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Briggs Manufacturing was an American,
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-based manufacturer of automobile bodies for
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
, Chrysler Corporation and other U.S. and European automobile manufacturers. In 1953 it was bought by Chrysler Corporation without its former ''Beautyware'' plumbing division which is now owned by Cerámicas Industriales, South America (CISA).


History

Walter Briggs, by trade an upholsterer of carriages, after experience as a plant superintendent outside the industry joined a Detroit carriage builder and repairer, B F Everitt Company.
Everitt The Everitt was an American automobile manufactured from 1909 until 1912 by the Metzger Motor Car Company in Detroit. History This company was founded by B F Everitt and W E Metzger with money they received from Studebaker when leaving the E- ...
had made some automobile bodies for Ransom E Olds and
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...
. Walter Briggs was soon in charge of the shops then became vice-president and then president. In 1909 the owners decided to make complete cars and Briggs was able to buy the Everitt coachbuilding business and reorganise it as Briggs Manufacturing Company. At this time the new Briggs business provided upholstery for a number of Detroit manufacturers, In 1910 Briggs agreed to supply 10,000
Ford Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...
interiors and a close association was formed. In 1922 Briggs made for
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
a closed car at a price near an open touring car and by 1925 Essex offered buyers the option of an open or closed Briggs bodied car at the same price. As demand for the closed cars expanded more businesses were acquired including competitors supplying to Ford. During the 1920s Ford and General Motors began to make their own bodies and Briggs became the largest independent. Other prominent independent builders of automobile bodies included: Murray Body Corporation, C R Wilson Body Company, Edward G Budd Manufacturing Company and Fisher Body Company.


LeBaron

LeBaron Carossiers Inc, a New York City custom body builder, was bought in 1926 and activities moved to Detroit and named LeBaron Studios. A New York design office remained at 724
Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...
. The studio's first influence was on design of the Briggs-built open bodies for the Ford Model A. By that time Briggs' Detroit plants were at Harper Avenue,
Mack Avenue Mack Avenue Records is an independent record label in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Background Mack Avenue was founded in 1999 by Gretchen Carhartt Valade, a jazz fan and chair of the American apparel company Carhartt. The company is a sponsor ...
, Meldrum Avenue and Vernor Highway. A fire at Harper Avenue caused Briggs to lease the
Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...
plant at Highland Park in which they made many bodies for Chrysler. Later Briggs leased space in Ford's
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
plant. LeBaron designers were responsible for the 1933 Ford V8 body and the
Lincoln Zephyr Lincoln Zephyr is a name used by various different Lincoln vehicles. * Lincoln-Zephyr, a 1936–1942 line of mid-size luxury cars * Lincoln MKZ, a 2005–2020 mid-size sedan, sold as the Zephyr from 2005 to 2006 * Lincoln Zephyr (China), a 2022 ...
. LeBaron featured as a Chrysler model name on some of Chrysler's Imperials until near the end of the 20th century.


Ford

Ford obtained and retained access to Briggs' records and controlled pricing of products supplied to Ford and also supply of raw materials to Briggs. Briggs followed Ford to the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
setting up a plant for their Briggs Motor Bodies Limited in
Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest ...
when British Ford built there. Ownership was moved to an English subsidiary in 1935 retaining a 60 per cent shareholding. Another plant was set up in
Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
, England after World War II to build bodies for other brands. Briggs Detroit plants (supplying Ford) were the centers of strike action by
United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico ...
in 1933 and 1937 where UAW was successful. Other well-known brands that fitted Briggs' bodies were: Lincoln, Chrysler,
Packard Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958. One of the "Thr ...
, Hudson, Pierce Arrow and Marmon


Inhouse

The
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
caused many customers to bring many more operations under their direct control. Briggs had provided two-thirds of Ford's bought-in bodies in 1936 but the share had fallen to just over a quarter by 1939 and those went to Lincoln and Mercury. Ford, Chrysler, Packard and Hudson set up their own in-house design departments and LeBaron lost importance for Briggs. Beginning with the all-new 1941 Clipper all Packard bodies were built by Briggs.


World War II

A workforce of over 36,000 built aircraft gun-turrets, doors, wing components, bomb doors, heavy and medium tank hulls, trucks and ambulance bodies.


Sale to Chrysler

Walter Briggs died in January 1952 and in December 1953 Chrysler Corporation bought Briggs' entire US body building operation. There were twelve plants, ten in Detroit, and another two in Youngstown, Ohio and Evansville Indiana. The Packard body plant was leased to Packard. Dagenham and Trafford Park were sold to Ford Motor Company Limited and customer Jowett ended production and went out of business.


Beautyware

A new product appeared in 1933. Briggs engineers had worked out how to replace the standard heavy cast iron bathtub. They used their expertise in deep draw metal stamping and the machinery for making car fenders. The new bathtub was stackable and about one-quarter of the weight of the cast iron product. The Briggs family kept Beautyware and did not sell it to Chrysler in 1953. Bought by Cerámicas Industriales, South America (CISA) in 1997 it is now directed from Charleston South Carolina. Briggs Plumbing Products operates plants throughout the Americas.


Europe

Briggs Bodies Limited set up works at
Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest ...
to manufacture steel bodies for cars and trucks and steel-stampings for
Ford Motor Company Limited Ford of Britain (officially Ford Motor Company Limited)The Ford 'companies' or corporate entities referred to in this article are: * Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan, USA, incorporated 16 June 1903 * Ford Motor Company Limited, incorporat ...
. Work started in May 1930 and production began in 1932. By July 1935 it had 4,500 employees and included these customers beside Ford,
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
,
Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
, Riley,
Standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...
and others. In August 1935 the business of Briggs Bodies was transferred to Briggs Motor Bodies Limited in order to raise capital in England. A factory was opened in Balby Carr, Doncaster in 1941, another in Southampton in 1949. In 1953 Ford of Britain bought Detroit's controlling share of Briggs Motor Bodies Limited. The Briggs factory at Doncaster was surplus to Ford's requirements and it was sold to
Fisher and Ludlow Fisher and Ludlow was a British car body manufacturing company based in Castle Bromwich, Birmingham. Operation A high volume operation, Fisher and Ludlow built finished and trimmed car bodies which were then trucked to the "manufacturer"'s works ...
. Fisher and Ludlow itself was quickly swallowed up by the newly created
British Motor Corporation The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) was a UK-based vehicle manufacturer, formed in early 1952 to give effect to an agreed merger of the Morris and Austin businesses.Morris-Austin Merger Company Named. ''The Times'', Friday, 29 February ...
, .''The Times'', Thursday, 26 November 1953; p. 13


References

{{reflist Coachbuilders of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Michigan Companies based in Detroit Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1909 1909 establishments in Michigan