Singer, the sewing machine company, bought Graflex and one of those "divestment" bankers broke it up and sold the bits to once was a great American company. Greed won. Of course Graflex was at the end of the line anyway, the Graflex XL, no offense to anyone, was a hideous camera (in my opinion) and they had adopted entirely too much plastic into their designs.
Personally I think American camera design was the best in the world, from a practical engineering and manufacturing standpoint. An ACME shutter is inexpensively made from bent metal parts, like a cheap alarm clock, but it works reliably for years without service. A German Compur is beautifully made from milled parts but requires regular maintenance. After the war, McArthur and the American planners basically "gave" the Japanese our camera industry as a way to get the Japanese economy going....
