Roy Hurley

Background

Hurley was born in New York City, in 1896, the son of Edward H. Hurley and Phoebe King.

Education

Hurley only had a New York City grammar school education, but he nonetheless acquired a widespread knowledge of engineering and industrial management techniques. He once said, "I took all the correspondence courses and read all the textbooks. "

Career

Hurley began his career in 1916 as an aircraft engine mechanic with the B. F. Sturtevant Company, Hyde Park, Massachussets.

During World War I, he was an inspector of airplanes and engines for the United States Army at the Wright-Martin Aircraft Corporation in New Brunswick, N. J. Wright-Martin was reorganized in 1919 as the Wright Aeronautical Corporation, which later became the engine manufacturing division of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. In 1921, Hurley became chief engineer of the B. G. Aircraft Spark Plug Company of New York City. He left that position in 1927 to become vice-president and general manager of the Moto-Meter Gauge and Equipment Company in Long Island.

In 1931, Hurley designed a new type of aircraft spark plug with an expanded copper tube through the center. A marked improvement over the older mica plugs, it prevented preignition and greatly reduced spark-plug fouling. Shortly thereafter, Hurley left Moto-Meter to form the Hurley-Townsend Company of New York. He joined the Bendix Corporation in 1935 as a staff executive on production matters when Bendix acquired Hurley-Townsend. During World War II, Hurley was the deputy chief of ordnance and a civilian production adviser to the army chief of ordnance, Lieutenant General Levin H. Campbell, Jr. He also served as assistant to Major General Thomas H. Hayes, chief of the industrial division of ordnance and deputy to Brigadier General Rosswell E. Hardy, chief of the ammunition branch. Returning to Bendix, he was named vice-president of manufacturing on September 14, 1944, responsible for determining plant and facility requirements together with factory layout and product tooling as the corporation began converting to a peacetime economy.

In 1948, Hurley joined the Ford Motor Company as director of manufacturing engineering. In 1949, Paul Shields, an investment banker who had recently taken control of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, asked Henry Ford II, who owned a neighboring Long Island estate, to recommend someone who could improve Curtiss-Wright's production program. Ford recommended Hurley, who had made his reputation as an expert on production and cost cutting at Bendix and Ford. He was named president of Curtiss-Wright on August 8, 1949, and became chairman of the board upon Paul Shields's retirement in October 1951.

Hurley's eleven years at Curtiss-Wright did little to enhance his reputation as a shrewd businessman. The aviation giant was in serious trouble when he took over. It had become overextended during World War II and was still struggling to regain its footing six years later. To revive its sagging fortunes, Hurley initiated an aggressive program of aircraft engine development within the Wright Aeronautical Corporation, Curtiss-Wright's engine manufacturing division. The timing was right. The Korean War had just begun, and the demand for military versions of Wright Aeronautical's reciprocating engines skyrocketed. Moreover, engine sales to the airlines remained strong, and Curtiss-Wright's profit picture improved significantly in the early 1950's.

This initial prosperity was deceptive, however, because the jet age had dawned and conventional piston engines would soon be obsolete. To his credit, Hurley brought Wright Aeronautical into the jet age by entering into a licensing agreement with Armstrong-Siddley of Great Britain to manufacture that company's Sapphire jet. It was produced in America as the Wright J-65. Nevertheless, Hurley remained committed to the piston engine, convinced that it could compete successfully with gas turbines for the indefinite future. He was wrong, and piston engine sales declined precipitously in the late 1950's, along with company income and profits.

Instead of moving aggressively into turbine engine development, however, Hurley chose to diversify. It proved to be his undoing, as he took Curtiss-Wright far beyond the limits of the aviation industry. He frantically scrambled for a product that would give a quick return, but his efforts only dissipated the company's energies and further weakened its position in the industry. It did nothing to alleviate the immediate cash-flow problems, which were acute. The company's fortunes continued to decline throughout the late 1950's, and Hurley was forced to resign in May 1960. At a stockholder's meeting shortly before his resignation, he said, "I'm called a bum and I'm called a genius, but I think I'm somewhere in between. "

After leaving Curtiss-Wright, he retired and moved to Santa Barbara, Calif. He died in Santa Barbara.

Achievements

• In recognition of his earlier achievements, Hurley was given the Horatio Alger Award in 1956. That same year Pennsylvania governor George Leader gave him the state's highest honor, its meritorious medal.

Interests

• His favorite hobby was raising organic foods.

Connections

On June 3, 1917, Hurley married Ruth Applebee, whom he later divorced. They had two children. Hurley married Esther Sarchian, his administrative assistant at Curtiss-Wright, October 3, 1953. They had two children.

Father:

Edward H. Hurley

Mother:

Phoebe King

Spouse:

Ruth Applebee

Spouse:

Esther Sarchian