Lockheed Martin records

Lockheed Martin is an American global security, aerospace, defense and advanced technology company headquartered in the Washington, DC area. As one of the world's largest defense contractors, the company began in 1995 with the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. These records, however, follow another merging company that joined Lockheed Martin in 1996. In 1946 Engineering Research Associates (ERA) began as a pioneering computer firm headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. Over the years the corporate name changed and the company was bought and merged many times -- from Engineering Research Associates to Remington Rand, to Remington Rand Univac, to Sperry Rand Univac, to Sperry Computer Systems, to Unisys Defense Systems, to Paramax Electronic Systems, to Unisys GSG, and to Loral Defense Systems, before finally becoming Lockheed Martin Tactical Defense Systems in June of 1997.

Throughout the years, the focus was on American equipment and electronics -- from electronic typewriters to office equipment to electronic digital computers for business and military. Engineering Research Associates, which started as a top-secret military contractor for the Navy, became a pioneering in the growing computer industry and established the Twin Cities as a computer powerhouse in the 1950s through the 1970s. Some project remained top secret and confidential, while others were not, and over the years despite the name changes, the Twin Cities branch continued their innovative work. In 2010 Lockheed Martin announced that it would close its facility in Eagan by the end of 2012, ultimately ending this sixty-six year legacy of Minnesota's innovation in the computer industry.

More information can be found at the VIP Club website, which represents a group of retirees and former employees of UNISYS, Lockheed Martin, and their Twin Cities heritage companies. More information at vipclubmn.org.