Garrett Announces Acquisition Of Whites Metal Detectors
As reported back in June 2020, Whites Detectors ceased all production at their facility Sweet Home facility.
Today, Garrett Electronics, a design and manufacturing company specializing in sport and security metal detectors, announced the acquisition of certain assets of White’s Electronics.
White’s, who had been in business since 1950 as a premier manufacturer of metal detection products, announced the suspension of operations on June 18, 2020, in a memo to its dealers. White’s founders, Kenneth and Olive White built their business the same way Garrett’s founders, Charles and Eleanor Garrett, did, by innovating and committing to producing high-quality products in the United States. White’s current principals, Kenneth R. and Mary White, are choosing to fold the White’s legacy in with Garrett Metal Detectors as a way of extending their “Made in the USA” tradition.
Garrett CEO Steve Novakovich commented, “The White family and the Garrett family have had a high level of respect for one another as competitors in the sports market for decades. Now we at Garrett are proud to combine our respective legacies as Garrett continues on as the premier American metal detector company.”
The transaction includes White’s trademarks, intellectual property, tooling, and other assets. It does not include White’s real estate in Oregon or Scotland. Garrett intends to vigorously defend all of White’s trademarks, patents, and other IP wherever infringement may occur.
Novakovich continued, “Garrett recognizes that the White’s brand has a loyal following in the US and around the world. We are pleased to welcome those customers to Garrett, and we hope we can earn your future business.”
Current White’s customers in need of repair or warranty service should contact:
Centreville Electronics
9437 Main Street
Manassas, VA 20110
(888)645-0202
(703)367-7999
centrevilleelectronics.net
Centreville Electronics NW
1550 Maple Place
Lebanon OR 97355
(541)409-7263
centrevilleelectronicsnw.com
Love my Whites Classic ID ProScan 800! Had it a few years. Carried it with me on travels. Used it for my hobby. Still do. Bought another one, a Garrett ACE 200. Hopefully I can get my 11 year old grandson off the couch and into the field scratching around exploring for lost treasures! James Brooks
Hi James. Whites always made really great machines. It was a real shame they went under but, at least they live on in a way. Machines can still be serviced by Garrett and I am sure there is quite an extensive inventory of spares available. That should keep many Whites machines running for years to come 🙂 I wish you luck with getting your grandson interested. Not everyone takes to detecting but it is such a rewarding hobby to be a part of.
White´s is great.Very,very good machines.
I bought 5 Whites’ Detectors in the early eighties to become a distributor..I bought their 6000 detector (their best) for my personal use and 4 entry level detectors to fill out the order. Living in the south, these Whites detectors came from Whites southern distributor out of Odessa Texas. A few years ago I found a like new “Sears Best” detector that Whites made for Sears. It was Whites 6000 model but instead of the Whites blue color, it was silver and of course with the “Sears Best” logo on it. The red gauge still said “Whites”.. Now with Sears gone, and now Whites..I feel honored to have this special detector in my presence.
Whites had such a good reputation that, even though the company no longer exists, the name will continue on for many years to come. They made excellent machines but unfortunately did not keep pace with where the market was headed. C.Scope here in the UK is another example of that. Although they have not gone out of business, their last release, the EVO6000 was a complete disaster. I am not sure they can come back from that. The good thing for Whites fans is that Garrett can still service the machines. I have no doubt at all that Garrett bought the company simply to lure people to their own brand but that’s fine, it’s business and it did prevent Whites owners finding themselves left with redundant machines that could not be repaired.