Daniel Richard Marantz, a prolific inventor and longtime Port Washington resident who held more than 100 patents, died Friday, July 4, at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. He was 92.
Family described Marantz as a “renowned inventor.”
Marantz founded Flame-Spray Industries more than 65 years ago in the basement of his home on Cove Lane in the Soundview section of Port Washington.
Flame-Spray Industries specializes in developing and applying advanced thermal spray technologies used to enhance the performance, durability and efficiency of industrial components. The company is best known for pioneering the Plasma Transferred Wire Arc process, a patented coating technology widely adopted in the automotive industry to improve engine wear resistance and reduce weight by allowing aluminum engine blocks to replace heavier materials.
Marantz personally developed numerous key inventions with his collaborators, including Keith Kowalsky, David Cook and James Baughman, later earning the 2009 IPO National Inventor of the Year award.
The company, now located on Sintsink Drive on Manhasset Isle, continues to operate, producing industrial innovations across several sectors.
Marantz was born in Manhattan to an immigrant father who arrived through Ellis Island in 1905. He graduated from Lafayette College and served in the U.S. Army at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, where he contributed to the advancement of the transistor for military applications.
After his military service, Marantz briefly worked for Bruno New York before launching Flame Spray Industries.
In addition to his business pursuits, he was involved with Stony Brook University’s first incubator program, collaborating with researchers to develop new technologies and patents.
Over his career, Marantz developed 109 patents spanning technologies used in automotive manufacturing, NASA space modules, solar energy, food packaging and more. His later work focused on improving automobile engine performance and sustainability using plasma-based technology. That process, which reduces engine wear and improves recyclability, is currently used in all Ford pickup trucks and is being adopted by Jeep and Toyota, according to the family.
Marantz and his first wife, Joan Infeld, raised four children: Mark, Karen, Alan and David, in Port Washington. Infeld died in 1999.
He married Morrine Barnett in 2000, also a longtime Port Washington resident, who had also lost her spouse. Together, they split their time between homes in Sands Point and Palm Beach, Florida, and were active supporters of healthcare, education, emergency services and medical research, particularly in Israel.
Marantz is survived by his wife Morrine Barnett Marantz; children Karen, Alan and David; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. His son Mark died in 1985.
A graveside funeral was held July 7 at Beth Moses Cemetery on Long Island.
