Sperry opened SLC to be a low cost hi-tech site for the Sergeant Missile production.  After that we inherited Suco, Sperry Utah Company.  As I remember St. Paul tried to make it a computer company by having it build the 18 bit line.  I think I sent you the story of the tooling problem while they were trying to build the computers from the St. Paul tooling drawings.  Dewayne Osman sent Rapp there to lead Marketing around 1970.  St. Paul Navy Marketing won the SPARS Sensor Positioning and Ranging System in 1972.  John Anderson was the marketing representative.  I had made the decision not to bid the effort as we had very little data on the procurement.  That night I received a call from a supplier who convinced me we could win with his involvement and support.  Bill Geiger made the decision to transfer the proposal effort to SLC.  Later received a call from Chuck Fiegelson, Chuck was Chief Engineer and was convinced we could win without that subcontractor.  After a long discussion Chuck agreed to keep them.  I may have threatened to reverse my bid decision as Chuck was funded by my B&P.  The subcontractor was right and we did win.

Also by 1972 SLC had developed the vacuum column auto loading magnetic tape handler which we demonstrated and subsequently used in the RD-358.  Later SLC developed their data link technology which led to their winning the data link on the PELSS program in 197x.

In 1976 while I was in the Palo Alto office, Ernie Hams GM set up the Seaberg, Maus, and Meyers organizations.  Prior to that all field marketing reported to Clint Haggerty. As a result I then reported to Gerry White in SLC and SLC reported to Dale Maus.  After spending three days in Salt Lake working on the PELSS proposal, I returned to Palo Alto.  Gerry White called me to notify me that the office was being closed.  Evidently SLC, Curt Rangen, had grabbed up field offices but no budget.  In Palo Alto I had been covering west of the Mississippi and most everything in CA north of LA.  My secretary was bored so I was encouraging her to go into Real Estate.  I was hardly in my office so there was no need to overlook the fountain.  Clint had offered me a job in Los Angles which I declined. I had been working a few Navy programs as well as the B-1 at Boeing and supporting International.

I returned to St. Paul and met with Dick Seaberg, Jerry Meyers, and later Dale Maus.  I informed Dick and Jerry of the programs I was working in their areas as well as if the office was closing they would lose the support.  Neither was aware of the closing plan.  I then met with Dale Maus and informed him of what I had done.  I was well aware of the budget problems and would present to him my budget cuts later in the day.  I did mention his organization may not have had the authority to close my office.  I told him I'd be back around at 4:00 with my proposed budget cuts and he could tell me either go back to work in Palo Alto or look for a new position.  I then met with Rapp and he offered me free rent in his Mountain View facility.  At 4:00 I met with Dale and he told me the Palo Alto office had been the topic of the staff meeting.  I told him of my budget cuts and he told me to go back to work.

Months later I was sitting in the Mountain View office and thinking of what I had done.  I had told the VP of Air Force and Army Programs that he did not have the authority to close me down and then proved it to him.  What could I do next to redeem myself?  I then submitted my budget cuts to SLC and was the cost saver of the month.  I may have been the only Marketer in history to win a cost saving award.

Clearwater/Oldsmar by Lyle Franklin

At the Clearwater startup, Emmett Johnson was Manufacturing VP.  I had described our all out pricing effort led by our controller John Vold for winning the standard Navy mini.  We needed a low manpower cost facility to build the UYK-20.  Emmett selected the site.  My involvement was limited.  In 1973 Marketing held its annual meeting in Clearwater.  Dick Seaberg was Marketing VP.  As the meeting was close to the new factory, Dick arranged for a facility tour and insisted that I attend.  At a certain time we met on the bus.  It was unusually hot that day and the bus was not air conditioned.  There may have been five of us in all.  Dick made a mistake in asking me what I thought.  My reply was the losers were all in the bar having an ice cold beer while I was on a hot bus.  At the facility we were greeted by well tanned people.   The exception was John Lenvig. John had been sent from St. Paul manufacturing to get Clearwater ready for the production shift.  John looked pale.  He did admit he may have been spending most of his time at the facility leaving little for sunning.  John would be a good source for info as might Jerry Brings.

[Lyle Franklin]