![]() ![]() By the early 1990s, SMA was the ‘go to’ company for large Australian defence projects and it played a crucial role in improving the readiness and operational effectiveness of the ADF for both peacetime and combat operations. SMA expanded rapidly on the back of the Collins and ANZAC frigate programs, diversifying so that it was also providing support services to the Army and RAAF. Australia was ramping up for the Collins submarine program – and at the same time Defence in general and the RAN in particular was undergoing a seismic change, privatising naval dockyards and shifting responsibility for support and maintenance to the private sector. With Margaret and initially little more than a second-hand Datsun 180B, he was the right person with the right business idea at the right time. This took the shape of a new logistic support company formed with then Scientific Management Associates Inc. He was always generous in acknowledging his mentors, who he described as the best two engineering Admirals on both sides of the Pacific: John D Beecher (USN) and the RAN’s William J Rourke.Īfter this, with the encouragement of his naval colleagues and the assistance of the love of his life, his wife Margaret, Keith decided to venture into the world of private enterprise. He spent seven years with the program and was responsible for the fiscal, management and engineering aspects of the Australian frigates. After starting with the Naval Technical Services unit (now defunct) and an early posting to Scotland to work on Oberon submarines, a pivotal moment in his life was when he was chosen to lead the Australian team supervising the build of the RAN’s first four Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG-7) class ships in the United States.Īt that time in the late 1970s the FFG program was the largest naval shipbuilding activity in the world with 71 ships ordered – and Keith was in the middle of it. ![]() With a mathematical brain, he was attracted to electrical engineering and a career with the Department of Defence. He grew up in Shepparton in rural Victoria and never lost touch with the town and the local community even though he spent most of his adult life in Canberra. Blessed with an exceptionally lively mind, he was a great conversationalist, always happy to share information, discuss politics and life, laugh at a joke and impart wisdom. Keith was a big man – in stature, intellect, humour, and generosity. Keith Eddy Snell, who passed away on 24 July at the age of 80, was an elder statesman of Australian defence industry and a highly successful business figure with an immensely likeable personality.
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