Nuvision and Douglas Aircraft: Celebrating a decades-old legacy of groundbreaking innovations, success, and hard-working people

Nothing is impossible until you believe it is. Nuvision was founded on this belief. From the start, we’ve supported our members' relentless passion for breaking barriers and challenging conventions.

Nuvision was initially established as the credit union for Douglas Aircraft—the company responsible for many great strides in aerospace technology. Our members were the ones changing the world and pushing the limits of human exploration. Their refusal to give up not only had a lasting impact on our nation but also on our credit union. From supporting the military to working hard to build a better future, the values our earliest members held are ones that have stuck with us to this day.

When there isn’t a way, we make one

Employees of Douglas Aircraft Company working at the Long Beach, California plant -- 1942

One hundred-one years ago today, Douglas Aircraft was founded, forever changing the world. Just three years after its founding, the company already had an agreement with the U.S. Army Air Service to build the plane for the first mission to circumnavigate the Earth. The mission happened on April 6, 1924, when four aircraft took off from Seattle, Washington, to fly around the globe, and successfully returned on September 28.

The success of that mission established Douglas Aircraft as one of the major aircraft companies and was the catalyst for many more triumphs to come.

Success comes with hard work and a determined spirit

Douglas Aircraft workers in Long Beach, California -- 1942

Fast forward to World War II, when the US is in desperate need of reliable aircraft to put an end to Nazi Germany and secure an Allied victory. The government issues contracts to companies across the country to build their fleet—one of these major deals went to Douglas Aircraft.

Between 1942 and 1945, they were able to produce 30,000 battle-ready aircraft. A staggering 160,000 workers were recruited to Douglas manufacturing facilities to work on this project, many of them female. It was the hard work of everyday people that gave Douglas Aircraft the ability to keep up with the demands of war to become an essential part of what made victory possible.  

The sky is the limit – supporting out of this world ideas since 1935

Starting in the late 40s, the focus of Douglas moved from wartime aircraft to building rockets and missile systems. They received a contract to found the RAND Corporation, a group that conducts research on intercontinental weapons.

Venturing into this new terrain equipped Douglas to tackle their biggest project yet—building part of the Saturn V rocket. NASA had given them a contract to work on a rocket that would go on to be used in multiple Apollo moon missions.

Our earliest members were the ones with the vision, the ones assembling pieces of complex machinery, using their hands to build the future. Since our beginning in 1935, we’ve adopted the values of our members as our own.

A credit union for hard-working people

NASA awarded Douglas Aircraft Company a rare outside contract to build a major part of the Saturn V rocket, which helped take us to the moon.

It was the hard-working people from Douglas aircraft--some of the original members of Nuvision Credit Union--that took to the skies to circle the globe for the first time, that worked for the noble cause of victory in WWII and put a man on the moon. Extraordinary events were made possible with the help of ordinary, hard-working people.

Our role has always been to support members like these as they take on projects that many would have once been deemed impossible. If you’re looking for a tough financial partner that has stood the test of time and understands unconventional needs, you’re in the right place.

In the years since our founding, we’ve expanded to include members in other industries—and as a result, we have made thousands of dreams come true. We don’t settle for less. We want the best for our members, which means we will always keep up with the times and provide the best services available without compromising the timeless values that make us who we are.

To learn more about our credit union, click here.