Page 20: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (July 1969)

Nashville Bridge Co. Elects New Officers The Nashville Bridge Company, Nashville, Tenn., following a recent meeting of the board of directors, announced the election of new of-ficers of the company. The announcement was made jointly by Albert E. Hill Jr., president of Whale, Inc., the parent company, and Harry B. Dyer, chairman of the board, Nashville Bridge Company. Mr. Dyer will assume the office of president, in addition to his present duties as chairman of the board. Robert A. Downing was promoted from vice-president to executive vice-president. William H. Barton, Robert C. Sanders and Ralph E. Van der Naillen Jr., were promoted from assistant vice-presidents to vice-presi-dents. John E. Womack, Donald L. Guyton and Wesley H. Dyer continue as vice-presi-dent, treasurer and secretary respectively. R. A. Downing, a native of Tennessee,has has been with the Nashville Bridge Company since 1940 when he began in the Engineering Department. He received his engineering de-gree from Vanderbilt University. During World War II, he served in the Marine Corps in the South Pacific attaining the rank of Lt. Colonel. After the war, he returned to the Nashville Bridge Company as an engineer at the Bessemer, Alabama plant. In 1955 he was appointed assistant sales manager of the Nash-ville District at the home office. He was elected vice-president in 1962. Mr. Downing is a past president of the Engineers Association of Nashville; a member of the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers; the Downtown Ki-wanis Club; the Society of Military Engineers, and the Nashville Chamber of Commerce. W. H. Barton, a native of Nashville, gradu-ated in 1948 from the U.S. Naval Academy with a BS in engineering. He was on active duty with the U.S. Navy until 1959 when he joined the Nashville Bridge Company. In 1966 he became an assistant vice-president. R. C. Sanders joined the Marine Department of the Nashville Bridge Company in 1962, and was named assistant vice-president in 1966. A native of North Carolina, he received his BS degree in civil engineering in 1949 from the U.S. Military Academy. He was on military duty for nine years, with the eventual rank of major. R. E. Van der Naillen, a native of California, began work with the Nashville Bridge Com-pany in 1958, and was named assistant vice-president in 1966. He received his bachelor's degree in engineering in 1951 from the U.S. Naval Academy. He served with the U.S. Navy for seven years, reaching the rank of lieuten-ant, with special duty as Navy pilot. He is now a commander in the Naval Reserve. Lane Lifeboat Purchases Welin Davit And Boat Div. The combining of two of the nation's oldest lifeboat manufacturers was disclosed on June 11 with the announcement that Lane Lifeboat and Davit Corporation of Brooklyn, N.Y. had purchased the assets of the Welin Davit and Boat Division, Perth Amboy, N.J. from Con-tinental Copper & Steel Industries. The an-nouncement was made by Mortimor S. Gordon, president of Continental. Lane Lifeboat and Davit Corporation, serv-ing the marine industry for over 100 years, will conduct the combined operations. Lane President Henry Allen stated that, "through this combined operation of Lane and Welin, we will be better able to supply the entire marine industry in the United States and abroad." In addition to manufacturing lifeboats and davits, Lane operates a fiberglass premix press molding division for the production of instru-ment housings for industrial products. This division also manufactures molded rigid-foam products. The consideration received by Continental for its 75-year old Welin Division included shares of stock of Lane. tp see ft is, z'/z. " 10 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News