Gould: Planning charges its batteries

In 1967, the Board of Directors of the then downtrodden Gould National Battery Company decided it had had enough of slack profits. A new chief executive was brought in who, in turn, brought a new management team on board. Since then the company has grown and diversified strikingly. Sales in 1967 were $100 million; profit was virtually non‐existent. In 1978, Gould reported sales of $1.9 billion and, after tax, profits of $106 million.