by Kirit B.
After 10 years of engineering management experience at
Chrysler Corporation, I was hired by the Martin Marietta forging division in
1978 to penetrate the aluminum forging market in the automotive industry. Our
competition was Alcoa and Kaiser.
I accepted the job with trepidation that quickly
turned into an opportunity and, ultimately, success with help and trust from
Harold Long, vice president of sales at the time. Our target market was the heavy-duty
truck market, but instead we focused our resources on high-volume passenger car
and multipurpose vehicles such as pickup trucks and vans.
It is remarkable what one can accomplish when the
entire organization comes together with laser-like focus. In a very short time
period, Martin Marietta forging division in Torrance, California, was selling
aluminum forged fabricated parts to Oldsmobile, Ford Escort, Ford pickup truck,
Buick and Corvette. Ford Motor Company also designated the Martin Marietta
forging division to supply all the aluminum forged suspension parts for their all-new
Corvette type vehicle design and development project.
I had a privilege to work for the well-managed Martin
Marietta Company. It had a vision of the future and has become a prominent
aerospace company in the world. I am a proud retiree of Lockheed Martin.
Today,
my wife and I own a small business utilizing all the experience gained from my
employment at the Chrysler engineering and Martin Marietta technical sales and
marketing.
