Industry & Services >> CEO Interviews >> May 22, 2000

Douglas Taylor – Taylor Devices Inc (tayd)

DOUGLAS P. TAYLOR holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo, awarded in 1971. He has been employed by Taylor Devices since 1971, and was appointed President in April 1991. Mr. Taylor is also President of Tayco Developments, Inc., an affiliate of Taylor Devices, where he has been employed since 1966. He is the inventor or co-inventor on 25 US patents in the fields of energy management, hydraulics, and shock isolation. Mr. Taylor is widely published within the shock and vibration community. His technical papers have been published by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Applied Technology Council, the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers, the Journal of Shock and Vibration, the National Fluid Power Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the New York State Science and Technology Foundation, the Shock and Vibration Symposium, the Society of Automotive Engineers, the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps. Since 1988, Mr. Taylor has hosted internship programs for engineering students, and he is affiliated as an industrial sponsor with the State University of New York at Buffalo and the Erie County State of New York Board of Co-operative Educational Services. Since 1991, Mr. Taylor has participated in research projects in the field of earthquake protection in association with the Civil Engineering Department at SUNY Buffalo and the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research. As a result of this research, military technology from the Cold War era is now being used worldwide for seismic and high wind protection of commercial building and bridge structures. In 1994, Mr. Taylor was named to the American Society of Civil Engineers' Subcommittee on the Seismic Performance of Bridges. In 1998, Mr. Taylor was awarded the Franklin and Jefferson Medal for his commercialization of defense technology developed under the US Government's Small Business Innovation research program. In 1999, Mr. Taylor was awarded the Clifford C. Furnas Memorial Award by the Alumni Association of the University at Buffalo for his accomplishments in the field of engineering. Mr. Taylor is also a founding member of the International Association on Structural Control. Profile
TWST: Could you begin by giving an overview of Taylor Devices, Inc.?

Then describe what you see as your business and company today.

Mr. Taylor: Taylor Devices was incorporated back in 1955 by