My Four Hours with Foster McGaw

(This article was written for the Alumni Network of American Hospital Supply Corporation, AHSC, which commemorated the 100 Anniversary of the company which?was founded March 1922. AHSC merged with BAXTER HEALTH in 1985.)

I served as the plant manager for V Mueller’s surgical instrument manufacturing facility in Fort Lauderdale from early 1971 through 1975. This plant was responsible for making “high-volume” ring-handled surgical instruments.

At the age of 18, McGaw was approached by the owner of a surgical instrument company who offered him a job in Chicago. McGaw worked at this surgical instrument company for three years before enlisting in the United States Marine Corps in 1918. Foster McGaw, as result, was very fond of surgical instruments, as evidenced later by American Hospital Supply Corporation's (AHSC) acquisition of V. Mueller, which became under the AHSC umbrella, the top surgical products supplier in the United States.

Foster called me from his winter home in Boca Raton one day and asked if he could visit.

We set a date which he had to cancel. He had some issues with his gardeners. “And you know how gardeners are today?” Of course, as a young manager with a pregnant wife living in my first home who could barely afford a hibiscus, I had no clue what he was talking about. I was just worried about making mortgage payments!

Some of you may remember that AHSC was not the highest paying employer in the field in the early 1970s. The trade off with compensation was that AHSC advanced young professionals to positions of responsibility and freedom to act early in their career. This was worth the trade off for most of us.

Nevertheless, we found another date which worked for both of us. He drove himself. He sat with me for almost two hours learning about me and sharing some of the history of AHSC as well as the story behind the acquisition of V. Mueller. It turns out he sold a lot of ring-handled instruments in his day and was very fond of having a Division involved with serving the surgical suite.

He also talked about Washington D.C. and his support of our local Congressman, Paul Rogers. He urged me to reach out to him, as I did. Rogers at that time was involved with drafting The Medical Device Regulation Act or Medical Device Amendments of 1976 with Senator Edward Kennedy. Congressman Rogers participated in our plant’s celebration of the manufacture of our “One Millionth Instrument.” Karl Bays,CEO, AHSC, and other local and national dignitaries attended as well.

Karl and Congressman Rogers were able to meet privately while there. This meeting led to AHSC’s direct participation in the drafting of the new regs as an advisor to Rogers.

Back to my time with Foster…

After an extremely collegial time in my office, we headed out to the plant where Foster stopped at each production station and talked with each employee. V. Mueller Fort Lauderdale, with the support of our Division President, Bill Bartlett, and my boss, VP of Manufacturing Don Bye, had become in just four years the most advanced surgical instrument manufacturing operation in the world.

This was not lost on Foster as he commented extensively on how we modernized the manufacturing process, and on the innovative things we introduced into making the V. Mueller forcep a high-quality product. There were many who toured our facility as part of customer visits, but few had the intense interest shown by Foster. Surgical instruments were among the very first products he sold.

One of my special moments with him was when I showed him the raw forgings which we imported from Germany. He totally amazed me with his knowledge of how they would be used and the instruments that could be made from just one forging.?This was a clear sign of his knowledge and sophistication.?Impressive...he was not just a sales genius.?

At the end of our time together, he wanted to share, as a mentor would, various gems of his hard-earned wisdom. The one I remember most and have shared hundreds of times was his advice on owning a second home. “DON” T BUY A SECOND HOME!”

He had four, I believe – Chicago, Boca Raton, Door County, and Hawaii. He said once you buy one, you will be held hostage by it. When vacation time comes, there are no choices but one, to use the?second home. You will feel obligated to use?it due to its maintenance?costs and the guilt that comes from leaving it empty (he was the son of a missionary father!). He said that for what he invested in their purchase and upkeep, he could have used the money better and would have been better served (and his family) with a short-term rental in a variety of places throughout the world.

I am blessed to have had this time with Foster, particularly at age 26. He lived up to his people focused reputation. And as you can imagine, he made a very positive impact on my employees. He was the master of "managing by walking around."

And I took his advice. I have never owned a second home.?

March 2022

About Foster McGaw and American Hospital Supply Corporation

Foster Glendale McGaw was the founder and guiding force behind the American Hospital Supply Corporation, a multinational firm headquartered initially in Chicago and then in the adjacent suburb of Evanston. Under his direction AHSC grew during the course of the twentieth century from a small distributor of hospital supplies into a giant dominating a field that, for the most part, did not exist until McGaw invented it. As a result in part of his foresight and energy, AHSC expanded into every facet of the hospital supply industry, from the manufacture of rubber gloves to hospital planning and decorating. Over the years its structure was adjusted in response to new opportunities as AHSC adopted a strategy of market segmentation and vertical integration. The resulting vigorous growth elicited a rationalization of operations, demonstrating the salutary flexibility which was an important factor in the company's success. In addition to his activities as a businessman Foster McGaw was also a lavish philanthropist, bestowing funds on a variety of institutions from Chicago and Evanston area hospitals and Presbyterian welfare organizations to major universities. Along with his concern for education, he was deeply engaged with other social and political issues of the day