Charles Williams Nash

General Motors By 1910, the chief business of Durant-Dort Carriage Company was building automobile bodies for the Buick unit of General Motors, which was founded in 1908 by Durant, who had bought Buick in 1904. Durant found himself short of both capital and skilled management.

Durant brought in Nash to Buick to oversee production. Durant was not concerned that Nash did not have any automotive industry experience; his expertise was in dealing with people and also how to organize an efficient production line.

In late 1912, Durant was fired by the General Motors board, and on 19 November, Nash was elected as the fifth president of the company because he had earned the trust of the bankers who controlled the board of directors. Durant had acquired numerous automakers without analyzing their contribution to the product mix and some like Elmore, Cartercar, Reliance Motor Truck, Welch Motor Car, were money-losing operations that left the company financially overextended; thus, there was concern if it could even survive another five years.

Under Nash's leadership, General Motors made immense gains in profits earned and in the number of vehicles produced.

By late 1915 and early 1916, Billy Durant attempted to reassert his control over the company, and Nash was caught in the power struggle between Durant and bankers.

Nash learned that the heirs of the Jeffery Motor Company of Kenosha, Wisconsin, were anxious to retire. The company was best known for its Rambler brand of cars and numerous innovations. Nash bought out the pioneering automaker in August 1916 with a down payment check of half a million dollars and the total deal worth $5 million (some reports indicate the price was $9 million). One of the first major investors was Alfred P. Sloan. Nils Erik Wahlberg, a former GM engineer, developed new cars and engines for the 1918 model year.

Nash was able to negotiate procurement contracts with the United States Army during World War I, which made the company one of the largest producers of trucks in the nation. In 1918, Nash was appointed to take charge of the engineering and production of aircraft matters for the war effort.

In addition to running his own company, Charles Nash served as president of the luxury automaker LaFayette Motors until Nash Motors bought out the company in 1924.

By 1929, the Big Three automakers (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) controlled 75 percent of the automobile market. Nash Motors was in fourth place, producing 138,000 vehicles in 1928.

Nash focused on producing one high-quality automobile for the upper-medium price range, later adding a smaller, less expensive model, the Ajax. Nash realized he could never compete with the market diversity of the Big Three, so he based his profits on careful management, close attention to costs, and expansion opportunities. Nash was a hands-on executive who concentrated on developing more efficient purchasing and setting up accounting procedures to specify the source of profits and expenses.

Nash acquired other car companies, including Mitchell Motors of Racine in 1923 and LaFayette Motors of Milwaukee in 1924. In November 1932, Nash was honored by Sales Management (now Sales Management and Marketing) magazine as "The Pace Setter for the Auto Industry."

Nash gave up the presidency in 1932, but remained board chairman. Nash wanted George W. Mason as his executive vice president, and to have Mason, he had to buy Kelvinator, a leading manufacturer of refrigerators.

After twenty years of success in running his company, Nash turned it over in 1937, and the merged company was renamed Nash-Kelvinator. Among the festivities was bringing together fourteen living automotive pioneers.

Nash's health started to fail during his wife's illness and eventual death in 1947. He is quoted as describing himself as "the most common cuss that lived." He died in 1948 at the age of 84 in Beverly Hills, California. Nash Motors successfully marketed cars to America's middle class. Charles Nash is also recognized for lean operations in business that included scheduling production and material orders closely, carrying a small inventory, and having flexibility in meeting the changing market needs during the economic turmoil of the 1920s and 1930s.

Charles W. Nash's achievements by 1926 were characterized as a genuine success story:

Timeline 1890 - Charles Nash was hired to stuff seat cushions at Durant-Dort Carriage Company 1904 - Durant buys Buick, takes Nash with him as assistant manager 1910 – Charles Nash takes control of General Motors from William Durant 1912 – Charles Nash hires Walter P. Chrysler to manage the Buick division of General Motors 1912 – Nash becomes president of General Motors 1916 – William Durant re-gains control of General Motors, and Charles Nash resigns 1916 – Charles Nash buys the Thomas B. Jeffery Company, maker of the Rambler 1917 – Thomas B. Jeffery Company is renamed "Nash Motors" 1917 – First Nash designed car, "Model 681" is produced 1918 – Nash becomes the largest producer of trucks in the world, building 11,490 four-wheel drive quads for the US Army 1919 – Nash purchased half interest in the Seamon Body Corporation of Milwaukee - the builder of bodies for Rambler, Jeffery, and Nash 1925 – Purchased plant from the Mitchell Motor Car Company in Racine, Wisconsin 1930 – Nash retires and becomes chairman of the Board 1937 – Merged Nash with Kelvinator to form Nash-Kelvinator and made George W. Mason the CEO 1948 – Nash dies

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