Colt Industries

Back in 1985 when I sneaked out of McDonnell Douglas for a half day to have a secret interview with Ray Crawley at Menasco in Burbank, I was hoping that I could start a new adventure in a new country.

It didn't happen.

What I had noticed at McDonnell Douglas was the American management style, which some may say is detached and impersonal, yet, I saw it as a great improvement over the style characterized by British companies like Gullicks, Alcan and APPH.

In 1988 when I arrived off the boat in Canada to work at Dowty, it was a bit of a shock to find that Dowty was in fact run like a British company and that the middle and upper management was dominated by immigrants from the old country.

What am I going on about? - well, Dowty was like working at a British company in a foreign country, the old feeling of a class system was very much evident and this would always magnify the experience of being a peon in the system.

The ladder of success seemed to be more about plotting, secret handshakes, being one of the "mates" and maintaining the royalty driven class system.

I'm not naive, I'm sure the same practices went on at all companies, regardless, however, what I saw at McDonnell Douglas at Long Beach and perceived at Menasco in Burbank was very different and after six months at Menasco in Oakville it was evident that the place was run like an American company.

Well, almost.

It was a hybrid, with some British born middle managers attempting to enforce a class system, yet the Colt Industries upper management style made the experience more like the McDonnell Douglas one, something that was actually very refreshing.

It felt to me that this was what an engineering company should be like, that visits to the test department, shop floor and assembly, salvage areas and general interaction with the manufacturing process were encouraged. It was helped somewhat by Menasco not being a union bound company and that occasionally, management joined in and rolled up their sleeves to solve problems.

And what was especially wholesome about Menasco was how rapid management could be when it came to giving you a good old fashioned bollocking for doing something wrong or stupid, something that must be respected, especially when, after the reprimand, no grudges would be held, the air would be cleared and things would move on.

Refreshing.