Clarence Willard Avery (February 15, 1882 – May 13, 1949) was an American business executive. He was considered a driving force behind
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 ...
's moving
assembly line
An assembly line is a manufacturing process (often called a ''progressive assembly'') in which parts (usually interchangeable parts) are added as the semi-finished assembly moves from workstation to workstation where the parts are added in se ...
, and was president and chairman of auto-body supplier
Murray Corporation of America Murray Corporation of America run from 1600 Clay Street, Detroit Michigan was, from 1925 until 1939, a major supplier of complete automobile bodies to the Ford Motor Company. Non-automotive stamped steel products were added during the great depre ...
.
Early life
Clarence Avery was born in
Dansville, Michigan in 1882.
[''Henry's Lieutenants'']
Ford R. Bryan, Wayne State University Press, , pp. 15-20. After graduating from high school, he continued his education at Ferris Institute (now
Ferris State University
Ferris State University (FSU or Ferris) is a public university with its main campus in Big Rapids, Michigan. It was founded in 1884 and became a public institution in 1950. Ferris is the ninth-largest institutions of higher education by enrol ...
) and then at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, completing a two-year course in
manual training
Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an ind ...
(the precursor to today's
vocational education
Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an i ...
). He taught at a rural school for a year, and then, in 1902, became the head of manual training in the
Battle Creek public schools.
[
While in Battle Creek, Avery married Lura Warner.][ The couple eventually had two daughters, Eloise and Anabel.][ The next year, Avery accepted the post of principal at the Michigan Manual Training School in ]Ishpeming, Michigan
Ishpeming ( ) is a city in Marquette County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,470 at the 2010 census, less than it was in the 1950s and 1960s when the iron ore mines employed more workers. A statue of a ...
.[ He spent three years in Ishpeming, then, in 1907, moved to ]Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
to become head of manual training at Detroit University School.
Ford Motor Company
In Detroit, one of Avery's pupils was a teenaged Edsel Ford
Edsel Bryant Ford (November 6, 1893 – May 26, 1943) was an American business executive and philanthropist who was the son of pioneering industrialist Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Jane Bryant Ford. He was the president of Ford Motor Company f ...
; the young Ford was taken with Avery's mechanical ingenuity. In 1912, Avery casually mentioned to Edsel his desire to enter the automobile business.[ Edsel introduced Avery to his father, ]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 ...
. The elder Ford immediately hired Avery as Charles E. Sorensen's assistant at his Highland Park plant.[ Sorenson put Avery through an extensive eight-month training course, where he worked in every phase of production at the plant, learning the system.][My Forty Years With Ford]
Charles E. Sorensen, Wayne State University Press, 2006, , p. 130.
With that experience, Avery's first large project was the establishment of a moving assembly line at the plant.[ The assembly line project was worked on by a number of Ford's top men, including C. Harold Wills, Peter E. Martin, and Charles Ebender in addition to Avery and Sorenson. Although credit for the moving assembly line can't be pinned to one individual, those who took part acknowledged Avery as the guiding light of the project, and he became Ford's time study expert. By the end of 1913, the project had reduced assembly time for a ]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 ...
from 12.5 man-hours down to 2.7 man-hours. Later improvements reduced that time to only 1.5 man-hours.[
Avery soon had a reputation for himself as a problem-solver,] and was eventually promoted to Ford's chief development engineer.[ He continued work on Ford's assembly line, designing operations for sub-assemblies leading into the final assembly. In 1918, Ford assigned Avery to the task of increasing the clarity of automotive glass. Avery experimented with a novel procedure of pouring molten glass onto a moving table, and by 1921 Ford had a system in place.][ In 1920, Avery was put in charge of Ford's iron and lumber operations in northern Michigan.][
In 1922, Ford purchased ]Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
, and Avery worked closely with Edsel Ford to Fordize the Lincoln design and manufacture.[ This cooperation continued until 1927. In 1927, many operations were transferred to the Rouge plant. Top Ford management, headed by Sorensen, was not receptive to Avery, and he decided to leave Ford.][
]
Murray Corporation
In January 1927, the financially struggling Murray Auto Body was re-organized into the Murray Corporation of America Murray Corporation of America run from 1600 Clay Street, Detroit Michigan was, from 1925 until 1939, a major supplier of complete automobile bodies to the Ford Motor Company. Non-automotive stamped steel products were added during the great depre ...
. Anticipating a potentially large contract from Ford, then retooling for the Model A, Murray President William R. Wilson recruited Avery as chief engineer.[Murray Corporation history]
from Coachbuilt. Sensing opportunity, Avery joined Murray. Within a year, Avery was president of the firm and chairman of its board of directors.
Avery steered Murray for the rest of his life. The company supplied Ford with quasi-custom bodies for the Model A, as well as custom bodies for Lincoln cars. In addition, Murray built bodies for other manufacturers such as Chrysler, Hupmobile
Hupmobile was an automobile built from 1909 through 1939 by the Hupp Motor Car Company of Detroit. The prototype was developed in 1908.
History
Founding
In 1909, Bobby Hupp co-founded Hupp Motor Car Company, with Charles Hastings, for ...
, Reo, Dodge, Peerless
Peerless may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* Peerless Motor Company, an American automobile manufacturer.
* Peerless Brewing Company, in Birkenhead, UK
* Peerless Group, an insurance and financial services company in India
* Peerless R ...
, Packard, Hudson, and Essex.[ The company struggled during the Great Depression, losing money in 1931–1934. However, Ford, with an eye to keeping one of its major suppliers afloat, helped the company out with larger contracts and allowed Murray to use some Ford-owned dies. As a result, Murray posted a profit in 1935, and kept in business throughout the Depression.][
At the beginning of ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, Murray Corporation of America was well-positioned to fulfill military contracts and Avery steered the company into the production of airplane wings and other components. The company's workforce increased to over 13,000 employees, and Murray produced parts for the B-17 and B-29 bombers, the A-20 light bomber, and the P-47 fighter/bomber.[ Near the end of the war, Avery started to solicit Ford and ]Kaiser-Frazer
The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation (1947–1953 as Kaiser-Frazer) was the result of a partnership between industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and automobile executive Joseph W. Frazer.[Automotive Hall of Fame
The Automotive Hall of Fame is an American museum. It was founded in 1939 and has over 800 worldwide honorees. It is part of the MotorCities National Heritage Area. the Automotive Hall of Fame includes persons who have contributed greatly to a ...]
for his contributions to the moving assembly line.
References
External links
Clarence W. Avery at the Automotive Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avery, Clarence W.
1882 births
1949 deaths
People from Dansville, Michigan
Ford people
Ferris State University alumni
University of Michigan alumni