished its factories with state-of-the art manufacturing systems that replaced hand-soldering and individual testing of products with a fully automated production system that also enabled Marshall to make all of its chassis in-house for the first time. The new equipment led to a quantum leap in the quality of finished goods and cut returns of defective merchandise to next to nothing. The changes made an impact. Between 1987 and 1994, sales increased by a remarkable 400 percent, winning Marshall a second Queen's Award for Export in 1992. In 1994, the company expanded its production once again, investing over $8 million in a new 60,000-square-foot factory next to its existing facility. Although the United States was the firm's largest market, Marshall told Music Trades he would never consider producing his amps there. "I've always wanted total control of manufacturing… under one roof … under my direction.… Rest assured, you will never see a Marshall product come from anywhere other than our plants in Milton Keynes." By 1995, Marshall's 350 employees were producing about 4000 cabinets every week with annual sales in more than 85 nations over $50 million.
As the years passed, Marshall amps have acquired a reputation that is legendary. The amps it built in the 1960s now sell for thousands of dollars. In the mid-1990s, to obtain three old models for the company museum, Jim Marshall had to spend approximately $20,000 for amps that originally sold for about $250 each. Marshall continued to refine its products in the 2000s. In 2002, the year Marshall celebrated its 40th anniversary, the company introduced a reissue series of its classic amps from the past, including the 2203ZW Zakk Wylde Signature model based on Marshall's JCM800 head. It also refined older technologies. The AVT series, introduced in 2000, represented the latest stage of the solid state power amp technology begun with Marshall's Valvestate amps. The company released a variety of new amps as well, most notably the MODE FOUR series, which combined tube, solid state, and digital technologies. It was a hit from the outset, winning high praise from guitar publications on both sides of the Atlantic.
Jim Marshall celebrated his 80th birthday in 2003. Despite his advanced age, he continued to be deeply involved in the day-to-day operations of the business and remained committed to maintaining full ownership of the company he built. "What would I do with the millions? You can only live in one house, drive one car, and eat one good meal a day. Anyway, I'm happy working. I'm a workaholic—been that way since the age of 14." he told the Queensland Sunday Mail. Marshall is actively involved in several charities, including Variety Club and the London Federation of Boys Clubs. Looking ahead to the future, Jim Marshall indicates that he intends to keep the firm growing as he moves through his eighties and nineties. As 2004 began, he was looking for ways to penetrate the African market.
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