The Ward M. Canaday Center

for Special Collections

The University of Toledo

Finding Aid

Robert G. Wingerter Papers and Photographs, 1967-1978

MSS-243

Size: 3 linear feet

Provenance: Jan Dixon of Holland, OH, donated 21 August 2010

Access: Open

Collection Summary: This collection primarily documents Wingerter’s career as an executive with Libbey-Owens-Ford, Inc.

 

Subject(s): Business and Commerce; Glass Industry

Copyright: The literary rights to this collection are assumed to rest with the person(s) responsible for the production of the particular items within the collection, or with their heirs or assigns.  Researchers bear full legal responsibility for the acquisition to publish from any part of said collection per Title 17, United States Code.  The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections may reserve the right to intervene as intermediary at its own discretion.

 

Completed by: Zachary R. Dehm, 21 March 2011; revised by Patrick Cook, Nov. 2011; last updated: Arjun Sabharwal, November 2014

 

Biographical Sketch

 

Robert G. Wingerter was born in Detroit, Michigan, on October 5, 1916, to Hugh and Bertha (Seeger) Wingerter. He grew up in Detroit and graduated from Wayne State University cum laude in 1938 with a B.S. in mechanical engineering on a scholarship. In 1955 he completed the executive program in business administration at Columbia University. He received the Wayne State University College of Engineering Merit Award Citation in 1958 for achievement and contributions in the field of engineering. In 1967 he received Freedom Foundation’s George Washington Honor Medal Award.

 

He was a member of the American Management Association, Association of the United States Army, Engineering Society of Detroit, Society of Automotive Engineers, American Ordnance Association, Automotive Old Timers, Economic Club of Detroit, Tau Beta Pi, Necomen Society in North America, Detroit Athletic Club, Bloomfield Hills Country Club, the Detroit Club, the Toledo Club, the Noon Club of Toledo, Inverness Club, and Otsego Ski Club. He also served as president of the Automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers Association, a director of the Wayne State University Fund, and trustee of the Institute for Economic Education.

 

He started off in business in 1938 with Timken Roller Bearing. He was the director of sales of the automotive division by 1959. Wingerter then served as the executive vice president, chief administrative officer, and a director of the Rockwell-Standard Corporation from 1963 to 1967.

 

In 1967 he was recruited to Libbey-Owens-Ford, Inc. Within a few months, he was president, CEO, and a director. He was elevated to chairman in 1975 when Don T. McKone became the president. He retired from L-O-F in 1979, but continued to serve as chairman of the board’s executive committee for several years.

 

During his time at L-O-F, Wingerter brought the organization back to profitability. In 1972 an article was published in Forbes magazine entitled “How Bob Wingerter Robbed the Bank.” Prior to Wingerter’s joining L-O-F, they were the sole glass supplier to General Motors, making a profit of 18 percent on stockholders’ equity. It was referred to as “the bank that made glass.” When GM expanded to other manufacturers and profits ebbed, Wingerter was brought in to bring the company back to profitability.

 

Wingerter modernized L-O-F’s plants and bought other companies such as Aeroquip (a flexible hose manufacturer), and Woodall Industries (a molded plastic parts manufacturer). He put uncommitted L-O-F assets to work. Under Wingerter, sales doubled and profits rose by 40 percent.

 

He served on the boards of Toledo Edison, Centerior Energy, Marathon Oil, and Toledo Trust. He was a Capital University regent, and a trustee of the Medical College of Ohio. He served as the president of the Toledo Museum of Art trustees, led a United Way annual campaign, and served as the chairman of a YWCA renovation campaign. He died 3 January 2011 in Perrysburg Township, where he was a longtime resident.


Scope and Content

 

The Robert G. Wingerter Papers primarily document Wingerter’s career as an executive with Libbey-Owens-Ford, Inc.  The collection is divided into two primary series:  speeches and addresses, and photographs.

 

Series I, speeches, is divided into the following subseries:  awards, speeches to financial analysts, speeches to various engineering groups, miscellaneous addresses, speeches to L-O-F sales groups, speeches on tariff and trade issues, and speeches to groups of the American Flint Glass Workers Union.   Miscellaneous addresses include talks related to his community service activities for various charitable organizations in Toledo and addresses at colleges and universities. 

 

Series II, photographs and albums, is divided into the following subseries by subject of the photos:  dinners and events, factories, meetings with executives and other associates, official company photographs, and photograph albums.  The photograph albums document Wingerter’s trips abroad to Japan and Italy to tour glass factories there.  One oversized photograph is of Wingerter with Lord Peter Pilkington and Sir Alastair Pilkington of Pilkington Glass in Great Britain. 

 

 

Folder List

 

Box Folder Topics Categories Date Description
1 1 Speeches and Addresses Awards 11/6/1974 UT Citation Honoring R. G. Wingerter
2 Speeches and Addresses Awards Undated Resolution of Appreciation of R.G. Wingerter at the time of his Retirement – LOF BOD
3 Speeches and Addresses Analysts 5/17/1967 “New Glasses Give LOF Better Vision” Security Analysts
4 Speeches and Addresses Analysts 1967-1968 LOF Consolidated Financial Data
5 Speeches and Addresses Analysts 12/17/1968 LOF Sales Conferences
6 Speeches and Addresses Analysts 11/20/1969 The New York Automotive Security Analysts
7 Speeches and Addresses Analysts 12/1/1969 The Financial Analysts Society of Toledo
8 Speeches and Addresses Analysts 11/1/1972 The Financial Analysts Society of Detroit
9 Speeches and Addresses Analysts 12/11/1973 The Financial Analysts Society of Toledo
10 Speeches and Addresses Analysts 10/8/1974 Financial Analysts Federation Fall Conference
10 Speeches and Addresses Analysts 10/10/1974 G. Tsai & Company Institutional Investors Luncheon
11 Speeches and Addresses Engineering Groups 9/10/1965 “Some Observations on the Field of Industrial Sales Engineering” Engineering Society of Detroit
12 Speeches and Addresses Engineering Groups 10/17/1967 “An Engineer’s View of Some Current Major Social and Business Problems” Toledo Society of Professional Engineers
13 Speeches and Addresses Engineering Groups 10/23/1973 “The Change of the Game” 28th Annual technical Convention, The American Society of Body Engineers
14 Speeches and Addresses Engineering Groups 4/22/1981 “Reflections from 43 Years in the Post-Grad. Curriculum” Annual Honors Convocation, College of Engineering, Wayne State University
15 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 10/27/1965 “The Tiny Flame” Business Education Day; Logans Port, IN
16 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 5/14/1966 “I Can’t Swim” Chamber of Commerce Meeting; Ashtabula, OH
17 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 1967 LOF News Clippings
18 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 4/20/1967 Biographical Sketch of R. G. Wingerter
19 Speeches and Addresses Misc. May, 1967 "What Business Looks for When Hiring Young People." Newspaperboy Parent Newsletter - Chats with Mom and Dad
20 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 6/5/1967 Remarks, Capital University
21 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 5/23/1968 Remarks, Junior Achievement of Northwest Ohio, Inc. - 1968 Future Unlimited Banquet
22 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 6/24/1969 Remarks at Junior Achievement Dinner - Carranor Club
23 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 1971 Letter to Shareholders Addressing Bigger's letter of 1931 40 years later on how the business with GM transformed the company and hope for the future
24 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 8/29/1971 "A Need for New Beginnings." - Commencement Day, Sampson Technical Institute - Clinton, NC
25 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 7/3/1972 Open house Dedication Program, Thermopane LOF Inc. - Clinton, NC
26 Speeches and Addresses Misc. September, 1972 "…The Sky's A-Going to Fall…!" The Glass Industry
27 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 11/15/1972 "How Bob Wingerter Robbed the Bank."
28 Speeches and Addresses Misc. February, 1973 Editorial - Aeroquip - The Flying A
29 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 11/19/1973 Outline for YPO Talk
30 Speeches and Addresses Misc. September, 1974 "LOF's President Views the Inflation Problem."
31 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 9/18/1974 "Crusade of Mercy Kick-Off Banquet."
32 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 10/23/1974 People of the Financial World - Financial World
33 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 10/24/1974 "Crusade of Mercy Victory Dinner"
34 Speeches and Addresses Misc. November, 1974 "Hundreds of Tests Prove Glass for Construction" Ceramic Industry Magazine
35 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 2/24/1975 "Glassmakers Reflect Detroit's Troubles." Business Week
36 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 5/5/1975 House Committee on Banking, Currency, and Household - Automobile Industry Task Force
37 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 5/23/1975 "We Can Have Only What We Produce." Business Roundtable of Northern Ohio Economic Conference - Cleveland, OH
38 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 6/12/1975 "The Mike Owens Legacy." Michael J. Owens Technical College - Perrysburg, OH
39 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 7/3/1975 "A Time for New Perspectives." Toledo Downtown Lions Club
40 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 7/22/1975 Sealed Insulating Glass Manufacturers Association - Minneapolis, MN
41 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 2/6/1976 Dedication and Opening of L-N Safety Glass, S.A. de C.V. - Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
42 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 5/13/1976 "Does Private Enterprise Have a Future?" Annual Meeting of the Better Business Bureau of Toledo
43 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 9/7/1976 Major Corporate and Individual Gifts Division - 1976 United Way Campaign
44 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 3/2/1977 "Why Choose a Business Career?" Remarks for Student-Business Dialogue Series Meeting - The University of Toledo
45 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 1/22/1978 "Comments on the 1978 Economic Outlook." Belmont Country Club Economic Seminar
46 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 4/2/1978 "An Industrial Energy User Looks at the Energy Dilemma." Marathon Oil Company General Management Meeting - Boca Raton, FL
47 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 4/27/1979 Dedication and Premier Showing of the New Rare Mammal Building - Toledo Zoological Gardens
48 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 11/1/1979 Twin Dinner Remarks
49 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 7/17/1982 Dedication of Toledo Museum of Art Renovation
50 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 3/10/1987 "Criteria for Success in Today's Corporate World." Wayne State University Panel Discussion
51 Speeches and Addresses Misc. 1/3/2011 Obituaries of R. G. Wingerter
52 Speeches and Addresses Sales Groups November, 1965 Rockwell-Standard Automotive Divisions
53 Speeches and Addresses Sales Groups 3/17/1968 National Glass Dealers Association - San Francisco, CA
54 Speeches and Addresses Sales Groups 12/17/1968 LOF Sales Conference 
55 Speeches and Addresses Sales Groups 10/2/1972 "Today's LOF Accepts a Challenge." National Association of Mirror Manufacturers
56 Speeches and Addresses Sales Groups 1/28/1974 Flat Glass Marketing Association Meeting - Scottsdale, AZ
57 Speeches and Addresses Sales Groups 3/17/1974 "An Overview of LOF, '74." National Marketing Meeting - Pinehurst, NC
58 Speeches and Addresses Sales Groups 7/22/1975 Sealed Insulated Glass Manufacturers Association - Minneapolis, MN
59 Speeches and Addresses Tariff and Trade 7/11/1967 "The Impact of U.S. Tariff and Trade Policies on the Flat Glass Industry." Flat Glass Marketing Association - Miami, FL
60 Speeches and Addresses Tariff and Trade 8/16/1967 Senator Frank Lausche (D-OH) presents the address of R. G. Wingerter in Miami, FL to Flat Glass Marketing Association (7/11/1967) to U.S. Congress
61 Speeches and Addresses Tariff and Trade 10/30/1967 "Free Trade Cult' in United States Will Reduce Nation to Farm Economy." American Banker
62 Speeches and Addresses Tariff and Trade Winter, 1967 "Reciprocity: Myth or Reality? Foreign Nations Reduce the Value of Tariff Concessions by Imposing Nontariff Restrictions on Imported Goods." Ward's Quarterly
63 Speeches and Addresses Tariff and Trade 12/15/1967 Representative Basil L. Whitener (D-NC) presents the address of R. G. Wingerter "Survival of Our Domestic Industry."
64 Speeches and Addresses Tariff and Trade 1/4/1968 "The Foreign Trade Credibility Gap." Toledo Area Chamber of Commerce
65 Speeches and Addresses Tariff and Trade 1/5/1968 "Import Safeguards Urged for U.S." The Blade - Toledo, OH
66 Speeches and Addresses Tariff and Trade 3/19/1968 "Why Not Facts on Foreign Trade?" NAM Reports
67 Speeches and Addresses Unions 10/16/1968 Wage Conference - Atlantic City, NJ
68 Speeches and Addresses Unions 2/23/1971 Remarks to Glass Workers Officers
69 Speeches and Addresses Unions 4/6/1971 Remarks to Union
70 Photos Dinners and Events 1966 Japan - R. G. Wingerter, Mrs. Wingerter, Other Execs. and their spouses (Japanese) 
71 Photos Dinners and Events 3/26/1968 "Evening with Lowell Thomas." Lowell Thomas, R. G. Wingerter, Other Execs.
72 Photos Dinners and Events 11/30/1970 R. G. Wingerter receives a Certificate of Appreciation
73 Photos Dinners and Events 1972 Mel Burwell Retirement - R. G. Wingerter, Mel Burwell
74 Photos Dinners and Events 3/8/1972 LOF Service Award Dinner - R. G. Wingerter, Awardee and Spouse - Charleston, WV
75 Photos Dinners and Events March, 1973 Visit of Nippon Sheet Glass
76 Photos Dinners and Events September, 1973 Lord Peter Pilkington of Oxenford and Sir Alastair Pilkington in Harrisburg, NC and Toledo, OH
77 Photos Dinners and Events 8/3/1974 "President's Cup Race for Charity." R. G. Wingerter and Others
78 Photos Dinners and Events 11/30/1974 Opening of LOF Building Restaurant
79 Photos Dinners and Events 1976 Dinner in Honor of Milton Rubin's Retirement as President of the National Association of Mirror Manufacturers
80 Photos Factories Undated R. G. Wingerter and (Presumably) Gov. James E. Holshouser (NC), and Other LOF Float Glass Furnace - Laurenburg, NC
81 Photos Factories 5/29/1967 R. G. Wingerter and Other Execs. Touring Plant
82 Photos Factories 2/6/1976 Opening of L. N. Safety Glass - R. G. Wingerter, Other Execs.
83 Photos Factories 7/24/1979 R. G. Wingerter and C. H. Damke
84 Photos Meetings, Executives, and Associates Undated R. G. Wingerter and Other Execs. (Illegible Handwriting) - Verna Gorman, MA
85 Photos Meetings, Executives, and Associates Undated R. G. Wingerter and Other Execs. (Japanese and American)
86 Photos Meetings, Executives, and Associates 2/14/1967 R. G. Wingerter with Other Executives Boarding or De-boarding a Plane
87 Photos Meetings, Executives, and Associates 1968 R. G. Wingerter and Associates
88 Photos Meetings, Executives, and Associates 4/4/1968 R. G. Wingerter (presumably) in his office with Other Execs.
89 Photos Meetings, Executives, and Associates 4/24/1968 R. G. Wingerter - Report to Shareholders After 1st Year of Presidency
90 Photos Meetings, Executives, and Associates 1969 Glass Management Policy Committee - R. G. Wingerter, Other Execs.
91 Photos Meetings, Executives, and Associates October, 1972 R. G. Wingerter and Other Execs. (Japanese and American) - Yokohama Rubhes
92 Photos Meetings, Executives, and Associates 11/3/1972 R. G. Wingerter and Shelley Brown (J. A. LOF Products), Dave White (J. A. Pres. - Superflyers), and Venessa Crenshaw (J. A. Pres - WOL - LOF)
93 Photos Meetings, Executives, and Associates December, 1972 Nippon Visitors, Muva, Muvata, and Nakamula in LOF Dining Room
94 Photos Meetings, Executives, and Associates 1/19/1974 Reiser Testimonial Dinner - R. G. Wingerter and Other Execs.
95 Photos Meetings, Executives, and Associates September, 1974 Meeting in Japan - F. E. Schwertfer, Jioro Kawase (Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd.), and Other Execs. (Japanese and American)
96 Photos Meetings, Executives, and Associates 11/28/1975 "Second Closing." R. G. Wingerter, Others
97 Photos Official Photos 11/7/1973 R. G. Wingerter in his Office
98 Photos Official Photos 1974 R. G. Wingerter, President and CEO, LOF Glass
Photo Albums Small Albums 4/18/1973 Retirement Party for Curt Davis, Director; Ross Carey, V.P. and Director; Dick Weter, V.P.; and Harry Ryan, Controller - Bellmont Country Club
Photo Albums Small Albums 10/5/1973 Pictures of J.M. Roche & LOF Personnel, Toledo Area Chamber of Commerce Luncheon (Employer Support for the Guard & Reserve)
Photo Albums Small Albums 1976 LOF Annual Meeting
Miscellaneous Memorabilia 1978 M. J. Owens 75th Anniversary Automatic Bottle Machine, 1903-1978 - Paperweight
2 Photos Official Photos Undated Robert G. Wingerter, President - LOF
2 Photo Albums Large Albums 1974 Japan - R. G. Wingerter, Mrs. Wingerter, Nippon Sheet Glass
2 Photo Albums Large Albums October, 1976 Japan - R. G. Wingerter, Mrs. Wingerter, Nippon Sheet Glass
2 Photo Albums Large Albums 10/28/1967 R. G. Wingerter and Associates/Executives, Factory, Societa Italiana Vetro
2 Photo Albums Large Albums 7/23/1985 H. D. Hoopman "Hoop" Retirement Party
2 Scrapbook Large Albums R. G. Wingerter Scrapbook
3 Miscellaneous Oversized Libbey-Owens-Ford Company Goals - 13 Goals, R. G. Wingerter
3 Photos Meetings, Executives, and Associates - Oversized Undated Merger with Aeroquip - R. G. Wingerter, Milton Knight, Peter F. Hurst, Don McKone
3 Photos Dinners and Events - Oversized September, 1973 Lord Peter Pilkington of Oxenford and Sir Alastair Pilkington
3 Photos Meetings, Executives, and Associates - Oversized 1969 Glass Management Policy Committee - R. G. Wingerter, Other Execs.
3 Photos Official Photos - Oversized Undated R. G. Wingerter in a Hallway - January 1978, 12th Floor, LOF Building
3 Photos Official Photos - Oversized Undated R. G. Wingerter in front of paintings of Edward Drummond Libbey, Michael J. Owens, Edward Ford - January 1978, 12th Floor, LOF Building
3 Newspaper Clipping Oversized 6/2/1968 "LOF Shattering Tradition Of Glass-Bound Future." Article on the merger with Aeroquip