BUDD COMPANY HISTORY
The Budd Company (later the ThyssenKrupp Budd) was a metal fabricator and major supplier of body components to the
automobile industry. The company's headquarters was in Troy, then Rochester, Michigan. It was founded in 1912 by
Edward G. Budd, whose fame came from his company's invention of the 'shotweld” technique for joining pieces of
stainless steel without damaging its anti-corrosion properties.
In 1916, Budd built one of the first steel car bodies, for Dodge. They held an interest in Pressed Steel Company,
(Crowley, England), which built bodies for Morris Motors, and Ambi-Budd (Germany), which supplied Adler, Audi, BMW,
NAG and Wanderer; and earned royalties from Bliss (who built bodies for Citoroen and Ford of Britain, Dagenham,
England). The Budd Company also created the first "safety" two-piece truck wheel, used extensively in World War II,
and also built truck cargo bodies for the U.S. military.
In 1940, Budd developed the now-ubiquitous "unibody" method of assembling vehicles, first used by Nash Motors. In
the mid-1980s, Budd's Plastics Division introduced sheet moulding compound, a reinforced plastic in sheet form,
suitable for stamping out body panels in much the same way, and as quickly, as sheet metal equivalents are made.
In 1978, as Budd began to phase out its railcar business to concentrate on the automotive industry, it was acquired by
Thyssen AG, becoming its automotive division, Thyssen Automotive in Europe and Budd Thyssen Company in North America. When
Thyssen merged with Krupp in 1999, Budd Thyssen became ThyssenKrupp Budd Co. in North America and ThyssenKrupp Automotive
Systems GmbH in Europe. Late in 2006, its body and chassis operations were sold to Martinrea International Inc.
For detailed review of their aviation and railway history go here:
Budd Company
Additional Company History:
The Budd Company was the leading automotive stamping manufacturer and one of the top automotive suppliers in the
United States. With over 20 manufacturing and assembly facilities, Budd produced components for approximately half
of the passenger cars and trucks made in North America. Widely acknowledged as a pioneer in the field of transportation,
Budd has contributed many industry advancements, particularly in materials technology for automobile and rail car
design. For over eight decades, the company had successfully weathered the numerous fluctuations of the transportation
industry by alternately diversifying and consolidating its operations to capitalize on market trends. Budd's tenacity
and innovative spirit are reflected in the company's slogan "Budd On the Move."
Budd was founded in Philadelphia in 1912 by Edward Budd as The Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company. Budd established
his business with a single press and thirteen former coworkers from Hale & Kilburn Company, a metal stamping and
die-making manufacturer, seeking to realize his dream of building an all-steel automobile body. Auto and truck bodies
of the early 1900s were comprised primarily of wood. The process of varnishing the wood to make it resilient enough
to be used in automobiles was costly and time consuming. Budd's all-steel design resulted in car bodies that were less
expensive to manufacture, required considerably less production time, and were stronger than wood-steel composites.
Budd presented his idea to the Hupp Motor Company in 1912 and earned his first contract for steel body panels from
Hupp prior to leaving Hale & Kilburn. News of Budd's innovation spread quickly and within a year, the company had
truck body orders for Packard and Peerless and auto body contracts with Garford Motors and Oakland Motor Company.
Budd's first big break came in 1914, when the Dodge brothers ordered 5,000 steel bodies for their new touring model. The
sedan was so successful that Dodge placed a second order for 50,000 additional auto bodies and was thereafter Budd's
largest customer until its acquisition in 1925 by Chrysler Corporation. Encouraged by this early success, Budd founded
the Budd Wheel Company in 1916 to manufacture wire wheels, another move to eliminate wood from cars and trucks. During
that time, Budd also entered into a joint effort with Michelin Company of France to market steel disc wheels in the United
States. Budd's customer base increased steadily and by 1917, the company could boast such additional clients as Ford,
Buick, Willys-Overland, and Studebaker.
In 1923, Budd registered another industry first by building an all-steel enclosed car body. Budd's design rejected the
standard box-like appearance of current models in favor of a more rounded style, which was adopted by Dodge in 1925 and
later by other automakers as well. That year, Budd expanded its business to the auto capital of North America by purchasing
a manufacturing plant in Detroit from Liberty Motor Car Company. To further broaden its potential client base, Budd entered
the European market.
The 1930s were years of experimentation, expansion, and hardship for Budd as the company struggled during the Great
Depression. In 1930, Budd International Corporation was created to handle the company's limited European ventures. Budd's
overseas endeavors were less than successful, however, and Budd International posted financial losses between 1930 and 1935. Faced with declining sales of its auto components as the auto industry suffered as a whole during the Depression, Budd diversified its interests and began to develop products for other transportation markets. Company engineers explored the potential large-scale uses for stainless steel, a lightweight, rust resistant metal used predominantly in hand-held tools. In 1931, the company manufactured the first stainless steel airplane, which was successfully test-piloted for 1,000 hours of flight time. Although the company gained recognition for its latest design, Budd did not pursue business in the airline industry until World War II.
While working at Hale & Kilburn, Edward Budd had also gained experience in rail car construction. During the early 1930s,
Budd utilized that knowledge to design and manufacture passenger rail cars. In 1934, Budd produced the first streamlined
stainless steel passenger rail car. Called the Pioneer Zephyr, the car was touted for its high speed and light weight;
three Zephyrs weighed approximately the same as a single Pullman-Standard passenger car. The Zephyr was also the first
rail car to be diesel powered. Although the company lost money on the initial venture, Budd later relied on its growing
rail car sales to supplement company revenues when its auto components business slowed. For over two decades, Budd designed
and built various passenger car lines, including Rockets, Silver Meteors, and Champions, among others. In conjunction with
the new rail cars, Budd also pioneered the railway disc brake, which appeared on the market just prior to World War II.
Budd railway disc brakes offered superior braking capabilities to the standard wheel tread system and were soon widely
accepted by the railroad industry.
In 1940, Budd added to its list of industry breakthroughs by unitizing auto bodies, a manufacturing process in which the
multi-part chassis frame was replaced with a one-piece component comprising the roof, sides, and underbody. The Nash Motors
Company was the first to contract Budd to build the new auto bodies, and Budd's 1940 sales reached $69 million, a
substantial return on the $100,000 in capital Edward Budd used to found his company in 1912.
With the advent of World War II, Budd became a supplier for the U.S. government. In 1942, Budd turned out a stainless
steel cargo plane called the Conestoga RB-1, which was aptly nicknamed a "flying box-car." The navy purchased the contract
for the planes and 17 Conestogas were manufactured to transport heavy military cargo. For decades after the war, Budd's
Conestogas were among the fleet of one of the world's largest cargo companies. Edward Budd died shortly after the war,
and his son, Edward G. Budd, Jr., assumed control of the company.
The Second World War enabled Budd to recoup its losses from the Depression and by 1950, company sales reached $290 million
with record net earnings of $18.3 million. However, in 1951 and 1952 strikes by the oil industry and steel worker labor
unions forced Budd to lay off 4,500 production workers. These strikes also adversely affected Budd's largest customer,
Chrysler Corporation, which was forced to idle as many as 25,000 workers at different times. In response to these events
as well as internal problems at Budd that slowed delivery of its components, Chrysler moved a large portion of its auto
parts production in-house. Other auto makers soon followed suit, and Budd's net profits for 1954 were only one-third those
of 1950. With the auto stamping and components division at the company losing ground, Budd again diversified, acquiring an
airplane parts manufacturer and creating divisions in nuclear energy, aerospace, defense, and electronics. In 1954, the
company introduced the first all-plastic bodied automobile for Studebaker. The following year, Ford contracted Budd to
build the bodies for its new Thunderbird. The Thunderbird was a huge success, and Budd's auto stamping sales began to
rebound.
During the 1960s, Budd again expanded and reorganized. Returning to the international market, the company acquired interests
in industrial and transportation businesses in several European countries, extending into South America, Australia, and
Mexico as well. At home, Budd concentrated its efforts on strengthening its auto industry sales. Toward the end of the
decade, the company invested $125 million to upgrade its auto components and plastics operations. In addition, Budd acquired
Gindy Manufacturing, a truck trailer producer, and Duralastic Products Company, a polyester and fiberglass manufacturer.
Budd also established Budd Automotive Company of Canada Limited in Kitchener, Ontario. In 1972, the company further cemented
its ties to the auto industry by moving its headquarters from Philadelphia to Troy, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. At that
time, auto products sales accounted for over 90 percent of company profits. Budd's move to Detroit and renewed commitment
to the industry paid off. (Note: According to a new source within the Wixom production line in 1973, Budd Body Co. was no
longer supplying body shells to the Wixom plant as they did in the 1950's and 1960's. By then, Ford had opened it's own body
plant on site and was providing Thunderbird and Lincoln bodies directly to the production line from their on site facility.)
While Budd's auto sales rebounded, the railroad industry began fading in the late 1950s as consumers displayed an increasing
preference for automobile and air travel. Budd's rail car sales had almost ground to a halt until the early 1960s when Budd
was awarded contracts by the Pennsylvania and Long Island railroads for its newest high-speed, Metroliner rail cars. In
addition, Budd penetrated the subway commuter market in 1963, underbidding competitors for a contract with the New York
City Transit Authority for 600 stainless steel subway cars--a $68 million project. While Budd continued to compete in the
market and maintained a position as a leading rail and subway car producer, the Railway Division posted losses of over $27
million between 1967 and 1970. Aside from the general decline in rail travel, Budd's Metroliner cars were plagued with
problems, many of which were the result of faulty supplier components. The company's reputation suffered, and Budd considered
selling its rail car operations in 1970. Budd decided to hold on to the division, however, restructuring it in 1974 in hopes
of capturing the market for replacement cars, as many railroads were looking to retire aging models. Budd reentered the
market in the late 1970s with the SPV-2000, a new line of self-propelled cars. The cars were costly, however, and the company
was repeatedly underbid by competitors including Nissho-Iwai American Corporation, a Japanese-American firm that beat out
Budd for two sizable contracts. Although Budd was able to generate some business, including a $150 million contract from
Amtrak in 1980, the Railway Division was not consistently profitable and was eventually eliminated.
Budd's auto group sales reached new heights in 1976 and 1977, and sales in the Plastics Division more than doubled between
1972 and 1976. By 1977, the company employed approximately 19,000 workers and had sales of $1.3 billion. Budd's success did
not last, however, as two major oil crises and a national recession resulted in a substantial decline in automobile sales.
The company was bought in 1978 by Thyssen AG, a German steelmaker and auto components manufacturer. The terms of the
acquisition stipulated that Budd would remain fairly autonomous, though rumors abounded that the new parent company would
step in to control day-to-day operations. Thyssen did not, however, and instead provided extensive financial resources for
Budd.
Soon after the acquisition, Budd decided to concentrate solely on the auto industry, a decision that led to major changes
throughout the company during the 1980s. New standards were established in quality and cost control, and production and
administrative activities were reviewed. Most of the non-automotive subsidiaries were eliminated, and the company focused
on streamlining its primary divisions: Stamping and Frame, Wheel and Brake, Foundry Products, and Plastics.
Although Budd was now operating with only half the employee base, the company achieved the same level of sales in 1987 as
it had in 1979. The large cash flow provided by Thyssen enabled Budd to upgrade its manufacturing and technical facilities.
The Plastics Division, which had steadily expanded during the 1970s, received particular attention as the amount of plastics
used in cars increased drastically. The Budd Plastics Research Development Center, opened in the 1970s, afforded
state-of-the-art equipment that enabled company engineers to develop advanced technical processes in producing plastic
compounds and sheet moldings for use in several products including cars and trucks, textiles, appliances, farming equipment,
typewriters, and computers.
In the late 1970s, the Plastics Division began research on developing a sheet molding compound (SMC) that could be formed
as quickly as steel is stamped. The company's first effort resulted in Flex 2000, a strong plastic SMC that was used in auto
components. The Plastics Division continued its research into SMCs in the 1980s. Eight years of research culminated in 1986
with the introduction of the Budd System 59, a process through which plastic materials could be molded into parts at the
"assembly line speed" of only 59 seconds per part. Budd System 59 more than doubled plastic components output at the company
and was a viable alternative to the galvanized sheet metal traditionally used by automakers.
Budd's long-term relations with parent Thyssen have proven advantageous for both companies during the 1980s and 1990s. Chair
and CEO, Siegfried Buschmann, commented in Automotive Industries on Budd's successful interactions with Thyssen: "Thyssen
gives Budd technological assistance on some of our North American programs, and we give Thyssen the benefit of Budd's
knowledge on some of theirs in Europe." Budd's commitment to industry advancement is reflected in its intensive employee
training programs, teamwork philosophy, and quality control incentives. Deemed a top-quality components supplier by the
automotive industry, the company seems well positioned for continued success.
Note: The Budd Body Company, for all intents and purposes, barely survives today after being taken over by Martinrea. It
has pretty well been dissolved. (Source: Wikipedia)
I sent an email to a retired employee of Budd Body Co.
on May 25th, 2009. She forwarded the email to dozens of ex-Budd employees, asking for all the
information they can come up with on Budd and the making of our Tbirds. As a result, so far, I have had one person email
me the same day. He said, "he started at Budd-Detroit in Jan of 1977. Many of the old-timers that I worked with did work
on the assembly lines of the 1955 thru 57 Tbirds, and after
changeover, the 1958 thru 1960 TBirds. The common story was that the 55, 56 & 57 models kept Budd Detroit humming on 2
shifts, and most weeks were a 6 day workweek, with an occasional Sunday now and again. The bodies shipped six on a truck,
a constant daily flow between Budd & Ford-Wixom. Thirty miles separate the two plants, challenged by harsh Michigan winters.
Most of the Dies were designed and built at our Budd Philadelphia Tool and die Plant for the 55 thru 60 models.
All of the 58 thru 60 dies were scrapped in the 70's. Budd retained (per Ford
direction) the 55, 56 and 57 fender dies, rocker panel dies and rear quarter panel dies. I do not recall any hoods, doors or
deck lids being produced for service in my tenure at Detroit which was up until 1989 when I transferred to the Budd Rochester
Office.
I don't know of any of the guys that worked on the T birds that are still around. Hopefully the email below will result in
some further information for you."
On Tuesday, May 26th, 2009, I received this information from a Budd Body Co. employee of the '80's! "I worked in the
production planning department at Budd-Detroit from 1979 thru 1989, then moved to Budd-Rochester in 1989 (still with
Martinrea). I know that production records for the T Bird era were disposed of in the early 80's.
Budd Company strategy was to cycle the press shop to generally produce major stampings 3 weeks ahead of final assembly. The
size of the press-shop runs for major stampings was controlled by how many empty racks were available, as racks for Class 1
Outer Panels were designed and built to hold specific parts, i.e., outer door skins, hood outers,
deck lid outers, etc. All of the stories that I heard from the old-timers basically were that Budd worked a lot of overtime
to keep up with Wixom, as final assembly throughput and the number of "finished body shipping racks" did not allow for a bank
of body assemblies to be built ahead and stored for future shipments to Wixom. This was especially true of the 2-Seater
versions of 55 thru 57. I had the definite impression that it was a hand-to-mouth scenario, Budd was never more than a couple
of shifts ahead of Wixom in producing the finished body. I was particularly inquisitive with the senior co-workers and asked
a lot of questions, since I was and still am an old T-Bird fan."
I think that pretty well puts to bed the theory about Budd having built thousands of Tbird bodies in advance of the planned
shutdown for the 1961 run... Some thought that was what they did, and then, at the very end, used the dies to cut the panels
and bodies for the two stainless steel Tbirds. Tbird Production totals for the month of August, 1960 was 10,416 cars! For the
first nine days of September, 2,507 and then they shut down on the 9th. There is no way Budd could have stockpiled 13,000
bodies and then cut the panels for the stainless steel Tbirds.. We know the stainless steel cars went through the line for
finishing on July 11, 1960, and that the dies were NOT damaged by that process. So we have recently been told...
More as I get more emails from ex-Budd employees!
Created: May 24, 2009
Last Modified: Aug. 29, 2012
Email me at: rayclark07"at"gmail.com (Replace the "at" with @)
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Soaring Eagle Productions ~ Ray Clark