Smaller War Plants Corporation

Smaller War Plants Corporation, US agency established in June 1942 as a division of the War Production Board. Its aim was to finance and aid smaller American businesses, employing fewer than 500 employees, so that they obtained a greater share in service procurement contracts. It was not until Maury Maverick became chairman in January 1944 that it showed any signs of success, but even he could not fundamentally alter the unfavourable statistics: in December 1939 firms with fewer than 100 employees accounted for 26% of total US manufacturing output, but five years later, a period in which production doubled, this figure had declined to 19%. In 1943, the peak year of the US production effort, firms with under 100 employees were awarded 86,000 contracts. This amounted to about 35% of the total number awarded (241,531), but was worth only 3.5% of the total value ($35.3 million) of all the contracts. See also USA, 2.