Page 63 - MY STORY

broad range of hierarchy and product was a truly a

growing experience.

I was also very grateful that my assignment had nothing

to do with selling titanium products or chasing sales leads
or interacting with company buyers, except under some
very extreme circumstances.

Occasionally it was difficult to make TIMET’s production
people realize that my primary job was to understand the

needs and concerns of our customers even if it meant
being critical of TIMET’s products and practices. Acting

as the interface between our production people and the
customer community was challenging and fascinating.
The following vignettes are few in number compared to
the hundreds of interesting encounters that came with my

time on this job. They may not be in chronological order.

“WE REJECT YOUR PLATE”

North American Aviation (NAA), now Boeing, was

developing and building the B-70. The B- 70 was an
advanced bomber designed to fly at 3 times the speed of
sound (Mach 3). Because the exterior structure would

run hot, between 300 and 700 degrees F, there was