Melpar

Melpar

Historical logo circa 1960
Founded	1945 (1945)
Headquarters	Northern Virginia
Services	Government research and development
Parent	Westinghouse Air Brake American Standard Raytheon

Melpar was an American government contractor in the 20th century Cold War period. At a time when most employment in Washington, DC was directly by the US federal government, Melpar became an early private sector contracting company training a high technology workforce in the area.

In 1945, after the conclusion of World War II, the founders of Melpar Inc (Thomas Meloy and Joseph Parks), at the suggestion of the United States Navy, moved from New York City to the Washington, DC area to obtain government contracts. Meloy had served as an assistant to Henry Stimson during the war. The company name was derived from the first syllable of their last names. In late 1945 Parks accidentally killed himself in a hunting accident; nevertheless Meloy continued promote developing Melpar as an engineering and production company doing business with the Armed forces. He acquired the Carl Miller Engineering Company, a small firm that designed and produced electro-mechanical products. The new company took over a contract for airborne radar systems, and expanded. In the next few years Melpar moved to Alexandria, Virginia, added a second plant in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a third plant in Alexandria. Within 15 years the company grew to more than 6,000 employees, and occupied ten facilities of more than 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m²) throughout Northern Virginia.

Events such as the Berlin Airlift, the detonation of the nuclear weapons by the Soviet Union, and the outbreak of the Korean War helped Melpar's business. In addition to military applications, technology began to play a role in nonmilitary areas. The US government had a pool of technical talent in its laboratories, and assumed an expanded role. The launch of Sputnik in 1957 further intensified competition with the Soviet Union.