HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Olin King, the man some credit with founding the modern contract electronics assembly industry, has died.

King, 78, died June 16, almost 12 years after retiring from SCI Systems, the company he founded and oversaw to becoming the largest EMS company in the world. At its peak, SCI had 34,000 workers scattered across 51 global facilities. King retired as Chairman of the Board in July of 2000.

Before founding SCI, King received a bachelor's of science from North George College. After a stint in the US Army, King became a design engineer at RCA, then relocated to Alabama as an engineering manager at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, where he worked on ballistic missile technology. In 1960, after NASA was founded, King moved to the Marshall Space Flight Center.

He founded SCI, then Space Craft Inc., with two partners and $21,000 in 1961. After working on military projects for years, SCI became the leading PC contract manufacturer, a transition launched with its landing of IBM's PC1 program.

During his lifetime, King received three honorary doctorates, was named the National Management Association's National Executive of the Year, Alabama CEO of the Year, and was inducted into both the Alabama Business Hall of Fame and Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.

He is survived by his wife, Shelbie Abbott King, two daughters and two sons, and several grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

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