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.
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