Hollywood goes to Ashtabula

We have recently made two DVD's, one describing our new materials entity,"iCOM", and the other introducing our new commercial process, named "PRIME". Both of these DVD's were written, directed, and produced by Media Magic Productions of Jeffersson, OH. Much of the video was shot in Ashtabula, and the remainder shot in Linesville, PA, and Morganton, NC.

Producing a quality DVD demands the dilgent work of professionals, plus the "work" of amateurs, who must do their lines over and over. One of these amateurs is shown rehearsing in the photo on the left.

We wore makeup! Hollywood look out.

The most beautiful fiber glass boat in the world!

To me, at least. Here is a photo of a 15 foot MFG boat still in operation and in great condition. The photo was sent to us by its owner in the Buffalo, NY area. This fiber glass beauty is over 50 years old!

MFG pioneered fiber glass boats beginning in 1955. While we no longer make boats, the use of fiber glass reinforced plastic still remains the main stream material for boat building throughout the world.

My Running Career

In March, 1976, I decided that I was not in good shape physically, so I took up running. At first I could not run a half mile, but I kept working at it. I remember the painful shin splints, and waking up stiff as an over-starched shirt.

In September of that year, I entered the Presque Isle Marathon and completed the 26.2 mile course in 3 hours and 33 minutes. I was delighted and somewhat amazed that I could run that far. The next few days were very painful, particularly going down stairs.

As you can see from the photo, lots of running can help you lose lots of pounds! I lost 50 pounds in the process, and Mom was convinced that I was starving. During my "running career", I completed 33 marathons, including New York City and Los Angeles, and managed to run a few 50 milers as well. Met lots of nice people and ate lots of good pasta!

MFG Boat 20th Anniversary

In 1975, the MFG Boat Company celebrated its 20th year of producing and selling MFG Boats. At that time our most popular model was a 15-ft bowrider, named the Gypsy 15. It was quite a different boat than the original lapstrake hull boats that we produced in our inaugural year of 1955.

In the photo, we see Dick Russell, sales manager of MFG Boats. Robert Morrison, founder of MFG, is getting a 20year plaque from me (the one wearing that awful sport coat and the mustache!) Lots of good people made good boats in Union City for thousands of customers that enjoyed lots of boating fun. Great memories!

MFG Galileo Dedication

On September 29, 2009, members of the MFG management team gathered in Opp, Alabama, where we participated in the dedication of MFG Galileo, which has relocated to Opp from Reno, NV. The weather was beautiful and the dedication was enjoyed by all who attended.

Representing MFG from Ashtabula, OH were Nancy Warner (board member), Glen Warner (VP of special projects), Larry Davis (VP of human resources), Eric Hutchinson (sr accountant), Kurt Fink (marketing director), John O'Neil,Sr (IT director), Randy Rudecki (IT teammate) and me.

Clint Lackey, the general manager of MFG Galileo, several teammates from Galileo, as well as teammates from MFG Alabama (just down the road 2 miles) and family members participated in the opening event.

Mayor H. D. Edgar and several local officials participated in the ceremony and provided the catered southern styled lunch. After remarks from several individuals, we held the ribbon cutting ceremony (shown in photo). Mayor Edgar cut the ribbon as he and the City of Opp welcomed MFG Galileo to its new home.

MFG is delighted to be in Opp (for the second time). In 2005 , we dedicated MFG Alabama, making two entities now in this business-friendly town. Here's to Galileo!

Ted Williams

On June 21, 1973, Ted Williams, arguably one of the greatest hitters of all time, came to Union City to present an award to our Union City teammates celebrating the production of the 100,000th Gamefisher 12-ft fishing boat.

Beginning in the late 60's, MFG began producing fiber glass boats for Sears under the Ted Williams brand name. The Gamefisher was a big success, and we produced over 200,000 boats for Sears by the end of '79.

Ted Williams was a very interesting man. We hosted him at the Aviation Club in Erie, where Ted gave a batting lesson witnessed by all the guests and the staff. That was quite the moment! I was fortunate to spend an entire day with him on June 22nd. He really liked Presque Isle Bay in Erie and spoke of his passion for all types of fishing. We walked around my house in Erie and he could name every plant and bush in Latin! That night we went to the horse races, where he graciously signed autographs and chatted with fans.

The photo above shows Robert Morrison (what a jacket!) and me, flanking one of the most famous hitters of the baseball ever. A great moment to remember and share.

Larry Pitt---Teammate and Friend

Larry Pitt, a highly valued MFG teammate and a personal friend, passed away suddenly on July 31, quite a shock to many who knew him well.

Larry started his 47-year career with MFG in October, 1962. His hard work and dedication led Larry through many positions at MFG, including plant manager of our Ashtabula manufacturing facility - which was MFG's largest entity at that time. Although a tough taskmaster, he was admired and respected by those who worked with him.

Larry's wife Beverly worked at MFG for many years as a production supervisor, and several other relatives were MFG teammates as well. Helen Pitt, one of Larry and Beverly's children, now supervises our material compounding department (iCOM), which her dad supervised for many years in the 70's and 80's. Like father, like daughter!

Larry was a great guy, a "salt-of-the earth" man, who was fun to be with and someone you could always count on.

We miss you, Larry, but your legacy lives on.

..the first MFG Boats

For the 1955 model year, MFG introduced three 15-foot models. They were named the Union, the Cambridge, and the Erie - after Union City, PA; Cambridge Springs, PA; and Erie, PA, the latter two close to Union City. The Union was the basic model with steering from the transom, and retailed for $295! The Cambridge had a split console amidships with cable steering, and retailed for $495. The Erie was the fancy model and sold for $695. All models had the same fiber glass reinforced plastic hull, initially made in Ashtabula, OH, and subsequently in Union City, PA.

This was a watershed event for the marine industry. The FRP boat was a big hit with boaters!

By the early '60's, most of the small boat manufacturers had switched to FRP. Those who chose not to, well - they missed "the boat"!

..The early Covettes Part 3

Union City, is a small town approximately 25 miles south of Erie, in northwestern PA. During the 20th century there were several good furniture manufactures located in Union City, and it was particularly well know for good dining room tables and chairs.

Some of these furniture companies eventually closed. One was located at 55 Fourth Avenue, in a solid (they don't build them like that anymore!) three story building. Some of the woodworking equipment was left in the building and many of the former employees still lived in the area.

The local electric company, Penelec, convinced MFG to set up a boat manufacturing plant in the unoccupied building. This made good sense for several reasons: (1) Union City was only 65 miles from MFG's headquarters in Ashtabula, permitting inexpensive shipment of boats hulls from Ashtabula to UC; (2) we needed to build wood transoms, seats and decks for the boat hulls and the building had most of the equipment and skilled people nearby; (3) the building was inexpensive to purchase; and (4) MFG managers could commute there from Ashtabula in about an hour. Except Bob Morrison, who made it in 45 minutes.

So, we moved in late 1954 and introduced three 15-foot models. And that is when the fiber glass boat was born. TBC.

P.S. Can you name the models? An MFG tie to you, if you can!

...Early Corvettes--Part 2

In 1954, after several months of producing fiber glass reinforced plastic parts for the new Corvette, we received a very disturbing phone call from Chevrolet informing MFG that the Corvette was going to be out of production for an extended period. WHAT?

MFG had created a new company, the MFG Body Company, and built a new plant on Benefit Avenue in Ashtabula, OH. The only thing the MFG Body Company manufactured was Corvette parts - so this put us in a bit of a squeaky situation.

What to do ? Nothing like a good crisis to stimulate action !

MFG thought the FRP might make a good material for use in boat hulls. So we made the tooling for a 15-foot boat hull and took the FRP hull to a boat manufacturer who was making all hulls and decks out of wood.

This boat manufacturer turned us down, claiming the new material, FRP, would never be used in marine applications! A couple of others said "No" as well. Not quite what we wanted to hear!

What would you do in this situation? In Part 3, I will tell you what MFG did.

The early Corvettes

There were 300 1953 Corvettes produced - all of them "prototypes", but still cars that could be enjoyed. I believe the projection for the first production Corvettes, 1954, was 8,000 units.

Well, the '54 Corvettes were cute, but lacked a lot for a sports car, and expected sports car performance. In addition, there were some problems, such as the plexiglass side windows which eventually became translucent, and a convertible top that washed your hair when it rained.

After several months of production, about 3,500 units, Chevrolet called MFG and told us to stop building Corvette parts. WHAT?! We built a new plant, the MFG Body Company, and the only thing we did there was Corvette parts! Ashtabula, we have a problem!

So we needed to do SOMETHING, or go broke. And that is the subject of another blog.

blink (underscore)

OK, so most everybody has a good book recommendation. So here's mine for this sunny June 29 morning. Blink (don't know how to underline, and I am not going to call IT again!) is an excellent book, worth a good read. It is also available on CD (narrated by the author). I think you will find it interesting and helpful. The author is Malcom Gladwell, who also wrote The Tipping Point and Outliers - also excellent. Outliers is currently on the NY Times Best Sellers list.

Blink is about "thinking without thinking", when that process is helpful, and when it can get you into big trouble. I particularly liked the "Warren Harding effect", which has nailed me a few times.

The First Corvettes--1953

In January, 1953, Chevrolet displayed a concept car, known as the "Corvette", at the Motorama <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorama>, held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Hidden inside the new car were microphones, capturing the comments of the curious public. The feedback was surprising and generally quite positive. Fortified with this public reaction, and with the market intelligence that Ford was developing a roadster (Thunderbird) for production, Chevrolet decided to start manufacture of this interesting vehicle. As soon as possible.

The Corvette could have been produced with a steel body, but there were those in GM that were interested in a new material system, then know as "fiber glass reinforced plastics", or FRP. Molded Fiber Glass (MFG) was one of the very first commercial producers of FRP products, beginning modestly in Ashtabula, OH, in 1948. MFG received a visit from two Chevrolet engineers in 1953, who thought MFG was interesting - but far too small to be an automotive supplier.

Bob Morrison, founder of MFG, thought differently, and eventually convinced GM to contract with MFG for over 100 FRP parts for the new Corvettes. That is a great story, and will be the subject of additional blogs.

PS---Bob Morrison was my father.

Teaching an old dog new tricks

Good grief! I never, ever thought I would be writing a blog. It is going to take a lot of coaching as I am not of the IT savvy generation. In fact, I can remember when TV was first introduced here in NE Ohio, and ATM's, cell phones, personal computers. The technological progress that has been made in the past 100 years surpasses all the rest of known history. So, I will be blogging about subjects that interest me, and perhaps a few followers. Right know, this old dog is trying to learn how to do this, so that I can impress my daughter how IT literate Dad has become. Perhaps it is never too late.