AIA Features | SMC Spotlight: Joe Murphy

SMC Spotlight: Joe Murphy
Chairman, The Ferco Group
By Lauren Airey

Without having to travel very far, Joe Murphy has covered a lot of ground during almost four decades in the aerospace industry.

The chairman of AIA associate member company The Ferco Group, Murphy just finished his term as the Supplier Management Council representative to the association's Board of Governors.

No one had to look far to find Murphy to offer him the SMC seat on the 2007 board. He's been close by, deeply involved in the supplier organization since helping found it in 1997 while an executive with General Electric.

The SMC last year celebrated 10 years as a champion for aerospace and defense supplier issues and needs.

Photo: Ferco Group Chairman Joe Murphy, at left, discusses issues with U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) during...

Ferco Group Chairman Joe Murphy, left, discusses issue with U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) during a plant visit in July 2006. At right is Greg Sandberg, Ferco's vice president and general manager of manufacturing.

"When (the SMC) started, we didn't really know where it could go, but we've had some terrific industry chairmen over the years," Murphy said. "They did first-rate work early on, gluing this all together and figuring out what the SMC should be. When John Douglass came on board, things really got revved up."

The founding members — all representatives of major aerospace manufacturers who worked with suppliers — decided that 40 associate members would be a good starting roster for the new council. Each member was asked to invite their best suppliers to become associate members. Today, the SMC has 180 members with a target of 200.

An on-campus interview brought Murphy to GE and eventually to Cincinnati to work at GE-Aviation. After his retirement in 1999, capping 30 years with the company, Murphy agreed to join Ohio-based Ferco Group as chairman.

The transition from one of the world's largest manufacturers to a small supply company was prompted by his business relationship with Ferco founder Bill Fernandez Sr., who met Murphy through the GE small business outreach program that Murphy led for a number of years.

Over the past 15 years Murphy has seen both subtle and substantial changes in the aerospace industry, especially for small suppliers.

"The landscape is changing for everyone in the industry with consolidation and globalization," Murphy said. "If you look at AIA's membership 10 years ago, many of the members are now part of another company.

"One of the great things about the SMC is that it provides the small supplier a cost-effective way to stay connected to what's going on in the industry. Market knowledge is the key — first for survival and second for opportunities for growth."

Ferco Tech
The Ferco Tech Corporation is headquarted in Franklin, Ohio, with manufacturing facilities located in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Ferco Tech utilizes the latest technology in machines, tools and fixturing to manufacture aircraft engine tubes that meet the most demanding aerospace specifications. Ferco is also a leading manufacturer of jet engine brackets, manufacturing more than 9,000 different designs since 1984.

Web site: www.fercotech.com/