W. T. Gardner, CEO

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 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 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!"