CAS Systems Inc. is a company started by a father, son team named Charles Anthony Stark(Jr. and Sr.)

It was 1956, after the end of WWII and just as the cold war was beginning to get to the good stuff. Sr., was an engineer with the Martin Marietta the company that was later swallowed up by Lockheed. He went kicking and screaming into a forced early retirement after 20 something years of service. Jr was a pilot, first in the US Army Air Corps and then with United Airlines. In 1956 damned if they didn't come up with one of those electronic parts in a garage that somehow aircraft had survived without, but never would again. This electronic system would fly on every single civilian and military aircraft as well as on every spacecraft after 1958. Turns out the thing made it easier for you to get from point A to point B. It made flying a great deal faster and safer, and, made a boat load of money for the Stark family.

For a company that started out like every other family business does, it now has turned into a major defense contractor, not only supplying the military but also designing and producing electronic systems for the others like Boeing and Lockheed.

Located in Charlotte, North Carolina the company has grown at an enormous pace keeping up with the demands for new technology both in the military and civilian world, and as always happens the research that goes into military applications spills over to the civilian world. The research and development division alone employs 100 engineers and support staff, and its manufacturing facility occupies 20 acres in what use to be in the North Carolina country side. In 2006 CAS saw a profit of $1.9B on revenue of $38B. Its still a family business with a 3rd generation Stark running things, but its a lot different than it once was.

In late 2004 Charles Jr. retired. He and his third wife now live in Switzerland. His youngest son Matthew, who has two PhD's one in engineering from MIT and the other in Physics from Cambridge took over the company. Shortly after that work while continued on existing products but the focus of the company shifted. The R&D team came up with the design of a new helicopter, the most ambitious project that the company had ever attempted. The prototype of the "Puma" flew in February of 2006 and the Army ordered it as a replacement for the AH-1 Huey Cobra and the AH-64 Apache longbow attack helicopters. The civilian version designed for executive use and also search and rescue operations are currently being engineered.

When CAS was awarded the contract to build the "Puma" a problem arose..where to build it? The logical choice was to build it at its existing facility in North Carolina. Problem was there was no more room..easy solution..expand it. The company made the pitch to the mayor and the state. All of a sudden the good people of Charlotte didn't want the expansion to take place..they didnt want a huge contractor for the military in their backyard something about ruining the environment and according to the politicians there was no land availability. Matt Stark was blew a gasket. He told the City of Charlotte that he would move the company and throw the people that were not relocated out of work. The Board of Directors set up a committee to find a home for the new plant and to eventually relocate the whole company.


Which brings Matthew Stark and CAS to the city. Next Stop meeting the mayor