Corporate Image: The Siegler Corporation [promotional film]

Title

Corporate Image: The Siegler Corporation [promotional film]

Description

Promotional film for the Siegler Corporation, produced McNamara Productions, circa 1960s. The footage presents an overview of the company and its work in the aerospace and electronics fields. The first segment introduces Siegler's ten divisions (the Hufford Division, the Space Systems Technology Group, the Holly General Division, the Hallamore Electronics Division, the Siegler Heater Division, the Vac-U-Lift Division, the Jack & Heintz Division, the Bogen-Presto Division, the Magnetic Amplifiers Division, and the Olympic Radio & Television Division) and its various facilities in California, Illinois, Ohio, and New York. The narrator then presents a selection of Siegler products, including a black box, a solid fuel motor case for Minuteman missiles, cast iron heaters, and automatic weather stations.

The next segment, beginning at 00:02:56, covers the corporate history and policies of Siegler. The narrator describes the company's roots as a family-owned space heater company in Centralia, Illinois, and its development into a Fortune 500 corporation with a wide range of facilities and products. He also uses Siegler's work on large-scale projects, such as the Atlas missile and a variable-speed constant-frequency alternator, to emphasize the company's ability to synthesize talent and resources across its divisions.

The narrator then describes Siegler's corporate management concept, in which executives maintain regular contact with division managers. Several Siegler executives appear in these scenes, including President John G. Brooks, who explains the company philosophy to the narrator. The importance of product diversification is also stressed, with the narrator listing some of Siegler's broad manufacturing categories: check-out equipment, video systems, test instrumentation and launch control equipment, telemetering instrumentation, flight control and navigation, and power systems. This is followed by a series of short segments about specific Siegler technologies and their aerospace, defense, meteorological, and military applications. Projects mentioned and/or featured during these segments include the Centaur and Jupiter rockets, the North American X-15, the Mercury Program, the TACAN and AZUSA systems, and ballistic missiles such as the Polaris, Atlas, and Titan. Several scenes depict Siegler facilities, employees, products, and manufacturing and test operations.

A TWA (Trans World Airlines) Boeing 707 airliner appears at the beginning of the film as a narrative framing device, with divisions being introduced as the aircraft passes over during its cross country flight. One scene also takes place at Washington National Airport.

The film was likely created prior to the merger between Siegler and Lear, Incorporated, as Lear is not mentioned during the film.

The film is in color and includes audio.

Label on container: "The Siegler Corporation. 'The Corporate Image.' 16mm, color composite print. Produced by McNamara Productions, Inc. [address in Beverly Hills, California.]"

Date

1960s circa

Extent

1 film reel (21 min., 34 sec.) : sound, color ; 16 mm

Rights

Bibliographic Citation

The William P. and Moya Olsen Lear Papers/The Museum of Flight

Identifier

2000-06-20_AV_014_01