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Cincinnati Microwave Inc., to many in the area, is a distant memory. Since the company closed its doors in 1997, it's been easy to forget its mid-'80s boom, with record profits and $95 million sales forecasts for the radar detector manufacturer.
Not only did Cincinnati Microwave tilt its forecast in 1984, it beat it by $16 million, thanks to a tinier version of its popular Escort radar detector, called Passport.
Passport became a best seller Earnings were up 46 percent in 1985 - a giant leap compared to the 16 percent increase seen during 1984. Earnings that year were nearly $76 million.
In 1983, CMI sold 230,000 Escort units, and sales were expected to climb to 325,000 in 1984. From September 1983 to November 1984, the Deerfield Township firm went from 179 employees to 316.
Cincinnati Microwave CEO James Jaeger was the highest-paid executive in the Tri-State and a new member of the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans. Times were good
Today the former CMI headquarters spot, which was auctioned off in the late 1990s in bankruptcy court, is the site of a Home Depot store.
All the surrounding property and the lavish headquarters facility, complete with workout rooms and racquetball courts, has been sold. Home Depot tore down the original building.
Employees found out the company was closing on Feb. 14, 1997, known as the "Valentine's Day Massacre," said Steve Geers, who worked as an electrical engineer at Microwave.
Geers now is a partner with Masonbased Cincinnati Technologies,...