Martin Marietta

Martin Marietta Corporation was an American aerospace, defense, engineering, and diversified industrial company that operated from 1961 until its merger with Lockheed Corporation in 1995. It was created through the combination of the Glenn L. Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation, bringing together two substantially different businesses. The Glenn L. Martin Company had become an important aerospace and missile contractor, while American-Marietta manufactured paints, dyes, metallurgical products, construction materials, and other industrial goods. The resulting corporation therefore combined military and space systems with a broad industrial portfolio. The company's aerospace identity was strongly shaped by the Titan missile program. In 1955, the Glenn L. Martin Company had won the United States Air Force contract to build the country's second intercontinental ballistic missile, establishing capabilities that later supported Martin Marietta's work on strategic missiles, launch vehicles, spacecraft, and related systems. The company subsequently participated in major American space and defense programs, including the Viking Mars missions, the Magellan spacecraft, the Space Shuttle external tank, Titan launch vehicles, and a range of experimental aircraft, missiles, satellites, and unmanned vehicles. Martin Marietta also pursued projects beyond conventional aerospace. In the 1960s it built MH-1A, a floating nuclear power plant developed under the United States Army Nuclear Power Program. It was commissioned to construct the Mark IV monorail vehicles used by the Walt Disney World Monorail System from 1971 to 1989. The company expanded into information technology and international services through acquisitions such as the Hoskyns Group, a United Kingdom information-technology services company. Its business portfolio also included electronics, information systems, missiles, space systems, and government research management. The corporation became the subject of one of the most notable takeover battles in American business history in 1982. Bendix Corporation acquired a majority of Martin Marietta's shares in a hostile bid. Martin Marietta's management responded with a Pac-Man defense, selling non-core assets and attempting to acquire Bendix itself. The struggle ended with Martin Marietta surviving as an independent company while Bendix was acquired by Allied Corporation. The episode became a prominent example of defensive corporate strategy and takeover resistance. After the end of the Cold War, Martin Marietta operated in an industry facing substantial consolidation. In 1993, chief executive Norman R. Augustine attended a meeting later known as the Last Supper, at which senior defense officials warned major contractors that the post-Cold War defense market could not support the previous number of large firms. Martin Marietta responded through further acquisitions and combinations, including the purchase of GE Aerospace, the acquisition of General Dynamics' Space Systems Division, and a management contract for Sandia National Laboratories. Martin Marietta merged with Lockheed Corporation in 1995, creating Lockheed Martin. Its former materials businesses followed a separate path: Martin Marietta Materials had been partially offered to the public in 1994 and was separated as an independent company in 1996. Consequently, the historical Martin Marietta name is associated both with a predecessor of Lockheed Martin's aerospace and defense operations and with the later, separately independent Martin Marietta Materials business. The subject of this dossier is the former diversified corporation that existed from 1961 to 1995, not the current construction-materials company.

Martin Marietta was established in 1961 when the Glenn L. Martin Company merged with American-Marietta Corporation. The transaction joined a Baltimore aerospace company with a Chicago-based industrial manufacturer. Glenn L. Martin had developed a major position in military aviation and missiles, particularly through the Titan intercontinental ballistic missile program, while American-Marietta produced paints, dyes, metallurgical goods, construction materials, and other industrial products. The new corporation maintained a broad industrial base but became increasingly associated with aerospace and government technology. In 1963 it began construction of MH-1A, a floating nuclear power plant developed within the United States Army Nuclear Power Program. During the following decade the company also undertook transportation and entertainment infrastructure work, including the Mark IV monorail vehicles used by Walt Disney World from 1971 to 1989. Its development work included experimental aircraft such as the X-23 PRIME and X-24 series, unmanned aircraft, missiles, spacecraft, satellites, and launch systems. Martin Marietta's history also included important legal and employment-related events. In 1971 the company lost the landmark sex-discrimination case Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp. before the United States Supreme Court. The case addressed the legality of an employer's refusal to hire mothers of preschool-age children while hiring fathers of young children, and became an important precedent in the development of American employment-discrimination law. The corporation expanded internationally and into information services, including its 1975 acquisition of Hoskyns Group, a United Kingdom information-technology services company. It reorganized its defense electronics activities several times, creating an Electronics & Missiles Group in 1987 and later an Electronics, Information & Missiles Group. These changes reflected the growing importance of integrated electronics, information processing, missile systems, and military command capabilities. In 1982 Martin Marietta became the target of Bendix Corporation's hostile takeover. Bendix acquired a majority of Martin Marietta's stock, but Martin Marietta management used the interval before Bendix could obtain full control to dispose of non-core assets and make a counter-bid for Bendix. This Pac-Man defense transformed the attempted acquisition into a two-company takeover contest. Martin Marietta survived, while Bendix was ultimately acquired by Allied Corporation. The battle became a frequently cited example of aggressive takeover defense. Martin Marietta continued to expand its space capabilities in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1986 it won a contract to convert Titan II intercontinental ballistic missiles into space launch vehicles, drawing on the heritage of the original Titan missile work. In 1993 it acquired GE Aerospace, took over General Dynamics' Space Systems Division, and secured a management contract for Sandia National Laboratories. These moves broadened its launch-vehicle, satellite, research-management, and national-security activities. The company was also involved in major space programs, including Viking, Magellan, Mars Polar Lander, Wind, and the Space Shuttle external tank. The end of the Cold War created pressure for consolidation across the American defense industry. Martin Marietta chief executive Norman Augustine attended a July 1993 meeting later called the Last Supper, where senior defense officials communicated that the sector would contract and that the government did not need as many large prime contractors. Against this background, Martin Marietta agreed to merge with Lockheed Corporation in 1995. The transaction formed Lockheed Martin, one of the world's largest defense and aerospace companies, and ended Martin Marietta's independent corporate existence. The materials side of the business had already begun to separate. Martin Marietta completed an initial public offering of 19 percent of Martin Marietta Materials in 1994. In 1996, after the Lockheed combination, Martin Marietta Materials was spun off as a separate independent company. That later company shares the historical name but is distinct from the former aerospace and defense corporation documented here.

1. 1996Materials business separation

   Martin Marietta Materials is separated from Lockheed Martin as an independent company.

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2. 1995Merger with Lockheed

   Martin Marietta merges with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin.

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3. 1994Martin Marietta Materials initial public offering

   The company completes an initial public offering of 19 percent of Martin Marietta Materials.

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4. 1993Major aerospace and research expansion

   Martin Marietta acquires GE Aerospace and General Dynamics' Space Systems Division and obtains a management contract for Sandia National Laboratories.

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5. 1987Electronics and Missiles Group

   The company creates an Electronics & Missiles Group, later reorganized as the Electronics, Information & Missiles Group.

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6. 1986Titan II conversion contract

   Martin Marietta wins a contract to convert Titan II ICBMs into space launch vehicles.

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7. 1982Bendix takeover battle

   Martin Marietta counters Bendix's hostile takeover through a Pac-Man defense and remains independent after the contest.

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8. 1975Hoskyns Group acquisition

   Martin Marietta acquires Hoskyns Group, a United Kingdom information-technology services company.

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9. 1971Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp.

   The United States Supreme Court rules in a landmark sex-discrimination case involving the company's hiring policy.

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10. 1969Disney World monorail contract

    The company is commissioned to build Mark IV monorail vehicles later used by the Walt Disney World Monorail System.

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11. 1963MH-1A nuclear power plant

    Martin Marietta begins building the MH-1A floating nuclear power plant for the Army Nuclear Power Program.

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12. 1961Formation through merger

    Glenn L. Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation merge to create Martin Marietta Corporation.

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A diversified American engineering and technology contractor whose core identity increasingly centered on aerospace, strategic missiles, space systems, and government programs, while retaining industrial and materials businesses inherited from American-Marietta.

• Titan missile and launch-vehicle systemsStrategic missiles and space launch1955

  The Titan family was central to Martin Marietta's aerospace heritage. The Glenn L. Martin Company won the United States Air Force contract for the country's second intercontinental ballistic missile in 1955, and Martin Marietta later produced and adapted Titan systems. In 1986 the company won a contract to convert Titan II ICBMs into space launch vehicles, extending a strategic-weapons platform into civil and national-security space operations.

• Viking programPlanetary spacecraft

  Martin Marietta was associated with the Viking Mars program, which sent robotic spacecraft to Mars. The program represented the company's role in planetary exploration and integrated spacecraft engineering alongside its defense and launch-vehicle work.

• Magellan spacecraftPlanetary spacecraft

  Magellan was a planetary spacecraft associated with Martin Marietta's space business. It exemplified the company's work on robotic exploration systems and its ability to apply defense-derived spacecraft and mission technologies to civilian scientific programs.

• Space Shuttle external tankSpaceflight hardware

  Martin Marietta manufactured the Space Shuttle external tank, a major structural component of the Shuttle launch system. The program made the company an important supplier to the United States human-spaceflight infrastructure and demonstrated its large-scale aerospace manufacturing capabilities.

• MH-1ANuclear power engineering1963

  MH-1A was a floating nuclear power plant built under the United States Army Nuclear Power Program. Martin Marietta began construction in 1963, extending its engineering activities beyond aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft into specialized energy infrastructure.

• Mark IV monorailTransportation systems1969

  Martin Marietta was commissioned to build Mark IV monorail vehicles used by the Walt Disney World Monorail System between 1971 and 1989. The project illustrated the corporation's ability to apply aerospace-style engineering and manufacturing to passenger transportation equipment.

• 1995Merger with Lockheed CorporationM&A

  The post-Cold War defense market was undergoing consolidation, and senior government officials had indicated that the sector contained more major contractors than defense demand could support.

  What changed. Martin Marietta merged with Lockheed Corporation.

  Aftermath. The merger created Lockheed Martin and ended Martin Marietta's independent corporate existence.

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• 1993Expansion through aerospace and research acquisitionsM&A

  Martin Marietta sought to strengthen its position in aerospace, launch systems, and government research during a period of defense-industry restructuring.

  What changed. The company acquired GE Aerospace, acquired General Dynamics' Space Systems Division, and obtained a management contract for Sandia National Laboratories.

  Aftermath. The transactions expanded Martin Marietta's space, launch-vehicle, satellite, and national-laboratory activities shortly before its combination with Lockheed.

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• 1982Pac-Man defense against BendixStrategy

  Bendix Corporation acquired a majority of Martin Marietta's shares in a hostile takeover attempt.

  What changed. Martin Marietta's management sold non-core businesses and launched its own hostile bid for Bendix in an effort to regain strategic control.

  Aftermath. Martin Marietta survived as an independent company, while Bendix was ultimately acquired by Allied Corporation.

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• 1971Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp.Controversy

  The Supreme Court decided a landmark sex-discrimination case involving Martin Marietta's policy of refusing to hire mothers of preschool-age children while hiring fathers of young children. The decision became an important development in United States employment-discrimination law.

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• 1995Martin Marietta merges with Lockheed Corporation

  The merger created Lockheed Martin and ended Martin Marietta as an independent corporation.

  M&A
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• 1993Martin Marietta expands its space and aerospace portfolio

  The company acquired GE Aerospace and General Dynamics' Space Systems Division and obtained a management contract for Sandia National Laboratories.

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• 1982Martin Marietta faces Bendix hostile takeover and launches Pac-Man defense

  Bendix acquired a majority of Martin Marietta shares, after which Martin Marietta's management sold non-core businesses and pursued Bendix in a counter-takeover effort.

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• 1963Martin Marietta builds MH-1A floating nuclear power plant

  The company began construction of MH-1A under the United States Army Nuclear Power Program.

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• 1961Martin Marietta is formed through merger of Glenn L. Martin Company and American-Marietta

  The merger created a diversified corporation combining aerospace and missile expertise with industrial-materials and chemical businesses.

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1. Martin Marietta
2. Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp.