The name "Ecko"

[G4YVM David]

What is the orig of the name Ecko, can anyone tell me? Is it s deliberate mis-spelling or is it perhaps Dutch spelling? Or is it far more arcane and merely the initials of Ernie, Charlie, ken and Orville who ran the place?

David

[paulsherwin]

It's Ekco. E.K. Cole.

[OscarFoxtrot]

Eric Kirkham Cole
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EKCO

I think the former Ekco factory is now the Access credit-card offices.

[G4YVM David]

Ah! Thank you.
I would never have actually got that!
David

[Rejectostat]

Originally Posted by OscarFoxtrot

I think the former Ekco factory is now the Access credit-card offices.

WERE the Access credit-card offices. The buildings have since been demolished, I believe it is a housing estate there now (last time I was there demolition was in progress).

John.

[stevehertz]

In any case, 'Access' became Mastercard twenty years ago.

[Station X]

I can recollect seeing Ecko (note spelling) radios. Presumably Ekco didn't register the alternative spelling as a trademark and someone cashed in on the name.

I believe it is a housing estate there now

I hope they named the streets after EKCO radios. The site of the old Miles aircraft factory/runway in Woodley (nr. Reading) has many roads named after aircraft and people, one is Bader Way.

[lesmw0sec]

Originally Posted by Station X

I can recollect seeing Ecko (note spelling) radios. Presumably Ekco didn't register the alternative spelling as a trademark and someone cashed in on the name.

Nice one. In a village close to me there is an excellent retailer called Roberts Radio - why not, it is his name!

[stevehertz]

Originally Posted by lesmw0sec

Nice one. In a village close to me there is an excellent retailer called Roberts Radio - why not, it is his name!

Well, you'd think so.. McDonalds have taken people to court for using their own family name above a restaurant. Here's a few cases that they didn't win, taken from a Wikipedia page (link below):

From the early 1960s to the mid-1980s, Norman McDonald ran a small "Country Drive-Inn" restaurant in Philpot, Kentucky called simply "McDonald's Hamburgers; Country Drive-Inn", which at the time also had a gas station and convenience store. McDonald's the restaurant chain forced Norman to remove the arches and add the full Norman McDonald's name to its sign so customers would not be confused into thinking the restaurant was affiliated with the McDonald's restaurant chain. The restaurant is still open to this day (though it no longer has the gas station).

McDonald's filed a lawsuit against MacDonald's Family Restaurant, located in Grand Cayman. McDonald's lost the case, and in addition, was banned from ever opening a McDonald's location on Grand Cayman. This ruling still stands today.

The company waged an unsuccessful 32-year legal action against McDonald's Family Restaurant which was opened by a man legally named Ronald McDonald in Fairbury, Illinois in 1956. Mr. McDonald ultimately continued to use his name on his restaurant, despite objections by the franchise.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_legal_cases

[The Philpott]

Metro Goldwyn Mayer tried to sue a garage owner in the uk over his garage name of MGM.- i think they failed. Also Redwell brewery were squeezed by Red Bull and asked to commit to never market energy drinks as they thought the name too similar to their own. I tend to think that these days marketing and legal bods try to justify their existence on slow days by generating problems that don't exist. Sad state of affairs

[kalee20]

Interesting that Ecko did exist! I'll look out for one.

Originally Posted by merlinmaxwell

I hope they named the streets after EKCO radios.

Such as the London-Eastbourne road, called the A22?

[sexton_mallard]

Originally Posted by Rejectostat

WERE the Access credit-card offices. The buildings have since been demolished, I believe it is a housing estate there now (last time I was there demolition was in progress).

John.

I worked on this site in the late 80s for Midland Bank credit cards. The front office still had the wooden boardroom panelling and Ekco still existed in some form as Ekco plastics on a part of the site. I remember car bumpers being manufactured. The sports and social club I think is still going strong today - http://www.ekco.club/

Such as the London-Eastbourne road, called the A22

Brilliant!

[McMurdo]

There's also a brand of far eastern audio equipment called 'Ekho'.

Courts are generally only interested if a similar name might be mistaken for a more established brand or if there's an obvious attempt to copy. So if a company called Philips started selling luxury sausage rolls with a bright pink logo I think that would be ok, but they would probably rule against a company called Phillisp if they started making clock radios with a logo or typeface resembling that of Koninklijke Philips N.V

The old Ekco mouldings company was seperated from the Pye/Philips conglomerate and was taken over by Linconshire Packaging (aka Linpac). I used to go up to their factory in Cheshire. They made plastic patio chairs, extrusions for UPVC windows and wheelie bins, though they make much more across their other factories. The last time I was there about 5 years ago they were also turning out casings for Qualcast lawn mowers and under-bed storage boxes.

[OscarFoxtrot]

Originally Posted by McMurdo

The old Ekco mouldings company ... under-bed storage boxes.

That's appropriate for the many people here who have lots of stuff to store under beds.

[bikerhifinut]

Isn't the Ekco brand now owned by IAG in China? I seem to remember a valve amp being reviewed a couple of years back in one of the hi fi comics, with the Ecko brand name.

edit. I found it the Ecko EV55 integrated using KT88 output valves.

[russell_w_b]

Originally Posted by McMurdo

'...and was taken over by Linconshire Packaging (aka Linpac). I used to go up to their factory in Cheshire. They made plastic patio chairs, extrusions for UPVC windows and wheelie bins...'

They also made 2-cell signal torches for NATO - those green right-angled ones with colour filters secured under the screw cap, but that's another story and a different thread!

[stevehertz]

Originally Posted by The Philpott

Metro Goldwyn Mayer tried to sue a garage owner in the uk over his garage name of MGM.- i think they failed. Also Redwell brewery were squeezed by Red Bull and asked to commit to never market energy drinks as they thought the name too similar to their own. I tend to think that these days marketing and legal bods try to justify their existence on slow days by generating problems that don't exist. Sad state of affairs

My sadly deceased friend Mel Galley who played in Trapeze and Whitesnake formed a band with other Whitesnake members Bernie Marsden and Neil Murray called MGM. To my knowledge they were not hassled by Metro Goldwyn Mayer.