Born: United States of America
Primarily active in: United States of America
Alex Sperber was born November 10, 1902 in Mannheim, Germany, the country in which he received his technical education and where he served his mahcine shop apprenticeship. Leaving Germany in his youth, he lived in Romania, France, Czecholovakia and the Near East before emigrating ot the United States in 1928. His first employment in this country was as an engineer aboard the late financier Andrew Mellon's yacht.
Mr. Sperber joined Sikorsky Aircraft as an assembler in 1930, filled a number of different journeyman jobs and rose through the ranks to be named factory superintendent in 1942.
As factory manager, Mr. Sperber directed a manufacturing organization that has numbered as high as 8,000 people and that has produced more than 4,400 helicopters. In addition to the regular productioin departments, his overall responsibility included the production control, manufacturing engineering and plant engineering departments. Over the years, Mr. Sperber acquired a reputation in the aerospace industry for low cost production and for meeting delivery schedules.
A life-long bachelor, he included photography, sketching and oil painting among his hobbies.
Mr. Sperber died December 8 in Bridgeport Hospital.
Obituary (pg-6) : VERTIFLITE December 1964