Willard Frederick Rockwell Sr.

Background

Willard Frederick Rockwell was born in Dorchester, Massachussets, a suburb of Boston. He was the eldest of five sons of Frederick Joshua Rockwell, a contractor, and Catherine Herr.

Education

Rockwell graduated from the Mechanical Arts High School in Boston and attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1905 to 1909, receiving a B. S. degree in mechanical arts.

Career

After graduation Rockwell was an efficiency engineer with Scovell and Company, an industry-survey firm. In 1915 he was hired as factory manager of the Torbensen Axle Company (later Eaton Manufacturing) of Cleveland, Ohio. In 1918, Rockwell served as a civilian specialist in the Motor Transport Division of the Quartermaster Corps and advocated the use of heavy trucks for the armed forces. (He was made lieutenant colonel in 1930, thus gaining the abiding nickname "The Colonel. ") At war's end he became vice-president for marketing and engineering at Torbensen. In 1919 a dispute over a proposal for an improved axle caused him to leave the firm and buy a small axle company, Wisconsin Parts, in Oshkosh, Wis. Rockwell designed and patented a double reduction gear for axles that he induced Ruggles Truck Company to try. At that time Eaton Manufacturing began to manufacture a similar gear. Rockwell successfully sued for infringement of his patent. Rockwell had arrived in the industry because he had a product that truck manufacturers could not do without. In 1933, Timken-Detroit Axle Company, the largest producer of heavy-duty axles, made Rockwell president of its subsidiary Wisconsin Parts. In 1925, while his axle company was developing and prospering, Rockwell was asked by the Mellon family of Pittsburgh to take over Equitable Meter and Manufacturing Company as president. The Mellons also asked him to take over Standard Steel Spring Company in 1936. In 1933, Rockwell was simultaneously president of Timken-Detroit, chairman of Standard Steel Spring, and chairman and president of Pittsburgh Equitable Meter. Rockwell strung together chains of companies specializing in automobile parts, thereby making possible the 1953 merger of Standard Steel Spring (which made springs and bumpers for passenger cars, and truck and farm implement parts) with Timken-Detroit (which made axles for truck and tractor manufacturers) into the Rockwell Spring and Axle Company, with Rockwell as chairman. It was one of the largest suppliers of parts to the automotive industry. "If it moves, we probably make something on it" became a Rockwell boast. Pittsburgh Equitable had acquired several affinity companies and became Rockwell Manufacturing in 1945. Rockwell was president until 1947, when he became chairman of the board. This arm of his empire had been acquired for the sake of diversification because in the recession after World War I, Rockwell had been caught with a glut of truck axles. He was looking for products that were in the same broad manufacturing category but not subject to the same economic pressures. Rockwell Manufacturing became the leading manufacturer of valves and measurement and control equipment for gas, oil, chemical, water, and other fluid products. Rockwell saw the benefits of mergers and acquisitions years before most American industrialists. Through sound judgment and incredible energy, he began buying companies in related fields during the 1920's and 1930's. Expansion went from heavy-duty axles to all types of automobile springs, coils, and universal joints. Rockwell made his acquisitions through the exchange of stock and often left the management of purchased companies intact. He bought management, plants, patents, and facilities. Acquired companies usually became divisions. Standard business reference sources such as Moody's Industrials detail the scores of companies acquired by Rockwell over the years. Rockwell maintained the associations with the military he had begun during World War I and worked on experimental truck and tank design. Thus, he was poised to benefit from the rearmament of the country for World War II. It is estimated that Timken-Detroit filled 80 percent of the United States Army's axle requirements, and that Standard Steel and Spring produced about 75 percent of the heat-treated tank armor plate. During the war Rockwell was director of production for the Maritime Commission and served on the executive committee of the Army and Navy Munitions Board and on the Requirements Committee of the War Production Board. Rockwell's son, Willard Frederick Rockwell, Jr. , who had worked in every department of the company since the mid-1930's, spearheaded the development of the company beyond the 1960's. In 1958 Rockwell Spring and Axle was renamed Rockwell Standard. At the time it was doing $250 million in annual sales. Rockwell served as chairman of the board of Rockwell Standard until 1967, when he became honorary chairman. In 1967, Rockwell Standard merged with North American Aviation to form North American-Rockwell, thereby merging precision engineering with the high technology of aerospace. Six years later, Rockwell Manufacturing was merged into North American-Rockwell and became Rockwell International. Rockwell received scores of industrial awards and served on numerous civic, business, and public affairs boards.

Politics

He was a lifelong Republican, an outspoken critic of big government, and a promoter of free enterprise.

Connections

On June 4, 1908, he married Clara Whitcomb Thayer; they had five children.

Wife:

Clara

On June 4, 1908, he married Clara Whitcomb Thayer; they had five children.