Will-Burt Company
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- Name
- Will-Burt Company
- Manufacturing
- Machinery Manufacturing
- Founded
- 1894
- Founders
- 1989 S. Buckeye St., Wooster, 44691, Ohio, United States
The brothers, J. W. and Burt G. Cope, opened a general repair shop in 1894 near the village of East Greenville, Ohio, which was equipped with a hodgepodge of tools and machinery discarded by other shops. When the patent rights to the Cyclone Drilling Machine became available in 1895, the brothers purchased them and began making tools and machinery for the water well drilling industry.
The company moved to a larger facility in Orrville, Ohio, in 1901, and brought in a new partner, William A. Tschantz. He brought the company to new levels of productivity, its drills now in demand in many foreign countries. With the death of J.W. Cope in 1915, the surviving partners sold the Cyclone Drilling Company and used the proceeds to launch a new venture, an experimental design shop which derived its title, The Will-Burt Company, from the first syllables of its founders’ given names: William Tschantz and Burton Cope. The Will-Burt Company was incorporated in 1918. When Mr. Tschantz decided to pursue his own business interest some years later, Mr. Cope retained the Will-Burt name and turned the experimental shop into a machinery rebuilding and repair operation.
The decades that followed saw continuous growth of capabilities and reputation. The company manufactured combustion controls for the Hagan Corporation of Pittsburgh, coal stokers for the Automatic Coal Burner Company of Seattle, and its own line of innovative designed stokers, the Will-Burt Stokers. World War II drew the company into subcontract work for which it won the “E Award” on component parts for military equipment. It was this “jobbing” contribution to the war effort that opened the door for Will-Burt to an ever-broadening stream of original equipment manufacturing (OEM) projects.
Overall expansion was sharply accelerated in the 1960s as we embarked on a series of acquisitions. The company purchased the Heating Division of the Illinois Iron and Bolt Company in 1961; the Iron Fireman Stoker Division of Space Conditioning, Inc. in 1966; the Anchor Stoker Division of Stratton and Terstegge Company in 1967; the tool and die operations of Del Industries and Thomas Mold & Die Company.
In June of 1982 the Beck Engineering Combustion Company, Inc. of St. Louis, MO was purchased and moved to Orrville, Ohio. Sweet Home Stove Works of Sweet Home, OR was purchased in December of 1986. In late 1985 the Will-Burt Company changed from a privately held company to an Employee Stock Ownership company with an initial $800,000 distribution in stock allocation in 1986 to all the employee associates.
Today, more than 300 people contribute a vast range of talents and technical skills to The Will-Burt Company. They employ computer-aided design as well as some of the most sophisticated manufacturing equipment available. Yet the spirit of the company’s founders is still very much in evidence. Their willingness to tackle any job is apparent today in the company’s integrated operations: its ability to handle all phases of the manufacturing process – from tool and die development, machining and fabrication through installation of electronics and instrumentation to design and delivery of telescoping mast and lighting products fully assembled. The founders’ individual ingenuity and resourcefulness are clearly evident in the fact that The Will-Burt Company is 100% owned by its employees.
Quick Facts
- * 1894 - A company partnership with J.W. & B. G. Cope began near East Greenville, Ohio
- 1901 - Moved to a Orrville, Ohio and William A. Tschantz joined the partnership
- 1918 - The company is incorporated under the laws of Ohio with Burt G. Cope as President.
- 1953 - 1961: Edward G. Baer, Burt Cope's nephew, serves as President of company.
- 1961 - 1984: William B. Baer, Ed Baer's son, serves as President of company.
- 1970 - Purchased the Thomas Mold & Die Co. of Wooster, Ohio engaged in the manufacture of rubber molds and telescoping masts.
- 1984 - 200?s: Harry E. Featherstone serves as President of company after Bill Baer dies unexpectedly.
- 1985 - Changed from privately held company to an employee stock ownership program company.
- 2000s - Jeffery Evans is named President of the company.
Gallery
Will-Burt Co. logo circa the 1980s.
Business Photos
Newspaper articles
Daily Record, 1964-APR-28 p.18, Industrial Appreciation Section.
