The Austin Co. celebrates 100 years in aviation, aerospace, defense

Cleveland, Ohio – The Austin Co. is proud to celebrate 100 years of service to the aviation, aerospace, and defense industry.

 

Since 1916, Austin architects, engineers, and constructors devised many innovations for the aviation sector. They designed and built the largest industrial building in the world for the Boeing Co. in Everett, Washington. Innovations include bi-fold hangar doors, fiberglass wall panels for WWII bomber plants that saved metal, induced airflows to improve ventilation in large plants, and rolling work platforms to speed schedules. 

 

These innovations have contributed to the success of clients by enabling them to operate in more efficient environments, optimize the flexibility of their operations, and meet aggressive schedules. 

 

Wilbert Austin, son of founder Samuel Austin, joined his father’s business in 1904 after graduating with his engineering degree. He conceived the idea of combining engineering and construction in one firm to offer a complete facility service. This was the dawn of The Austin Method and its standard building designs to fast-track complex projects.

 

Implementation of the Austin Method coincided with the growth of the aviation industry. Placing ads in The Literary Digest in 1916, Austin promoted the speed in which it could design and build industrial facilities. These ads caught the eye of representatives at Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Corp. in Buffalo, New York. 

 

American aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss had just received a large contract from the U.S. government to build training aircraft for the U.S. Army and Navy – the JN-4 “Jenny” for the Army and the N-9 seaplane for the Navy. Curtiss needed expanded manufacturing facilities to fulfill the government’s large order, so a connection was made with the Austin Co. to determine whether Austin could deliver on its claims of speed and economy. 

 

Austin promised Curtiss the design and construction of a new 540,000ft² aircraft manufacturing facility in 120 days. Ultimately, another 63,000ft² building was added and the project was completed in 90 days. This was the world’s largest industrial facility of its time, and Curtiss became the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer during the war. 

 

“In 1916, The Austin Company was one of the few companies in the U.S. that would integrate design and construction,” explains Mike Pierce, president of The Austin Co. “It was wartime and production had to move quickly. There was an unbelievably aggressive schedule.”

 

The resulting facility continued to function as an aircraft production plant through World War II. After Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Corp., the facility was home to Curtiss-Wright Corp., Bell Aircraft Corp., M. Wile Clothing Co., and a portion still exists today as a Home Depot shopping center. 

 

Nearly 100 years after Curtiss, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems needed a project completed on a highly accelerated schedule, and they, too, turned to The Austin Co. The resulting facility, a highly specialized 210,000ft² program engineering and laboratory building, was implemented in slightly more than one year – a planning, design, engineering, and construction effort that under industry standards would have taken three years to complete. 

 

Representative clients during the past century include: 

 

Throughout 2016, Austin will be featuring milestone projects, releasing a 100-year history video, and publishing a commemorative book. Materials and additional information can be found at www.theaustin.com/aerospace-defense-aviation. 

 

The Austin Co. headquarters are in Cleveland, with additional offices in Irvine, California; Atlanta, Georgia; Kalamazoo, Michigan; and St. Louis, Missouri; in addition to a joint venture company in Mexico. Austin became a part of Kajima USA in 2005 and is a proud member of the Kajima family of companies worldwide. Kajima Corp. is a leading and top ranked, global design and construction organization. 

 

Source: The Austin Company