Intercontinental Manufacturing Company

Last updated
Intercontinental Manufacturing Company (IMCO) Logo IMCO Logo.jpg
Intercontinental Manufacturing Company (IMCO) Logo

The Intercontinental Manufacturing Company (IMCO) was formed in the Dallas, Texas area in 1948 by Harold J. Silver and Robert F. Yonash, initially to fulfill an order from Argentina for tractors. IMCO soon changed focus to defense subcontracting, where it remains today.

Contents

Company startup

Intercontinental C-26 tractor

Intercontinental Manufacturing Company C26 Tractor Intercontinental C-26 Tractor Photo.jpg
Intercontinental Manufacturing Company C26 Tractor

In 1948, Harold J. Silver, a New York business man with connections in Argentina, had obtained a firm order for 3000 tractors there and had a letter of credit guaranteeing payment as soon as they were delivered dockside. The tractors were to be made of components from various sources, including Nateco (National Equipment Company of Texas) tractor base, a Continental Motors Company engine, and a Timken Company transaxle assembly. The bad news was that it was now May, and the contract required delivery by January 1, 1949. Any delay and the sales would probably be lost to established manufacturers. [1]

Silver went in search of a supplier. The Republic National Bank of Dallas referred him to Robert F. Yonash, who had listed himself as a business consultant with the bank. Silver hired Yonash to attend a meeting of the project participants to get things organized. The meeting was in a hotel. When Bob got to the room, the meeting participants were yelling at each other so loudly that they couldn't hear him knocking on the door. Finally, he got in and got things calmed down. When he started asking questions, he found out that there was a mixture of languages in the room, and no one person had enough languages to talk to the entire room. Several people had two or more, so they had to translate for the others. [2]

IMCO Gasolene Tractor Intercontinental Manufacturing Company (IMCO) Restored Tractor.jpg
IMCO Gasolene Tractor

This meeting eventually led to the tractor that was the foundation for the Intercontinental Manufacturing Company (IMCO).

Bob thought it ought to be worth a fat fee to pull this deal out of the fire and turn out a finished product with fairly high volume in seven months. The Intercontinental Manufacturing Company, which at that point existed only in a briefcase, didn't disagree, but their doubts that it could be done were apparent when they scaled back Bob' s salary request and offered him $5 for each tractor delivered on time instead. [1]

Bob managed to get commitments from the suppliers, and then arranged with the Texas Engineering & Manufacturing Company (TEMCO) to do the assembly at its Garland, Texas facility. [3] By October production was flowing smoothly, another 1500 tractors had been sold to Brazil, and the Intercontinental Manufacturing Company was off and running with Silver as president and Yonash as V.P. of production.

Intercontinental diesel tractor

IMCO also produced a diesel version of the tractor, powered by a Buda Engine Co. engine. This was Models D-E and D-F. [4]

Switch to defense production of aircraft components

By 1951, IMCO had switched its emphasis to approximately ninety percent defense production of aircraft components. Aircraft components produced in IMCO's early days included: [5]

Acquisition of the Southern Aircraft plant in Garland

Initially, IMCO's offices were in space subleased from TEMCO in the old North American Aviation plant in Dallas, where its tractors were being assembled. In March 1949, IMCO leased the Garland, Texas facility of the Southern Aircraft Corporation (SAC), which had gone bankrupt earlier that year. In the process, IMCO also acquired SAC's inventory. [6] When the facility became available for purchase the next year from the War Assets Administration and the Public Buildings Agency, IMCO bought it. In addition to moving its tractor assembly from TEMCO and opening a second line, IMCO produced several products at the Garland facility: [7]

Brady Aviation Corporation

In October 1951, IMCO started a subsidiary, Brady Aviation Corporation (BAA), at the Curtis Airfield in Brady, Texas. The terms of the lease were $1 a year for 20 years on the condition that BAA provide a minimum of 500 jobs within six months. By the time of its first anniversary, BAA had 1300 employees with a payroll of $3,500,000 per year and was still growing. [8] This success was due in part to contracts with the Glenn L. Martin Company and Boeing.

IMCO Timeline

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convair</span> 1943–1996 American aerospace manufacturer

Convair, previously Consolidated Vultee, was an American aircraft-manufacturing company that later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft. In 1953, it was purchased by General Dynamics, and operated as their Convair Division for most of its corporate history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Britten-Norman</span> British aircraft manufacturer

Britten-Norman (BN) is a privately owned British aircraft manufacturer and aviation services provider. The company is the sole independent commercial aircraft producer in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Textron</span> American industrial conglomerate

Textron Inc. is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Textron Aviation, and Lycoming Engines. It was founded by Royal Little in 1923 as the Special Yarns Company. In 2020, Textron employed over 33,000 people in 25 countries. The company ranked 265th on the 2021 Fortune 500 of the largest United States corporations by revenue.

The Call Aircraft Company was established by Reuel Call in 1939 at Afton, Wyoming, to build a touring aircraft of his own design.

de Havilland Aircraft Pty Ltd (DHA) was part of de Havilland, then became a separate company. It acquired the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in 1985 and was purchased by Boeing in 2000 and merged with the Boeing owned AeroSpace Technologies of Australia to become Hawker de Havilland Aerospace Pty Ltd. In 2009, the name was changed to Boeing Aerostructures Australia (BAA) and is a subsidiary of Boeing Australia Ltd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vought</span> 1917–1992 series of American aerospace companies

Vought was the name of several related American aerospace firms. These have included, in the past, Lewis and Vought Corporation, Chance Vought, Vought-Sikorsky, LTV Aerospace, Vought Aircraft Companies, and Vought Aircraft Industries.

Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) was a large American conglomerate which existed from 1961 to 2001. At its peak, it was involved in aerospace, airlines, electronics, steel manufacturing, sporting goods, meat packing, car rentals, and pharmaceuticals, among other businesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Tractor</span> US manufacturer of agricultural aircraft

Air Tractor Inc. is a United States aircraft manufacturer based in Olney, Texas. Founded in 1978, the company began manufacturing a new agricultural aircraft derived from the S-2B aircraft. Designated Model AT-300 Air Tractor, the new aircraft first flew in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Navion</span> American light aircraft design

The RyanNavion is a single-engine, unpressurized, retractable gear, four-seat aircraft originally designed and built by North American Aviation in the 1940s. It was later built by Ryan Aeronautical Company and the Tubular Steel Corporation (TUSCO).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avco</span> Aerospace company

Avco Corporation is a subsidiary of Textron, which operates Textron Systems Corporation and Lycoming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temco Aircraft</span>

The Texas Engineering & Manufacturing Company (TEMCO), also known as Temco Aircraft Corporation, was a U.S.-based manufacturing company located in Dallas, Texas, USA. It is best known for eventually forming part of the conglomerate Ling-Temco-Vought.

Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), a subsidiary of AVIC, is a Chinese aircraft manufacturer in Shenyang, Liaoning. Founded in 1951 as the classified 112 Factory, it is the oldest aircraft manufacturer in the People's Republic of China. Many aircraft manufacturers in China such as Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group or Guizhou Aircraft Industry Co. were founded with help from Shenyang. The company mainly focuses on designing and manufacturing civilian and military aircraft, as well as their related components including jet engines. It is also involved in the development of UAVs and drones.

The Franklin Engine Company was an American manufacturer of aircraft engines. Its designs were used primarily in the civilian market, both in fixed wing and helicopter designs. It was briefly directed towards automobile engines as part of the Tucker Car Corporation, returning to aviation when that company failed. The company was later purchased by the Government of Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temco T-35 Buckaroo</span>

The Temco T-35 Buckaroo was designed in the late 1940s as an extremely low-cost trainer for commercial and military markets. Temco's failure to secure a United States Air Force order for the Buckaroo forced it to turn to non-U.S. governments to keep the production lines going, yet only a few export orders materialized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CallAir Model A</span> Type of aircraft

The Call-Air Model A is an American two- to three-seat utility aircraft designed by the Call brothers and built by the Call Aircraft Company, later developed into a successful line of agricultural aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garrett AiResearch</span> Former American manufacturer of aircraft engines

Garrett AiResearch was a manufacturer of turboprop engines and turbochargers, and a pioneer in numerous aerospace technologies. It was previously known as Aircraft Tool and Supply Company, Garrett Supply Company, AiResearch Manufacturing Company, or simply AiResearch. In 1964, Garrett AiResearch merged with Signal Oil & Gas, to form a company renamed in 1968 to Signal Companies. In 1985, it merged with Allied Corporation, forming AlliedSignal. In 1999 AlliedSignal acquired Honeywell and adopted the Honeywell name.

Hants and Sussex Aviation Ltd was a British aviation manufacturer. Based at Portsmouth Airport, Hampshire, England, throughout much of its existence, the company is still in business in the aircraft components industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Globe Aircraft Corporation</span>

The Globe Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer formed in 1940 in Fort Worth, Texas. It was declared bankrupt in 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert F. Yonash</span>

Robert F. Yonash was an American engineer in the early days of the aircraft industry. He was a member of the start-up management team for the Texas Engineering & Manufacturing Company (TEMCO), which eventually became the "T" in the conglomerate Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). He was the co-founder, with Harold Silver, of the Intercontinental Manufacturing Company (IMCO), which is currently owned by General Dynamics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temco D-16</span> American civil aircraft

The Temco D-16 is a 1950s twin engine civil aircraft from the United States. It was produced by conversion of a Ryan Navion to replace its single engine with two wing-mounted engines. It is commonly known as the Twin Navion, although that name is also often applied to a later similar conversion, the Camair 480.

References

  1. 1 2 Intercontinental C-26 Tractor Development (based on personal memories of Bob Yonash), retrieved on July 20, 2018
  2. Robert F. (Bob) Yonash Oral History, 1996
  3. TEMCO Tidings, October 6, 1946, retrieved on July 20, 2018
  4. Spec Sheet for the Intercontinental Diesel Tractor, retrieved on July 20, 2018
  5. Intercontinental Manufacturing Company Brochure, ~1951, retrieved on July 20, 2018
  6. Intercontinental to Shift Second Tractor Line Here, The Garland News, June 24, 1949
  7. Intercontinental Purchases SAC Plant, Property, The Garland News, April 25, 1950
  8. Brady Aviation Payroll Is Now $3,500,000 Per Year, The Brady Herald, October 17, 1952
  9. Securities and Exchange Commission News Digest, October 31, 1967, retrieved on February 20, 2010
  10. Electric & Gas Technology, Inc. DEF 14A SEC Filing, 2/11/1998, retrieved on February 20, 2010
  11. Vesco: From Wall Street to Castro's Cuba, the Rise, Fall, and Exile of the King of White Collar Crime by Arthur Herzog, 2003, retrieved on February 20, 2010
  12. Ex-gould Chairman Builds Own Empire, June 20, 1988, retrieved on February 20, 2010
  13. General Dynamics to Purchase Datron, Inc.’s IMCO Unit, July 25, 2003, retrieved on July 20, 2018