In May of 1977, the James Millen Manufacturing Company, as many of us have known it, closed their doors. However, what many people do not realize is that Millen manufacturing went on. In a release letter from James Millen he states "Now it is time to slow down and let my younger colleagues carry on." The James Millen Company was sold off into three separate organizations. At the time they were Caywood Electronics, Inc., MuShield Company, and Electronic Instruments & Specility Corp. You will notice that none of the companies retained the Millen name. This was done at the directive of Mr. Millen and he originally retained the rights to the Millen name. This eventually changed and two of the three companies later used the Millen name in their titles.

Caywood Electronics, Inc., was started by Mr. R. Wade Caywood who was at one time a Chief Engineer at Millen and later Vice President and General Manager. Caywood had been an employee of the James Millen Company since around 1941, very near the beginning. If you view some of the schematics here on the Millen Page you will notice Mr. Caywoods initials (R.W.C.) on most of them. In 1987 Caywood was bought out by Ralph Jannini, KA1FAA, and changed the name to James Millen Electronics, A division of Caywood Electronics, Inc. The company was located in Andover, Massachusetts and has closed their doors after the passing of Ralph in 2019.  In the Millen tradition, James Millen Electronics manufactured many of the original components, such as air variable capacitors, high voltage switches, ceramic insulators, etc. Almost any of the Millen components would and could be manufactured by Millen Electronics provided that the demand were high enough to warrant production setup. In addition, much of the electronic equipment is actively being produced, including such items as transmatches, oscilloscopes and the grid-dip meters. The later are still widely used in the paper industry. The prices on their solid-state dippers had essentially placed them out of the reach of most hobbyists pocketbooks though. Also in production were the precision cable delay lines used by the government. When Ralph purchased Caywood he also renewed the Millen name and trademark and has advertised in the Amateur Radio Mail Order Catalog and Resource Directory published by the American Radio Relay Leaque (ARRL). In addition to his Millen work Ralph operated the Unadilla Antenna Manufacturing Company and Andover Books. Unadilla produced and distributed antenna baluns, traps, insulators and coaxial relays.

Mr. Jannini was a native of the Malden Massachusetts area and grew up near the original Millen plant. He had fond memories of stopping by the plant for assistance with such "technical" requirements as getting the flat tire fixed on his bicycle!

A second company to come out of the 1977 division was Electronic Instruments & Specialty Corporation (EIS) and now also defunct.  EIS created a division called the MC Division. Although there was no indication for the letters MC, perhaps because James Millen still retained the Millen name rights, it is obviously an abbreviation for "Millen Components". I could only find limited advertisments for this Millen break-off company, one being a small ad in the November 1981 QST magazine. With former factory manager, Alvar Melin with office and order control manager, Angelo Caputo retained their past positions, the new company was formed under the new president Robert Painter. Under Mr. Painter's direction the name had been changed to Millen Manufacturing Division (Millen Hardware on their webpage) of Beta Labs, Inc. Beta Labs was located in Stoneham, Massachusetts. This division primarily manufactured some of the original Millen hardware, such as the high voltage connectors, shaft couplings, shaft locks, ceramic sockets, right angle drives and counter dials. The Millen Hardware Division was sold by Mr. Painter in December of 1999 to Custom Metal Products Inc., Melrose, Massachusetts. Also owned by a former engineer/employee; Mr. Jacob Burke and Mr. Francis Gardner. Custom Metal Products had been manufacturing parts for Mr. Painter in their state of the art manufacturing facility for some time and with the purchase of Millen Hardware had taken over all manufacturing and assembly. In a quote from Mr. Gardner, "The change in ownership had not only signaled a new life into the product line it has also moved Millen back toward its roots. Located in an old mill building near the Malden Ma. line their home was once the home of National Radio."

The last of the three companies, and the only one to no longer use any reference to the Millen name, is The MuShield Company., Inc. MuShield was originally managed by Mr. Owen (hap) Haszard, who was the former Millen shield specialist in Malden, Massachusetts as part of the New England Metal Spinning Company. MuShield moved to Goffstown, New Hampshire in 1989 and is currently operated by Mr. David Grilli as a privately held company. The MuShield found extensive use in early Millen oscilloscopes. The current manufacturer carries on this product tradition by providing magnetic shielding and monitor enclosures designed to eliminate interference caused by EMI.

It is understandable how the Millen demise could have propagated. The separation into three companies from a vertical manufacturing company such as the James Millen Manufacturing must have been an interesting process to manage for the initial owners. Although not one of the three separate companies would be considered large in comparison to todays multinational electronic manufacturing conglomerates, they have all survived! MuShield appears to be the most successful with estimates of up to $2.5m in annual sales. This is probably due to their modernization and adaptation into new areas of use for the magnetic shielding products produced. For James Millen Electronics and Beta Labs it is through the demand that exists for original James Millen designs that remain timeless, which needless to say has placed them in a rather niche market. I am personally indebted to these companies and wish them continued success as they carry on the tradition of the James Millen Manufacturing Company.

I thankfully acknowledge the kind assistance of Mr. Ralph Jannini for his input and review of the material in this paper. Our frank and open conversations about the Millen-after-Millen companies has been instrumental in clarifying how the Millen namesake organizations operate today.

July 20, 1998
Revised February 17, 2023