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Colorado is home to many technology companies and one of the most famous is
Lockheed Martin. Formed by a merger between the Lockheed Aircraft Manufacturing Company
and Martin Marietta, Lockheed Martin is a world leader in aircraft and space technologies and
one of the most well-managed companies in the country.1 Its move to Colorado causes one to
wonder what led Lockheed Martin to choose Denver. The answer is unclear and is not at the
forefront of Colorado’s concerns, but the two founding companies of Lockheed Martin and
Colorado share an interesting trait; both the Lockheed Company and Martin Marietta possess an
element of Colorado’s pioneer spirit. The founders of both companies possessed the selfsufficient, adventurous nature of Colorado’s early settlers.
In the eyes of most Americans, Colorado remained a “great desert” until the late 1850s.
Early explorers described nothing but plains, desert, and hostile terrain. However, the discovery
of gold by William Green Russell, William H. Larimer, and others prompted hasty town-building
along supposed gold-laden sites. Cities like Golden and Arapahoe City near Clear Creek and
Denver near the intersection of Cherry Creek and the Platte River sprang up quickly. Many
people, bogged down in the Depression of 1857, moved across the plains to get to the goldfields
in Colorado.2
They brought little with them but their dreams. Those who came across the plains to
Colorado risked everything in making their new lives in Colorado. They knew little to nothing
about gold-mining, only that they would attempt to make their fortunes doing so. The pioneers
were self-sufficient and business-minded, as well as willing to adjust to any given situation.
When they arrived in Colorado, some mined gold, but others provided the miners with basic
Walter J. Boyne, Beyond the Horizons: The Lockheed Story, (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998), 476.
Stephen J. Leonard and Thomas J. Noel, Denver: Mining Camp to Metropolis, (Niwot, CO: University Press of
Colorado, 1990), 4, 6-8.
1
2
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services. Those who owned hotels, restaurants and stores and performed services for the miners
prospered.3 Henri Murat, in a letter to a friend, stated “Gold is found everywhere,”4 but later
added “you can make your fortune as a shoe-maker.”5 In order to survive, early Denverites
depended on natural resources, the gold and other natural materials, and their own initiative and
determination.
The defense industry had little hold on Colorado until World War II. Even before the war
began, Denver, plagued once again by a depression, realized there was money to be made in the
defense industries. To entice the military to start building facilities in Denver, the city donated a
large piece of land to the army, which built Lowry Air Force Base in 1938. As Denver made
more and more offerings to the defense industry, such as refurbishing Fitzsimons Army Hospital
and building Buckley Field in 1942, the city became swamped with war industry as well as
soldiers.6 George Cranmer, Denver’s manager of Parks and Improvements, was instrumental in
convincing Remington to build a munitions factory in Denver. Rocky Mountain Arsenal
produced bombs, while Denver’s ship-building industry made many crafts for the navy.7
Denver’s growing defense industry was influenced most not by location or other inherent
qualities, but by the city’s initiative. Defense industry was brought to Denver by the efforts of
the city’s leaders. The initiative of Denver in building up its military industry during World War
II brought in millions of dollars of Federal money, grew the city’s economy to an incredible size,
and, between veterans who made their homes in Colorado and workers in the federal plants,
made its population swell. Robert Harvey reported that 92% of soldiers who had been stationed
in Denver wished to return to Colorado’s “mild, dry, sunny climate and spectacular mountain
3
Leonard, Denver, 9-10.
Leonard, Denver, 9.
5
Leonard, Denver, 9.
6
Leonard, Denver, 220-222.
7
Leonard, Denver, 223-226.
4
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backdrop” 8 after the war. 9 World War II again proved that Colorado could prosper through
initiative and natural resources.
That same initiative can be seen in the lives of Malcolm and Allan Loughead, who
founded the Loughead (later Lockheed) Aircraft Manufacturing Company in 1916.10 The
Loughead boys had a natural mechanical aptitude, though experience as car mechanics did not
often lead young men to designing aircraft. Eventually, the two of them designed the Model G, a
novel aircraft for its time, which they charged people to ride in.11 After founding the company,
the two brothers took on a daring new design: a twin engine, ten-passenger plane. The decision
to design the F-1 was a bold step that showed the Loughead brothers’ daring spirits. When World
War I broke out, the company volunteered their aircraft and services to the government,
beginning a relationship that would prove beneficial in multiple future wars.12 A large number of
military and civilian planes, including those flown by Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart,
were designed by Lockheed.13
The founders of one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in America’s history had
humble beginnings. Having grown up on a ranch in Santa Barbara, California, the Loughead
brothers were not thrust into greatness.14 Allan Loughead learned to fly only in his spare time
through short exhibition flights and Malcolm, though he invented the hydraulic four-wheel
brake, had little experience with planes. The Lockheed Aircraft Manufacturing Company was
founded on State Street, a run-down area of Santa Barbara, and its first aircraft was built in a
8
Thomas J. Noel, Denver: Rocky Mountain Gold (Tulsa, OK: Centennial Heritage Press, Inc., 1980), 146.
Leonard, Denver, 226, 234.
10
Boyne, Beyond the Horizons, 11.
11
Boyne, Beyond the Horizons, 3-4, 7-10.
12
Boyne, Beyond the Horizons, 11-12.
13
“Lockheed Martin History,” Lockheed Martin Corporation,
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/aboutus/history/index.html
14
Boyne, Beyond the Horizons, 3.
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small wooden garage.15 It was the determination of the Lougheads to follow their dreams and
their willingness to work hard that enabled them to create their corporation. The Loughead
brothers founded their company with a spirit of initiative and determination.
Glenn Martin was also determined to follow his dreams. Born January 16, 1886, Martin
demonstrated mechanical skill at an early age, building one of the first box kites at age six.16 He
was attracted both to machines and to aircraft and always had a fantasy of flying himself.
Though he grew to operate a successful automobile garage and car agency, Glenn convinced his
employee Roy Beall to build an airplane. After wrecking one homemade aircraft, Glenn Martin
finally took to the sky in his own plane on August 1, 1909.17 He wished to start his own business
manufacturing airplanes but could not get financed. Instead of backing down, however, he
decided to raise the money himself by flying in exhibitions all over the country, promoting the
airplane coast to coast.18 His business slowly grew and in 1912 the Glenn L. Martin Company
was officially established.19
Glenn Martin’s dreams were similar to those of the Loughead brothers. He had no
experience with aviation when he decided to build an aircraft. Putting his car agency at risk, he
followed his dreams and built his plane. Through hard work and incredible spirit, Glenn Martin
created another highly-successful aviation and technology company.
Companies like Lockheed and Martin Marietta functioned largely on military contracts.
Both corporations produced many groundbreaking aircraft during World War II, such as the
Lockheed XP-900 fighter and the Martin YB-10 bomber. Production only escalated during the
15
Boyne, Beyond the Horizons, 3-7, 9-11.
William B. Harwood, Raise Heaven and Earth: The Story of Martin Marietta People and their Pioneering
Achievements, (New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1993), 22-26.
17
Harwood, Raise Heaven and Earth, 31-33, 36-37,
18
Harwood, Raise Heaven and Earth, 46-49.
19
“Lockheed Martin History”.
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military buildup of the Cold War. After the Soviet Union fell, however, companies like
Lockheed and Martin-Marietta faced a crisis. Technological industry had grown immensely
during the Cold War and all of a sudden, the market had drastically shrunk.20 Both Lockheed and
Martin Marietta recognized that “the fall of the Berlin Wall also symbolized the fall of the
market structure upon which the very existence of Lockheed had been based.”21
The defense industry now had to begin concentrating more on the civilian market than the
military, which required a change in operating procedures. Even so, there was much less
business and the large number of defense companies saw the need to consolidate.22 Shortly
before the creation of Lockheed Martin, Dan Tellep, an executive from Lockheed, and Norm
Augustine, Martin Marietta’s CEO, spoke to the Pentagon about the need for companies to
merge. In a post-war environment, they said, the market would be able to support only two
companies in almost every field of science and technology.23
Lockheed quickly began looking for a partner to merge with and determined what
qualities a company would have to possess in order to make the merger successful, including
complementary product lines and good future prospects. They finally settled on Martin
Marietta.24 The fusion of these two companies created a huge corporate entity. There were
surprisingly few problems brought about by the merging of two such colossal companies, which
seemed to have similar managerial styles.25 There were, however, many changes the technology
giant needed to make to be more efficient, including closing many of its old factories and
opening new, larger ones.26
20
Boyne, Beyond the Horizons, 464-465.
Boyne, Beyond the Horizons, 464.
22
Boyne, Beyond the Horizons, 464-465.
23
Boyne, Beyond the Horizons, 473.
24
Boyne, Beyond the Horizons, 466-467.
25
Boyne, Beyond the Horizons, 473-476.
26
Boyne, Beyond the Horizons, 482.
21
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Today, Lockheed Martin assists both the government and private organizations in ways
many people do not associate with an aeronautics and defense company. In 1999, the U.S. Postal
Service began using a Lockheed Martin-built tracking system to monitor packages and confirm
their delivery. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, Lockheed Martin manufactured over
50,000 advanced baggage-screening machines for airport security. This is in addition to recent
aircraft projects, such as the Titan IV rocket and the Patriot Advanced Capacity missile system.27
Lockheed Martin has earned its reputation as a premiere technology company and continues
manufacturing stunning new products.
But what about Colorado enticed Lockheed Martin to conduct so much of their business
in the Centennial State? Simply put, Colorado is a state friendly to military companies and has
been since World War II. The dedication of Lowry and Buckley Air Force Bases before the
Second World War was the spark that led to a booming military industry in Colorado. War
businesses grew, soldiers made their homes in Denver, and workers came from across the nation
to work in Colorado’s factories. There is very little information about Lockheed Martin’s move
to Colorado. Most likely, it was not seen as a huge maneuver by the corporation. Still, the
cultures of Colorado and Lockheed have in common an optimistic, pioneer spirit.
The pioneers of the late 1800s were often unskilled, unprepared, and about to embark on
a mission they knew little about. Many of them had little more than dreams of fortune and a
better life. Those who went to Colorado were those who were willing to take a risk on a goldseeking venture, cross uncertain terrain, and become self-sufficient as they adapted to whatever
Colorado had in store for them.
27
“Lockheed Martin History”.
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The Loughead brothers had similar aspirations and spirits. The decision to design the
model G was a bold one, since “neither brother had training as a designer or as a draftsman.”28
The F-1, a plane unlike any that had ever been built, was another risky move. Glenn Martin had
been fascinated with flight ever since his boyhood and one day just decided to build a plane. He
worked hard until finally he designed an airworthy craft and eventually began manufacturing
them. Like the gold-seekers, the Loughead brothers and Glenn Martin embarked into risky
territory, tackling a new industry in which they had little experience. However, through hard
work and adaption to new conditions, their businesses became an instant success.
Lockheed Martin is a perfect fit for Colorado because both its parent companies embody
an element of Colorado’s pioneer spirit. Though the state’s large amount of military industry and
business-friendly environment was surely the corporation real motive for locating in Colorado,
the traits and values of Colorado’s early settlers reflect those the Lockheed Aircraft
Manufacturing Company and Martin-Marietta were founded on. Colorado has always been a
land of pioneers, both in the 1850s and today.
28
Boyne, Beyond the Horizons, 9.