Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 27: The Idea of ​​Annexing Martin

The name Glenn L. Martin Corporation may be a little unfamiliar to most people. The new company formed after two mergers is the famous: Lockheed Martin.

The Martin in Lockheed Martin comes from Glenn L. Martin Company.

The advantage of facing problems with answers is huge. The reality is that George Arthur was not capable of this, and he was not capable of this in actual history. General Electric was not shortlisted, and in the end it could only be a supplier of some scraps in NASA's moon landing program.

There is no record of George Arthur in the Apollo moon landing records.

The Glenn L. Martin Company is completely different.

Glenn L. Martin Corporation was a finalist for the Apollo command and service module contracts, although it lost to North American Aviation in 1962.

But later, in space programs such as the Pioneer rocket and the Titan series, it played a key role in the space race.

In addition to the fact that Glenn L. Martin Company is very valuable, has an excellent team of engineers, and has a successful history of manufacturing a large number of bombers in the past, from a God's perspective, Glenn L. Martin Company itself will complete the merger with Marietta Company in two years.

Since you will merge sooner or later, the Morgan family and General Electric have the opportunity to seize such a merger opportunity.

During this period, John Morgan has been promoting the independence of the aerospace sector and is naturally familiar with the name of Glenn L. Martin Company:

"Glenn L. Martin Company?"

Lin Ran went on to explain: "Yes, GE's existing engineering team is too weak.

Even if the feasibility report is approved, we will still have to rely on external suppliers in the subsequent specific project process.

In this case, it is better to incorporate potential external suppliers in advance.

In my opinion, Glenn L. Martin Company would be the best candidate.

As for the specific merger, my 30% stake will be diluted in equal proportion."

John Morgan hesitated: "Let me find out first. Glenn L. Martin Company is not that easy to merge.

If General Electric's aerospace division was spun off as a whole, it would have only 2,000 employees, while Glenn L. Martin Company had more than 50,000 employees at its peak. Even after the war, the number of employees continued to decline, but there were still more than 10,000 employees.

Their revenue and profits are much greater than GE's aerospace division."

Lin Ran looked directly at the other party. He believed in the strength of the Morgan family even more than John Morgan did: "This is certainly a game of the snake swallowing the elephant, but they also need the Morgan family.

You’re not doing General Aerospace swallowing up Glenn L. Martin; you’re doing the Morgan family swallowing up Glenn L. Martin.”

Every time he met Lin Ran, John Morgan wanted to take the initiative, but he never succeeded.

He wanted to find some faults in Lin Ran's suggestions. He couldn't understand the technical aspects. The GE engineers were scolded like grandsons. Once, an engineer refuted a few sentences and was speechless after being asked questions.

Now he finds that even in business operations, the other party's suggestions are more perfect.

If success is a must, then merging with Glenn L. Martin is indeed a good choice. They wouldn't sell out a company that's even more powerful than it, like Boeing. Glenn L. Martin only had 1960 employees at its peak, while Boeing's employee count has remained consistently above , and its revenue exceeded $ billion in , making it a behemoth.

Not to mention him, even his father's father, Morgan Jr., might not be able to handle it.

For companies weaker than Glenn L. Martin, it would be better to recruit new engineers or poach teams from competitors.

The more John Morgan thought about it, the more he thought it was a good idea, but it was still difficult.

John Morgan explained, "Randolph, I need to re-evaluate the acquisition of Glenn L. Martin Company. It's still too difficult.

In addition, Glenn L. Martin Company is a key supplier to the federal defense industry, and this acquisition will be strictly reviewed, especially considering the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act, and the Department of Justice may also intervene.

Even if both of us agree to merge, we will still face pressure from the federal government."

General Electric is also one of the core suppliers of national defense. It provides engines for the J47 and J79 fighter jets, as well as a large number of aircraft electronic equipment.

Lin Ran thought for a moment and said, "Well, I understand. It might be more appropriate to wait until NASA issues a tender for the moon landing at the end of the year. After our proposal beats all competitors and wins the bid, then we can talk to George Bunker of Glenn L. Martin.

But you are now going to start talking to George Bunker and revealing that General Motors is looking to acquire Glenn L. Martin."

George Bunker, chairman of the board of directors of Glenn L. Martin Company, was one of the important driving forces behind the merger of Glenn L. Martin Company and Marietta Company two years later.

"You need to show him that a merger with GE would allow both parties to complement each other's technological expertise in the aerospace field. GE would also provide financial support to Martin, enhancing its ability to compete with giants like Boeing and Lockheed in a highly competitive market."

After meeting Lin Ran, John Morgan immediately took a flight to Huntsville, where he had an appointment to meet Haines.

That’s right, it was Haynes, the NASA engineer, at whose New York home Lin Ran had stayed for two nights.

Haynes works at Redstone, a nearly 40,000-acre base southwest of Huntsville, Alabama.

Just four months later, on July 1960, 7, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center would be built at Redstone.

At present, the Redstone base is not called the Marshall Space Flight Center, but because of the existence of the Redstone base, a large number of scientists, engineers and military personnel have gathered here, bringing initial prosperity to the surrounding city of Huntsville.

Among them, the Russell Erskine Hotel, where John Morgan met Haines, is one of the most luxurious hotels in the area. It was built in 1930 and is famous for its high-end Southern cuisine.

When Haines, wearing a navy blue double-breasted suit handmade by Chipp, walked into the restaurant, exhausted, he found that Haines had been waiting there for a long time.

"Mr. Morgan, you look very handsome today." Haines joked. He and the man in front of him had dealt with Randolph several times, and the two had already developed a preliminary understanding.

"Are you talking about this? Chipp in New York handmade it for me. If you're interested, I can give you his business card. Compared to the older generation's favorite Brooks Brothers and the more established Savile Row, I still prefer Chipp's more modern Ivy League style."

"By the way, are you interested in working for General Electric?"

(End of this chapter)