[102] It is certainly a pleasure for me to share in your conference, lead the discussion of this panel of airline representatives, and represent the Marriott Corporation. We share more than a passing interest in the aerospace program. Although known to most of you as the company with the motor hotel at the Manned Space Center in Houston or the series of restaurants on the Sunshine State Parkway here in Florida, our Washington based operations stretch from Honolulu to Rome and Boston to Santiago, Chile, and cover every conceivable facet of the food-service and lodging field. Most of you represent some phase of pioneering in the space age and we have been pioneering in in-flight feeding service for commercial travel since 1927.
The in-flight catering industry presently stands on the brink of a new jet age that has been described by one aircraft manufacturer as the "spacious age. " The subsonic superjets or airbuses and even the supersonic aircraft will be our partners in the remaining years of this century.
Contrary to some speculation, food service will continue to be an important part of air travel. The configuration of future meal service and its integral parts will be different, but so is today's in-flight dining experience different from the 1928 brown-bagged sandwiches and cardboard lap trays. Our industry needs more technology in frozen food and reconstituting processes and in packaging, transportation, and onship handling processes. Our industry needs to adopt the technology of cryogenics, liquid freon freezing, radiation, and freeze drying and to make extensive studies in the areas of reconstitution processes. In the past, the food-service industry has contented itself in being a follower in technology and discovery. If it is to survive as an identified and respected member of the business community, it must become a frontrunner and a leader in food technology.
We must do more to encourage and challenge young people to seek careers in our industry. Our colleges and universities must attract outstanding men and women to present curricula to excite the curious nature of the young. Our businesses must recognize the need for more food technologists and for those in pure research. The commercial food-service industry is in great need of this talent.
As your technologies and scientific studies bear fruit in the manned aerospace program, new areas of imagination will be sparked in the commercial field. New technology will be launched to improve and build a more efficient and total in-flight food service program, geared to the volume and anticipated travel time of the new jet age.
[103] We recently completed a 7-acre structure, costing over 11 million dollars, dedicated to research, technology, and manufacture of quality products for our business. Our company - in its research, quality control, and manufacturing process - is making extensive studies into quality control of its products. We are looking to imaginative packaging to maintain the integrity of the components. Along with the various airlines, we will be jointly studying and refining the problems of reconstitution and transportation of products from manufacturing to storage to in-flight consumption.
We have some excellent men and organizations represented here today. It will be my pleasure to be chairman during the presentation of their remarks.
R. Treuchel