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6.60
As of December 1951, soon after this program was begun, 58 product analyses had been
completed or were in process.-
I.
Loan for Plant Analysis of American Products, Machinery and Component Parts
6.61
This product display Technical Assistance service was designed to fulfill an existing need for
enterprises and industries to see, disassemble, and study new products of interest to them. It functioned on
a non-commercial basis, and provided assistance not met through trade fairs and the limited marketing
channels which existed in Europe in this period and which do not exist today in many countries. By requests
to their Productivity Center, industries and firms could obtain in a short period of time a diverse collection
of requested American products and components.
6.62
With the American emphasis on productivity, rapid design changes, standardization, common
components and other means to reduce product costs, these advancements were often incorporated and
demonstrated in the products themselves. The design of the products and their components included econo-
mies and utilities which had to be seen to be understood and appreciated for potential acceptance or
emulation.
6.63
Not only was there a general lack of familiarity with American products, but some plants were
expending large sums to develop products in isolation, with no attempt to examine comparable U.S. or other
national products and to benefit from comparable developments of other firms.
6.64
This service aimed to remedy some of the above problems. The TA service not only shipped
specific products on request but also assembled collections of products in the form of a lending library to
industries and firms. Factories would borrow products or items of interest, examine them at leisure in their
own facility, disassemble them, appraise the potential cost savings they might incorporate with the help of their
in-plant design and production staff, and adopt or modify appropriate features. After use, the product was
reassembled and returned to the Product library, and further objects could be withdrawn for study.
6.65
This program was intended to cut through existing bureaucratic, fiscal, and institutional
obstacles to procuring competitive products. It was set up to rapidly provide the actual products which
engineers in firms understood at first hand, products which in their design and manufacture incorporated many
of the productivity short cuts and use of advanced standardization, simplification, and specialization procedures
which were being so intently studied by European industries.
6.66
Aside from country requests for specific products in the early years of the Marshall Plan
program, France, Austria, and Britain acquired product collections. In subsequent periods, products and
product collections were sent to additional countries.
47/
ECA, Status of Technical Assistance Projects, Washington, D.C., December, 1951.
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"ocrText": "- 54 -\n6.60\nAs of December 1951, soon after this program was begun, 58 product analyses had been\ncompleted or were in process.-\nI.\nLoan for Plant Analysis of American Products, Machinery and Component Parts\n6.61\nThis product display Technical Assistance service was designed to fulfill an existing need for\nenterprises and industries to see, disassemble, and study new products of interest to them. It functioned on\na non-commercial basis, and provided assistance not met through trade fairs and the limited marketing\nchannels which existed in Europe in this period and which do not exist today in many countries. By requests\nto their Productivity Center, industries and firms could obtain in a short period of time a diverse collection\nof requested American products and components.\n6.62\nWith the American emphasis on productivity, rapid design changes, standardization, common\ncomponents and other means to reduce product costs, these advancements were often incorporated and\ndemonstrated in the products themselves. The design of the products and their components included econo-\nmies and utilities which had to be seen to be understood and appreciated for potential acceptance or\nemulation.\n6.63\nNot only was there a general lack of familiarity with American products, but some plants were\nexpending large sums to develop products in isolation, with no attempt to examine comparable U.S. or other\nnational products and to benefit from comparable developments of other firms.\n6.64\nThis service aimed to remedy some of the above problems. The TA service not only shipped\nspecific products on request but also assembled collections of products in the form of a lending library to\nindustries and firms. Factories would borrow products or items of interest, examine them at leisure in their\nown facility, disassemble them, appraise the potential cost savings they might incorporate with the help of their\nin-plant design and production staff, and adopt or modify appropriate features. After use, the product was\nreassembled and returned to the Product library, and further objects could be withdrawn for study.\n6.65\nThis program was intended to cut through existing bureaucratic, fiscal, and institutional\nobstacles to procuring competitive products. It was set up to rapidly provide the actual products which\nengineers in firms understood at first hand, products which in their design and manufacture incorporated many\nof the productivity short cuts and use of advanced standardization, simplification, and specialization procedures\nwhich were being so intently studied by European industries.\n6.66\nAside from country requests for specific products in the early years of the Marshall Plan\nprogram, France, Austria, and Britain acquired product collections. In subsequent periods, products and\nproduct collections were sent to additional countries.\n47/\nECA, Status of Technical Assistance Projects, Washington, D.C., December, 1951."
}