Our Founder
Born during the Great Depression and growing up in one of the toughest economic times to date, W. T. learned a tremendous amount of information about how to build people up, succeed in business, and turn a profit with a lot of hard work. Upon graduating High School he immediately left for the Army where he served two years in Germany.
Returning to the U.S. he took a job at a Ford Plant and was later laid off due to economically hard times. With a wife and burning desire to succeed, he applied for a position as a machinist with Temco – not because he knew how to run a mill, but it paid a nickel more, and he knew that was a better position for him.
In 1960, W.T. was hired by Texas Instruments, Inc., there he further developed his precision machining skills and was promoted to foreman over the non-metallic shop. After 15 years with TI he decided to start his own business. So in 1973, W.T. bought his first used Bridgeport Mill, saw and lathe and set-up a small machine shop in his garage. For two years he worked days as a foremen for TI and during the evenings and weekends as a budding entrepreneur. It was 1975 when he chose to leave Texas Instruments and move his little shop from his garage to a small location in Garland, and Savage Precision Fabrication, Inc was born. As the sole shareholder and Native American Indian of Choctaw decent, W. T. has over 45 years of business experience in precision manufacturing operations.
Now, three and a half decades later and five moves to larger facilities, he’s grown Savage Precision Fabrication, Inc. from a one-man-shop to a thriving community based small business of 44 staff members. Starting with semi-conductors in the mid seventies and a promise "if it doesn’t work – you don’t have to pay me", to becoming a preferred manufacturer in the aerospace and defense industry in the late 80’s, Savage Precision Fabrication, Inc. has grown to become one of the nation’s preferred complete manufactures under the direction of W. T. Gardner.
There is never the right way
to do the wrong thing!
Below is a testimonial from one of his closest friends/coworkers
ON WORK HABITS:
You did not impress W.T. by talking, you showed up for work every day on time ready to work. You did your best not realizing subconsciously the reason was to try and please him. You made mistakes, scrapped parts, remade them sometimes more than once, but as long as he saw you were learning he supported you. Your appearance, your work area and passion for making things right, said everything.
ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION:
W.T. demanded that every part Savage made be dimensionally correct and visually perfect so that if it was on a shelf in a store you would want to purchase it. Being late on a job was to W.T. like breaking your word, he took it very seriously. W.T. believed that charging the Customer more than necessary because of circumstances not favorable to the Customer would always come back to bite you.
ON FRIENDSHIP:
W.T.’s friends will tell you he was the highest quality friend a person could have. He was honest, thoughtful, wise, a man of few words, compassionate and loving. It did not matter if you were a friend from childhood, time in the service, as from more recent times he was quality to everyone.
ON SPORTS:
W.T. was an athlete; he played basketball when at the free throw lane – under handed and long jump shots with one foot in the air. He ran track and qualified for the State finals, but no one in Bennington, Oklahoma had a car that would make it to Oklahoma City. He supported his children and community in all sport activities. During the 60’s and early 70’s the Texas/OU games were watching parties at the Gardner home were legendary. You could some years find W.T., Jo Ann and cohorts rolling their Longhorn fans homes with red and white crepe paper in the early morning hours before the game.
ON FAMILY:
W.T. was a husband and father in the same way he was a friend, quality, he was spare with words, full of love, demanding when needed and protective always.
REFLECTIONS ARE GREAT,
MISSING HIM IS HARD
AND LOVING HIM WAS EASY.
ANONYMOUSLY,
AN EMPLOYEE
AND A FRIEND
