|
Because of the secretive nature of their
business, Wettlaufer
Engineering was not a well-publicized business and very few of the
thousands of
projects pursued by the firm since 1942 have been written about.
Testimony for the firm’s creative and
engineering ability
can be gleaned from its customer list, which includes General Motors,
Ford, Chrysler, Packard, Nash, Willys-Overland, Kaiser-Frazer,
International Harvester, White, and virtually every name in the
automotive manufacturing
field. Project specifics are hard to come by, although it is
known they had a close working relationship with Ford Motor Co. for
whom they
developed the 1951 Victoria hardtop coupe, 1958 Thunderbird convertible
and the
1958 Levacar Mach 1 showcar. Another known client was Ruben Allender
for whom
they helped develop the 1956-1957 El Morocco, which was based upon the
current
model Chevrolet Bel-Air.
Unlike their main competitor, Creative
Industries – who are well-known
today due to their having constructed Chrysler Corporation’s legendary
‘Winged
Warriors’ – Wettlaufer is almost totally unknown today.
The firm was founded by a talented
ex-Chrysler body engineer
named Elmer G. Wettlaufer (b. Jul. 8, 1902 – d. Jun. 2, 1993).
Elmer George Wettlaufer was born on July 8,
1902 in Saginaw,
Michigan to Conrad S. & Ida (Hohn) Wettlaufer, his father being a
Canadian-born carpenter/contractor/erector. Siblings included Flora J.
(b.1894); Melinda A. (b.1896); Hazel B. (b. 1898); Albert J. (b.1899);
and
Herbert Julius (b.1904-d.1996) Wettlaufer.
The 1920 US Census lists him
as ‘draftsman’
in a ‘foundry office’ in Saginaw, Mich. His employer was the Wilcox
Motor Parts
& Mfg. Co. of Saginaw, Michigan. Founded in July of 1916 with
$150,000 in
capital stock by
Rollin H. White of Cleveland, Ohio and brothers’ Melvin L. and Merrill
M.
Wilcox of Saginaw, Michigan, the Wilcox Motor & Mfg. Co.
manufactured
complete engines and engine components for White and other automobile
manufacturers at its plant at the corner of Rust and Wilkins Streets,
Saginaw.
In
1923 he took a position as draftsman in the body engineering department
of Cadillac, returning to Saginaw in 1925 as a draftsman for the
Ruggles Motor Truck
Co.,
Saginaw, Mich. After amassing a large fortune during the First World
War
manufacturing Liberty trucks, Frank Ruggles, the founder of Alma,
Michigan’s
Republic Truck Corp.,resigned and moved
to Saginaw, establishing the Ruggles Motor Truck Co. The light and
medium duty
truck builder survived into the early Depression at which time
Wettlaufer moved
to Detroit to take a position with Chrysler Corporation as a draftsman
in its Highland Park body engineering department. The move coincided
with Elmer's marriage to
Iris Evelyn (Jones, b. 1908-d.1995), whose union was blessed by the
birth of
two
daughters; Ann and Joan Susan Wettlaufer.
Wettlaufer
eventaully became a body engineer and by 1937 was placed in charge of
body design for the commercial vehicle division, being responsible for
the body engineering and styling of Dodge, Fargo and Plymouth
commercial cars and motor trucks.
While working
for
Chrysler he crossed paths with a future competitor, Fred H.
Johnson
(Frederick Hjalmar Johansen) who was working as a Chrysler Corp.
welding
systems engineer. In 1935, Johnson left Chrysler and founded
Progressive
Welder Co. (3050 E. Outer St., Detroit, Mich.) where he pioneered the
development of portable hydraulic welding guns which used a novel
air-hydraulic
booster of his own design.
After
resigning from Chrysler in 1940,
Wettlaufer took a
position with the Hydro Mfg. Co., a Detroit-based producer of
automobile
stampings founded in 1937. Coincidentally Fred H. Johnson was a Hydro
director, serving as the firm's vice president after the War.
Wettlaufer
realized that the auto manufacturers' engineering departments were
ill-equipped to handle all of the special projects neccessitated by the
county's entry into the Second World War, so in 1942 he left Hydro and
founded his
own firm, Detroit
Sales Engineering Co. at3048 E. Outer Drive, Detroit. Wettlaufer shared
the structure with another firm, Fred H. Johnson's Progressive Welder
Inc., which was located at 3050 E. Outer Drive, Detroit.
In addition to project engineering, Detroit
Sales Engineering also
distributed welding equipment (likely sourced from Progressive), a 1941
issue
of Steel reporting:
“Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co., Milwaukee, has
appointed Detroit Sales Engineering Co., under direction of Elmer
Wettlaufer, president, representative for its complete line of welding
equipment in the lower Michigan and northern Indiana territory.”
During the War Detroit Sales Engineering Co.
employed 140 employees, a wartime
industry directory listing the firm as follows:
“Detroit Sales Engineering Co., 3048 E.
Outer Drive, Detroit
12 E. G. Wettlaufer, Gen. Mgr.; H. Haehl, Asst. Gen. Mgr.; D. Bathey.
Sales
Mgr.; A. Mularoni, Pur. Agt.. Partnership Emp., M., 120; F., 20; Est.
1942.”
A 1945 issue of Engineering News-Record
notes Detroit
Sales-Engineering was constructing a plant of their own at 3048 East
Outer
Drive, Detroit:
“Mich., Detroit — Plant — Detroit Sales
Engineering
Co., 3048 E. Outer Dr., brick, steel, concrete steel mfg. plant, to
Cooper
Contr. Co., 572 Maccabees Bldg. Est. $60.000.”
A 1945 issue of Iron Age announced that
Albert J. Wettlaufer (b. Aug 17, 1899 – d. Aug. 9, 1958) had recently
joined his younger
brother as sales manager of Detroit Sales Engineering:
“A.J. Wetlauffer has been appointed sales
manager of Detroit Sales Engineering Co. Formerly sales manager
of Briggs Mfg. Co.,
where he served over 25 yr, Mr. Wettlaufer will take over direction of
all sales
and service activities.”
Albert John Wettlaufer was born on August
17, 1899 in Saginaw,
Michigan to Conrad S. & Ida (Hohn) Wettlaufer, his father being a
Canadian-born carpenter / contractor / erector. Siblings included Flora
J.
(b.1894);
Melinda A. (b.1896); Hazel B. (b. 1898); Elmer G. (b. 1902); and
Herbert J.
(b.1904-d.1996) Wettlaufer. The 1918-1922 Saginaw directories list his
occupation as payroll clerk, foundry office, of the Wilcox Motor &
Mfg.
Co., Saginaw, Mich., the very same firm that employed his younger
brother
Elmer. On May 2, 1928 he married Irene E. Kelly (b.1902-d.1958) and to
the
blessed union was born two children; Albert J., jr. (aka Jack - b.
1930 - d. 1996)
and Carol (b. 1935) Wettlaufer.
The 1930 US Census lists him as a ‘salesman’
for ‘automobile
factory’, Detroit, Mich., the 1940 census list him as ‘general sales
manager’
for a ‘body company’, Detroit, Mich. He worked in the sales department
at
Briggs Mfg. after he left Wilcox Motor & Mfg. Co in the
mid-twenties.
In
1945 Wettlaufer hired another former Chrysler Corp. employee named John
MacKenzie as
treasurer of Detroit Sales & Engineering. MacKenzie was born in
Scotland on October
23, 1905 to Donald and Katherine (Morrison) MacKenzie. After graduating
from high
school, he took night course in accounting and emigrated to the Unites
States in 1923, taking a position as bookkeeper with the Canadian
Bank of
Commerce. In 1925 he was hired as teller at the 1st National Bank of
Detroit, and in 1928 joined the comptroller's department staff of the
Chrysler
Corp. On
December 26, 1931 McKenzie married Mary Andrea Buchanan and to the
blessed union was born three children; John Buchanan, Mary Joan Donna,
and Catherine Ann MacKenzie. He joined Detroit Sales Engineering in
1945, becoming treasurer of Wettlauffer Engineering upon its formation
in 1948.
Between 1935 and 1954 Fred H. Johnson’s
Progressive Welding grew
from a 12-person shop to a 400+ employee firm with annual sales of over
$6 million (1954). It is more than likely that Johnson wanted in on the
lucrative postwar engineering and model-making contracts that
Wettlaufer was
receiving, the result being the formation of Creative Industries in
1950. By that
time Wettlaufer had reorganized Detroit Sales Engineering as Wettlaufer
Engineering Co. (in 1948), and had moved into an all-new dedicated
facility located
at 19000 W. Eight-Mile Rd., Detroit.
In 1952 Rex A. Terry (b.1911-d.1987),
another former
Chrysler Corp. body engineer was hired by Johnson to direct Creative
Industries’ operations and following Johnson's sudden passing in 1954
at the
age of 58, Rex A. Terry became president, his share in the firm
amounting to
approximately 10% - the remainder owned by Johnson’s heirs. After a
public
education the Detroit-born Terry embarked upon a course of engineering,
and
following graduation found employment with the Chrysler Corporation,
and by
1945 had become assistant chief engineer in charge of body design with
Chrysler's Commercial Car division – the same position formerly held by
Elmer
G. Wettlaufer one decade earlier.
Wettlaufer established a branch
manufacturing facility in Owendale, Michigan in 1946. Initally
established to handle small runs of automobile trim pieces
(specifically door pulls and armrests), the Owendale facility later got
involved in the modification of truck cabs and introduced their own
line of sleeper cabs. Known as Wettlaufer Manufacturing Co., the
Owendale firm shared officers and directors with Wettlaufer Engineering
and was managed bythe firm's treasurer John MacKenzie. Located 110
miles north of Detroit, near Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay, Owendale was
selected due to its underemployed workforce, low overhead and the
availability of a suitable facility.
In 1947 Wettlaufer hired a small Detroit
advertising agency called Allied Artists to come up with some artwork
for their corporate
advertising campaigns, several of which are reproduced at the right
courtesy of the artist, Harry Borgman of Sawyer, Michigan. Borgman had
a long
career as an illustrator, his work can be found in Ford Times and
various
advertisements for Chevrolet and others.
Due to the secretive nature of its business,
very few projects that Wettlaufer undertook have been written about,
with several exceptions; the firs of which was the engioneering for the
1951 Ford Victoria hardtop coupe.
Ford was late to the hardtop game and in
1950 formed a design team headed by Gordon Buehrig
(of Auburn - Cord - Duesenberg fame) to come up with some competition
for
the popular hardtops currently being offered by General Motors (1949)
and Chrysler (1950.)
The concept, which dated from the mid-teens,
had
been mostly ignored by American stylists until after the War, with the
exception of a few coach-built examples constructed during the late
1930s. It was reintroduced on the 1949 Chevrorlet Bel Air which was
closely follwoed by the Plymouth Belevedere in 1950. Ford management
demanded their own sold-roof convertible and as stime was of the
essence, Wettlaufer was given the task to engineer in time for the
debut of the 1951 Ford lineup.
The target was missed by a couple of months,
however, the 1951 Ford Victoria Model 60
was well received - drawing rave reviews from the automotive press, and
a flurry of orders from the public. The 1951 Victoria outsold both the
Chevrolet Bel Air and Plymouth Belvedere hardtops, with 110,286
examples being produced during its shortened 9-month production run.
Wettlaufer
was rarely mentioned in the motoring press, one exception being a short
article distributed on the United Press newswire on October 15, 1950:
“New 'New Look' Is Predicted in Auto
Design
Before 1953
“Detroit - (UP) -
Automobiles will get their second post-war version of the ‘new look’
before
1953, a man who builds cars of the future said Saturday.
“Elmer G. Wettlaufer, in the unique
business
of making autos
for auto makers, predicted ‘some radical appearance chances after the
1951 models — if Joe Stalin will cooperate.’ But the 1951 models and
most of
the 1952 editions will be limited to ‘further refinements and
face-liftings’ of
the longer, low-slung autos which emerged in 1947, 1948, and 1949, he
said.
“Shapes, Styles
“Wettlaufer is president of the
virtually - unknown Wettlaufer Manufacturing Co., which plays a vital
part in the auto industry's
future styling plans. Its 200 design and engineering experts, model
builders,
and metal craftsmen put together beautiful full-size cars and trucks
that
have only one drawback - they won't run. Hand built of wood and metal,
the
vehicles give manufacturers opportunity to see just what their new
models will look
like, months before production will begin.
“It's No Secret
“Most auto companies have their own
styling
and model building facilities. But nearly all of them use the
Wettlaufer
facilities at one stage or another in their experimental programs.
“Keeping secrets is part of the company's
business, but Wettlaufer indicated that future automobiles will see
more of the
‘racing type, cosmopolitan look.’
“They won't be any bigger, either, he
said.
But Wettlaufer, for many years a body engineer with Chrysler Corp.,
isn't at all sure
the ‘small car’ will cut too deeply into the market.
“‘What the American public still wants in
a
car is a big package at a small price,’ he said.”
A fairly detailed examination of the firm's
activities was published in the February 1951 issue of American
Magazine:
“Tailor-made Cars
“You got a bargain when you bought your
shiny new car. The
manufacturer paid $200,000 for the same model to Elmer G. Wettlaufer,
48, of
Detroit, Mich. Mr. Wettlaufer gets that much for one car. His unique
business
is building test of ‘pilot’ cars for leading automobile manufacturers.
“He transforms the designs of a new model
supplied by the
company, into a complete working car. The firm then tests the car to
see if it
was ‘right,’ also uses it to plan advertising campaigns.
“From blueprints, Wettlaufer’s engineers
and
craftsmen make
a small model, then a full scale wooden replica, and finally the actual
car.
Automobile manufacturers hire Wettlaufer instead of using their own
shops,
partly because he can usually dot it cheaper and partly because their
own shops
are usually jammed with other work.
“New designs are completed long before
cars
go into actual
production, so Wettlaufer has already turned outs some 1952 models.
Each car is
kept in a private compartment and, of course, all the work is strictly
‘hush-hush’.
“Wettlaufer launched his business in 1942
with an idea and
one order. Then he had just a desk and a phone. Today he operates a
plant that
employs 250 men and builds one-of-a-kind models not only of cars, but
of such
varied items as trucks, fountain pens, refrigerators, gasoline pumps,
and
vending machines. He was born in Saginaw, Mich., and was one of the
first kids
in his town to own a car, an Overland Ninety. He took it apart and put
it
together so many times, folks called the road behind his house
‘Gasoline Alley.’
When he was 19 he went to work for Cadillac, and finally wound up as
chief body
engineer of Chrysler Corporation, where he remained until he went into
business
for himself.”
The firm’s listing in the 1952 Directory of
Michigan Manufacturers follows:
“Wettlaufer Engineering & Experimental
Co.; 19000 W. Eight-Mile Rd., Detroit 19 Hammer Forms, Wood; Models,
Die; Sheet Metal
Work; Mock-Ups, Wood E. G. Wettlaufer, Pres.; H. J. Wettlaufer,
Vice-Pres.,
Gen. Mgr.; A. J. Wettlaufer. Gen. Sales Mgr.; О. С.
Davidson, Vice-Pres., Plant Mgr.; J. MacKenzie, Treas.; J. F. McMullen,
Sec; R. J. Grubba.
Chief Eng.; H. A. Davidson. Fur. Agt. Emp. M. 260, F. 10.”
Wettlaufer was briefly mentioned in an
article
written by syndicated columnist John F. Sembower that appeared in many
of the nation’s
newspapers on June 16, 1952:
“Jet-Lined Car Is Vision Of Tomorrow by
John F. Sembower
“Public Will Still Dictate Choice
“Detroit, Mich. — Automobiles that
Americans
will be driving
during the next 10 years are not likely to be radically different from
those which crowd the highways during the current tourist season.
However,
there definitely will be big changes. Secreted in shops around this
motor
capital are the experimental models which determine tomorrow's styles.
Occasionally, one of them spins out on the streets and gives passersby
a thrill
like that which swept through the town when Henry Ford’s Model A,
successor to the Model T, appeared.
“Now it may be General Motor's Le Sabre,
the
jet-lined sport
roadster which may contain many of the earmarks of GM's line for the
next
decade, or the futuristic cars that Chrysler, Lincoln, Packard, Buick
and some
of the others have been unveiling now and then.
“A glance into the carefully guarded shops
of the Wettlaufer
Manufacturing Co. here is a look into tomorrow. This fabulous and
little-known
concern for many years has specialized in design and experimental work
for many
of the big manufacturers.”
A much more detailed description of
Wettlaufer’s operations
can be found in the May, 1953 issue of ‘The Great Lakelands’:
“Wettlaufers - A Model Business
“At the unique Wettlaufer Engineering
Corporation, located
in the northwest section of Detroit, foresight is the chief
stock-in-trade. Manufacturers of anything from fountain pens to
automobiles can walk into Wettlaufer's with 'the skeleton of
a germ of an idea' for a new product and, in a matter of weeks,
Wettlaufer
will present the manufacturer with a hand-made, working models of the
product. That’s their business.
“Testimony for the firm’s creative and
engineering ability
can be gleaned from its customer list, which includes General Motors,
Ford, Chrysler, Packard, Nash, Willys-Overland, Kaiser-Frazer,
International Harvester, White, and virtually every name in the
automotive manufacturing field.
“In the design room, the guided visitor
might see a unique
three-dimensional drawing of tomorrow’s truck cab. And that shiny
mahogany
thing in the woodworking shop, the visitors might learn, is the trunk
for a 1955
automobile. And (wow?) that super- sleek sports-car body in the metal
working
shop actually out-Europeanizes the European designers. Questions like
‘Whose is
it?’, and ‘when will it come out?’ Are so completely parried that
they
fall harmlessly to the floor.
“The corporation, which bears the name of
its founder, Elmer
G. Wettlaufer, was created eleven years ago to fill a definite
need in
the realm of industrial experimentation. The original reasons for the
founding
of the firm are embodied in its statement of services:
“To relieve periodic congestion in the
experimental
departments of large manufacturers;
“To provide manufacturers with both
experienced personnel
and adequate development facilities whenever required and at a fraction
of
normal year-round departmental operating costs;
“To permit centralization of
responsibility
for an entire
experimental program within a single qualified organization.
“Our clients have found that a most
important consideration
is the fact that our experimental work, from designing and engineering
to the
final metal working model, is all done under one roof.
“Born in Saginaw, Elmer Wettlaufer was one
of the first kids
in town to own an automobile. By the time he was 19, Elmer was working
for
Cadillac; he rose to climax his first 20-odd years in the automotive
field by
serving as chief truck body engineer for Chrysler. Wettlaufer, as a
design
executive himself, was intimately acquainted with the difficulties that
beset
manufacturers in their design and experimental departments.
“The work of most designing departments
is apt to
be a seasonal thing characterized by extreme congestion at one time and
idleness of highly paid employees at another.
“In 1942 Wetlauffer decided to establish a
complete
design-engineering-model service for those manufacturers who were too
snowed
under by the present to be able to keep up with the future.
“Sacrificing the
security of a highly-paid position in industry, Wettlaufer opened his
own
office over a branch bank in Royal Oak. Armed with one order, a handful
of
draftsmen, and a world of vision, the Wettlaufer Engineering firm
started operations. In
a matter of months, Wettlaufer's gamble paid off as rush manufacturers
began
beating a path to his door for help. The firm expanded into larger
quarters on
the east side of the city and, by 1945, rush military-design orders and
other
business let to the addition of a metal working shop.
“In a few years, Wettlaufer moved
to the present
location at 1900 W. Eight Mile Road— and the firm is still spreading
out. Today
the 300 employees at the Wettlaufer Corporation are annually turning
out from
$3,000,000 to $5,000,000 worth of drawings and models of products for
tomorrow.
Present officers for the firm include, Elmer G. Wettlaufer, president,
H.J. Wettlaufer, vice-president, A.J. Wettlaufer, vice-president in
charge of sales, O.C. Davidson, vice-president in charge of the
experimental
division, John MacKenzie, treasurer; T.F. McMullen, secretary, and Mrs.
A.M.
Powers, assistant secretary.
“In many respects, the Wettlaufer
employees
must be
wonder-workers, so naturally, the workers in each department must be
among the
best in their chosen field. Some of the jobs that industry throws at
the firm
would seem to be formidable assignments for a wizard. For example,
several
years ago an auto manufacturer gave Wettlaufer a rough design and an
order to build
a completely new auto body together with the various coupes, station
wagons,
and other refinements of the same style body. Ordinary working time for
constructing the auto body would be 90 to 120 days – but the
manufacturers
wanted the first body in 30 days, and the others at the rate of one a
week thereafter.
“The employees at Wettlaufer beat the
first
deadline by two
days — and the remainder was finished right on schedule. The superior
quality
of the Wettlaufer team led various Army contractors to ask the firm to
produce
radically new military weapons and equipment during World War II. Among
its
other assignments, the firm developed electronically controlled
launching units
for mines and hand-grenades; built reconnaissance trucks, ‘Swamp
Buggies’;
charge supports for bombs; developed clutch parts for tanks;
winterization
methods for tanks and trucks, and many new aircraft parts. During the
present
national emergency, Wettlaufer’s design and engineering brains have
turned
their attention to jet aircraft and other military necessities.
“Not all of Wettlaufer’s assignments
arrive
as the ‘complete
ball of wax.’ The firm is highly versatile and, therefore, able to jump
in on
any phase of the development program of a new tool or product. A
manufacturer
might come in with a detailed drawing of a product, and the
various
technicians at Wettlaufer can give him a model in clay, wood,
plaster, or steel – or a complete working model of the product.
“The men in the woodworking shops, often
referred to as the
prima donnas of the design field, probably outshine the old-fashioned
Scandinavian cabinet makers when it comes to fashioning shapes of wood.
The
cabinet makers probably never equaled the Wettlaufer woodworkers, who
must hold
their tolerances to two-thousands of an inch. Actually, all of the
wood, clay,
and other models of auto and other parts must be perfect enough to
allow the
use of them as patterns for Kellering, the process that produces the
dies from
which parts for finished products must be mass produced.
“The creative business of conceiving,
designing and building
models of new products is expensive. The minimum rate for a journeyman
in the
woodworking shops is more than $3 per hour (and one might put in 700
hours
making the exact replica of a single new-car trunk lid). An average
designer
pulls down $10,000 per year. Thus, the man who raises his eyebrow when
asked to
pay $2,000 for his car would be surprised to learn that the first one
of the
same thing probably cost the manufacturers $250,000 for the body design
alone.
“One of the most important functions of
the
entire Wettlaufer Engineering Corporation is keeping their
secrets
vacuum tight. Unlike the average factory, nobody looks over anybody’s
shoulder
at Wettlaufer. The men in the design division are practically
'committed' to
their closed-off studios when working on a new idea for a customer. The
only
people allowed in such a room are the employees specifically
concerned
with the project and the customer’s liaison engineer. The fact
that the
Wettlaufer Corporation has never received a complaint from any customer
about
"leaking news" is testimony for the trustworthiness of the firm's
employees
and security system.
“Naturally, ‘Firsts’ in the automotive
industry are somewhat
matter-of-fact with an enterprise such as Wettlaufer. Their list is
much too
lengthy to relate. For example, however, Wettlaufer built the first
‘hard-top’
automobile body, conceived the graphic ‘three dimensional’ type of
blueprint
for shop workmen and originated the idea of putting three windows in
the back
of truck cabs to eliminate blind spots.
“The corporation has just completed one
expansion program,
and today office space is being enlarged and tentative plans are being
made for
the next burst of plant expansion. As the president Elmer Wettlaufer
puts it:
‘Millions of dollars’ worth of foresight and ideas are our chief tools
and
stock-in-trade.’”
In 1952 Herbert J. Wettlaufer (b. Mar 21,
1904 d- Aug 26,
1996), Elmer G. and Albert J.'s youngest brother,joined
his
brothers’ organization as vice-president and later general manager, the
February 15, 1953 issue of Automotive
Industries reporting:
“Wettlaufer Manufacturing Corp. – Herbert
Wettlaufer has joined the firm as vice president.”
Herbert Julius Wettlaufer was born on March
21, 1904 in Saginaw,
Michigan to Conrad S. & Ida (Hohn) Wettlaufer, his father being a
Canadian-born carpenter / contractor / erector. Siblings included Flora
J.
(b.1894);
Melinda A. (b.1896); Hazel B. (b. 1898); Albert J. (b.1899); and Elmer
G. (b.
1902) Wettlaufer.
After attending the University of Michigan
(class of ‘28) in
Ann Arbor, Herbert took a position with Michigan Bell Telephone Co. as
commercial
service supervisor in its Saginaw branch and in 1930 was transferred to
its Pontiac,
Michigan office. On February 7, 1935 he married Mary Virginia Sullivan
(b. 1909
– d. 1990) and to the blessed union was born two children; John C. (b.
1938 - d.
2013) and William H. (b.1943) Wettlaufer.
As
mentioned previously, Wettlaufer Manufacturing was a separate firm
organized to manufacture small runs of automobile interior parts
located in Owendale, Michigan, however the firm's officers were the
same as Wettlaufer Engineering's.
The goals of its associated Engineering
organization were outlined to the trade
via a series of display ads that ran in a number of periodicals during
1956:
“Our Job is Creating New Products for
Tommorrow’s Markets
“Our organization, the largest independent
experimental
engineering company in the country today, has a three-fold aim:
“To relieve periodic congestion in the
experimental
departments of large manufacturers;
“To provide small manufacturers with both
experienced
personnel and modern development facilities at a fraction of normal
year-round departmental
operating costs, and …
“To permit centralization of
responsibility
for your entire
experimental program within a single qualified organization.
“Our clients have found that a most
important consideration
is the fact that our experimental work, from designing and
engineering to the final metal working model, is all done under one
roof.
Nothing is farmed out. Large and small manufacturers of all types of
products… automobiles,
trucks, appliances, etc… avail themselves of our skilled specialists
and unique
facilities.
"If you think we might be of assistance to
you, we'll
be glad to furnish you with more details concerning our complete
creative
services in an illustrated brochure entitled: 'From Start to Finish,
The
Story
of Product Development.' E.G. Wettlaufer, President.
“Wettlaufer Engineerimg Corporation 19000
W.
8 Mile Rd., Detroit 19.”
Wettlaufer
Engineering also was involved in the design and fabrication of the
tooling used to build many of the parts used by Ruben Allender in the
manufacture of the 1956-1957
Chevrolet-based El
Morroco.
Another known Wettlaufer project was the
all-new 1958 Thunderbird convertible. It marked Ford's first attempt at
unit construction (aka monocoque), doing away with a tradional steel
body attached to a separate steel frame. Ford built a new purpose-built
plant to construct the new Thunderbird, which shared the facility
with its unit-body cousins, the 1958 Lincoln and 1958
Continental Mark III.Ford spent $50 million on the new Thunderbird -$5
million for engineering/styling and $45
million
for tooling. Body engineering was subcontracted to the Budd Company and
the convertible program
was sublet to
Wettlaufer Engineering.
Wettlaufer also supplied the aluminum
components used on Ford Motor Co.’s Levacar Mach 1 concept car which
debuted in the Ford
Rotunda on May 20, 1958 (and was made in 1/25 scale kit form by AMT).
The firm's listing in the 1958 Detroit
Directory follows:
“Wettlaufer Engineering Corp.,
(E. G.
Wettlaufer, President;
H.J. Wettlaufer, Vice-President; A.J. Wettlaufer, Vice-President—Sales)
19000 & 19800 W. Eight Mile Road, Detroit.”
In 1958 Wettlaufer became a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Detroit's largest machine tool & die engineering
consultancy, Pioneer Engineering & Manufacturing, forming the
nation's largest independent automotive
engineering firm with a combined staff of about 750 employees. Pioneer
was founded by Albert M. Sargent (b. Sep. 16, 1898 - d. Aug. 13, 1985)
in 1931.
Albert Marden Sargent was born on September
16, 1898 in Gilmanton, Belnap County, New Hampshire to Charles P. (b.
1854 - d. 1908) and Alice A. (Dow, b. 1867) Sargent. Siblings included
Ruth E (b.1901) and Lottie I. (b.1904) Sargent.
On
September 24, 1917 he married Amanda
Marie Gagnon in Concord, N.H., his occupation was listed as machinist
on the marriage certificate. After the War the couple moved to Detroit
where he took a postion with an auto manufacturer as a machinist, which
is confirmed by the 1920 US Census which places him in Detroit, his
occupation 'machinist' at an 'auto factory', his wif'es name Amanda.
Sargent's listings in the 1920-22 Detroit directories confirm his
occupation as toolmaker/machinist. Sargent married for the second time
on April 4, 1922 to Ruth M. (Hopkins) Sargent
- they were divorced one decade later, on January 14, 1932. The 1930 US
Census states he was an 'executive engineer.' Pioneer's listing in the
1932
Detroit Directory follows:
“Pioneer Engineering &
Manufacturing Co., 8316 Woodward Ave.; Albert M.
Sargent, pres.; Ellery C. Pengra, sec-treas.”
On
August 31, 1934 Sargent married - for the third time to - Grace E.
Moore. The 1940 Detroit directory lists Pioneer at the corner of
Melborne and John R. Sts.:
“Pioneer Engineering & Manufacturing
Co., 31 Melbourne Ave. Inc. 1931 cap. $25,000; A.M. Sargent, pres.;
Eric M. Jacques, v pres.; Frank C. Querry, sec-treas.”
In
1940 Pioneer moved into an all-new facility located at 19676 John R
St., Detroit (still standing). The structure, which was designed with
security in mind, was pictured in a 1941 issue of Time, with the
following caption:
“Maginot for Blueprints
“This plant combines more spy-proof,
thug-proof features
than any yet built for the U.S. defense program. Half-medieval and
half-modern,
half-fort and half-factory, it is the Detroit home of Pioneer
Engineering &
Manufacturing Co., engineering consultants to 450 industrial concerns,
many of
which are busy making guns, tanks, instruments, planes. Hence Pioneer
is full
of blueprints of other people’s plants and products – enough to make a
spy’s
eyes bulge.
“In designing the plant, Pioneer President
Albert M. Sargent
used recommendations of FBI, Army and Navy. The plant has only one
entrance,
guarded by a receptionist behind bulletproof glass. Its small
rectangular
windows are six feet above ground, are made of safety glass, cannot be
opened.
Thus no bombs can be tossed in, nothing can be passed out. To prevent
tampering, intakes for electric and telephone wires are located in a
concrete
basement vault to which there is only one heavy metal door and one key.
The
entire grounds are surrounded by a "man-proof" fence, the single gate
is watchdogged by a policeman in a pillbox. The staff (220 engineers
and
draftsmen) must check all blueprints in & out of a central filing
system.”
Pioneer's War-time operations were
highlighted in the April
22, 1944 issue of Michigan Manufacturer and Financial Record:
“... Its executives sit in consultation
with the firms it
serves. From these meetings come the strategy – the master plan. This
strategy
then is carried through to its conclusion.
“Once the plan is ready, designers are on
the job, and engineers
begin the task of designing and building the special tools. Meanwhile,
plant
layout men are figuring ways to speed up the flow of materials. Other
Pioneer
experts are ordering machines. Practical shopmen check the operation of
new
machines to see that they function according to plan and teach the
client’s
foremen new tricks in the operation of the new machinery. Meantime,
Pioneer
cost accountants are installing a modern cost system that keeps vital
cost
information right up to the minute.
“As the nation struggled free from
depression the Pioneer
organization grew from short pants into full maturity. It now was
handling
tough assignments from literally hundreds of the nation’s big
companies. There
were production kinks at a famous washing machine company and Pioneer
eliminated them — Diesel engine problem was a tough nut to crack, but
Pioneer provided the firm’s engineers with the ‘fresh slant’ need
for its
solution – There was need for better textile machinery and the
engineers from the
Motor City found the answer so that one of the nation’s largest textile
mills
went ahead with greater efficiency. Farm machinery, automotive and
aviation
equipment, railroad equipment – and a listing of other industries as
long as
your arm – began to use the Pioneer service.
“War found Pioneer with hundreds of
skilled engineers and
production men on its staff and 10 years of practical ‘know-how’ and
achievements behind it. Still Pioneer stuck to its formula – do the
complete engineering
job. Of course, Pioneer executives can’t talk about their war work but
they do admit that some of America's vital war secrets have been
"hatched" in their engineering offices. President and general manager
of the Pioneer organization is Albert M. Sargent, whose greatest
pride is the "team" of industrial experts he has carefully built
under
the Pioneer banner.
“Sargent held several engineering jobs
before organizing
Pioneer back in 1931. He was assistant superintendent of experimental
engineering for Chevrolet, plant engineer for Detroit Seamless Tube
Company;
chief engineer for Universal Wrench Company, chief engineer for C&G
Spring
& Bumper Company; general manager for Michigan Machine Company and
vice-president in charge of engineering.”
In
1947 Sargent was given an honorary doctorate in engineering by the
Lawrence Institute of Technology, Southfield, Mich. Sargent, a founder
and past-president of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, was
memorialized by the SME via the annual Albert M. Sargent Progress Award
which is given to the SME member who made the most significant
accomplishment in the field of manufacturing processes, methods, or
systems.
In early 1953 Michael Pinto, the president
of Douglas Tool Co., purchased a controlling interest in Pioneer from
its founder, Albert M. Sargent, the January 15, 1953 issue of
Automotive Industries:
“Pioneer Engineering Control Changes Hands
- Michael Pinto succeeds A. M. Sargent as
president. He has named L. A. Curnoe as secretary-treasurer and Clyde
Mooney as chief
engineer.
“Michael Pinto has been named President of
Pioneer Engineering and Manufacturing Company, Inc., Detroit, the
largest
independent production engineering company in the country,
succeeding A.M. Sargent, who founded the company and had served as its
president
since 1930. L.A. Curnoe has been named secretary-treasurer of the
company. In
acquiring Pioneer from Sargent, Mr. Pinto, who is also president of
Douglas Tool
Company, Detroit, emphasized that no changes in policies are
contemplated for
the company, and that Pioneer would retain its full independent status.
His
first action as president was to name Clyde Mooney, who has been with
Pioneer
since its early days, to the position of General Manager in compete
charge of
all operations.
“Pioneer engineering will continue to earn
the fine reputation for superior engineering, rapid service and fair
pricing
which it so richly earned.’
“He paid tribute to Sargent as the ‘first
man to recognize the need for a strong independent engineering industry
in the
manufacturing field, with courage to launch it in the early days of the
great
depression.’”
Michael Pinto was mentioined in the April
26, 1958 issue of Pacific Stars And Stripes:
“In 1941 Mike Pinto began work as a
one-of-the-boys engineer
with a Detroit firm named Pioneer Engineering Manufacturing Co. By 1943
Pinto
had salted away $2,000 in the bank and decided it was time to try his
hand at
being his own boss. If results are a yardstick, he is a pretty good
boss.
“He organized the Douglas Tool Co. in
Detroit with his
$2,000 bankroll and three employees. In 1952 Douglas Tool Co. made $13
million
and stocky, individualistic Mike Pinto had not sold one share of stock.
‘We did
it ourselves,’ he says. The next year, Pinto noted that his old
company—where
he had done his engineering for someone else—was up for sale.
“He bought Pioneer Engineering
Manufacturing
Co., and now is president of both firms.
“Asked about labor problems, Pinto
replied,
‘We have none. The skilled professional people who work for me are paid
better wages
individually than they could ever bargain for collectively.’”
Pioneer / Wettlaufer's listing in the 1960
edition of Industrial
Research Laboratories of the United States follows:
“Pioneer Engineering and Manufacturing
Co.,
19669 John R. St., Detroit 3, Mich., president: Michael Pinto.
Laboratories: 19669 John R.
St., Detroit 3, Mich.; Wettlaufer Engineering Division, 19000 and
19800, W. Eight Mile Rd., Southfield, Mich. Research staff: S. Paul
Burns,
Executive vice president and research director; engineers; 5
electrical, 15
industrial, 18 mechanical; 10 mathematicians, 244 auxiliaries. Research
on:
Mechanical, electromechanical, industrial, automotive body and chassis
engineering; prototype models
in wood, plaster, clay, plastic and metal; sheet metal and machine shop
parts.”
Michael
Pinto took a hands-off approach to running Pioneer and its
subsidiaries, and in 1962 appointed William P. Panny, as manager and
executive vice president. Panny had
complete charge of all four divisions, which at that time included
Pioneer Industrial Engineering; Wettlaufer
Engineering Plant
One; Wettlaufer Engineering Plant Two; and the Douglas
Tool Co. Wettlaufer plant No. 2 had recently been constructed in
Warrend, Michigan at 2500 E. 9 Mile Rd. Panny started his career at
Chrysler where he held the post of assistant chief engineer, Light and
Medium Trucks, from 1958-1960. He held a B.M.E. Degree with honors from
Pratt
Institute and
a Master of Automotive Engineering degree from the Chrysler
Institute of Engineering.
By that time the Wettlaufer family's
manufacturing operation in Owendale, Michigan had been sold off to
brothers John and Alton MacKenzie, and reorganized as Automotive
Industries, Inc. The firm specialized in manufacturing automotive
interior components for Ford, initally, interior door pulls and
armrests, and later on sunvisors and door panels for Chrysler. In a
connected facility they also converted1950s-60s Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford,
GMC and Mack truck cabs into crew cabs and sleeper cabs.
Automotive Industries listing in Wards
Automotive directory follows:
“Automotive Industries Inc. 7280 Main
St., Owendale,
Michigan Automobile Parts; Automobile Accessories; Truck Sleeper Cabs.
John MacKenzie, Pres., Sales Mgr.; Alton
MacKenzie, Vice-Pres., Gen. Mgr., Treas., Pur.
Agt.; J.F. McMulIen, Sec; A. J.Wettlaufer, Sales Mgr.; Joe Lorencz,
Export Mgr.
Emp. M.20, F.60; Est. 1946.”
April 1, 1968 Holland Evening Sentinel:
“Michigan In Washington by Esther Van
Wagoner Tufty
“Washington – A small businessman says
‘thank-you’ to his government.
“John MacKenzie, a small businessman in
Owendale, calls his congressman James Harvey (R-Mich) to express his
gratitude because Small Business
Administration loans had taken his firm from the brink of disaster to
outstanding success in less than five years.
“Said Mr. MacKenzie, president of
Automotive
Industries, Inc., ‘since government agencies are likely to received
more bricks
than bouquets I thought this story would be of interest.’
“Congressman Harvey recounted the story to
the House of Representatives.
“MacKenzies’ firm manufactured armrests
for
the major automobile companies. But in 1963 a change in technology
swung his
customers to other sources and business came to a halt. Offered a
contract for sun
visors by Ford, MacKenzie went to SBA for a loan to get materials into
the plant
so that he could begin production. He received three SBA loans totaling
$200,000 and the company began producing 464 sun visors daily.
“Today the plant turns out 12,000 sun
visors
a day and has 125 people on the payroll. Said Congressman Harvey, ‘I
hardly need to
comment on the significance of that payroll to Owendale, a town of 300
people,
and to the rest of the Huron county.’ Sales for the present fiscal year
are
expected to reach 2 ½ million.
“Thankful, Mr. MacKenzie wrote a thank-you
letter to Robert C. Moot, administrator of Small Business
Administration, and then told
his story to his congressman. He said: ‘without the cooperation and the
understanding of SBA this company would not be in existence.’”
In 1968
John MacKenzie sold Automotive Industries to Donlee
Manufacturing Industries Limited of Toronto, Canada, a major player in
the automotive interior business, the sale being detailed in theOctober
26, 1972 edition of the Cass City
(Mich.) Chronicle:
“Owendale Sunvisor Plant starts $40,000
Warehouse Addition by Kit McMillion
“The next time you’re driving into the sun
and reach up to pull down the handy sun visor in your car or truck,
chances are about
one in four that your hand will touch a product of Automotive
Industries,
Inc., of Owendale.
“A wholly-owned subsidiary of Donlee
Manufacturing Industries Limited of Toronto, Canada, the automotive
interior trim,
factory produced approximately 3½ to 4 million
visors a year, at a rate of about 18,000 a day.
“It's part of a $30 million sun visor
business, and also provides
a major source of employment with most of its 200 employees coming from
Owendale and the surrounding area, although one comes as far as
Frankenmuth and the plant manager lives in Lake Orion.
“While only a small part of the total
automotive industry, it's a mainstay of Owendale, adding $750,000 in
payroll alone to the
community this year.
“The industry started in 1946 when
Wettlauffer Inc. opened the plant in Owendale. According to present
vice-president and general
manager Garry Hoffman, the site was chosen at the time because the
facilities
were available and there was a work force available. It was also the
trend
at that time to escape the city and open shops in small towns, where
post-war
wages, taxes and general overhead was smaller.
“Wettlauffer's sold it several years later
to John McKenzie of Bloomfield and Al McKenzie of Pigeon, who operated
the plant as a
proprietorship corporation until its purchase in 1969 by the Canadian
firm.
“From a small post-war factory, the
business
has expanded greatly in recent years and has now outgrown its
facilities,
necessitating a 10,000 square foot addition to the rear of the building
located on
Sebewaing Road in Owendale.
“While the original advantages of moving
to
the countryside after World War II have disappeared, and freight costs
are now higher,
the plant stays in Owendale because of the trained work force
available, said
Hoffman.
“The $40,000 addition now under
construction
will be used for both storage and working space. The main plant now has
25,000
square feet plus an additional 7,000 square feet of warehouse space.
“An old wood shed that stood behind the
building was torn down last week, erasing one of the last vestiges of
the building's use
by a trucking firm years ago. The wood shed was a holding pen for
cattle.
“The original building was built in 1926
and used as a store
and later a band room for the school before the trucking firm had it.
“Hoffman said when he came to the plant in
1970, only 75 persons worked there. With the increase in business in
the last several years,
the plant has outgrown its quarters. ‘The orders are here, the
materials
are here, the people are here, but the building isn't,’ explained
Hoffman, who
added that the new steel-beam structure was expected to be completed by
December.
“This will be the second major
construction
at the plant site. A brick addition was built in the 1950's and houses
the assembly
lines tor the visors, die-cutting machines and urethane foam moulding
facilities. And several warehouses were built in the last three years.
“The industry's raw materials, however,
are
still without a proper storage space. Currently a huge 30 x 90 foot
circus tent is covering
the materials next to the main plant.
“The industry has seen ups and downs, but
‘as the auto industries go, so do we,’ stated Hoffman. Right now the
plant is
rolling. Thirty-five persons were hired in the past month to
accommodate the future
expansion, and while there are many new employees, there are still a
few who started
working there in 1946. Hoffman said they also have a few third
generation employees,
where grandmother, mother and daughters all work at the same plant.
Visors
for 1973 models were shipped out as early as August, and already quotes
are
being made for 1974. The factory is working full steam 6 days a week,
three shifts.
“Together with the sister company in
Toronto, Automotive Industries is one of four businesses involved in
the production of sun visors.
‘Between our sister company in Toronto and us, we do have a major chunk
of the
sun visor business,’ Hoffman related. Approximately 70 per cent of
their volume
goes to their leading purchaser, Ford Motor Company. Other buyers are
Chrysler,
Chevrolet, Dodge, White, Diamond Rio and a California-based motor home
firm.
“Besides the 20 different shapes of sun
visor, the company uses 40 colors of three different types of
materials, mostly vinyl, to make
three basic styles of visor. The most sophisticated product has a
mirror
attached to the visor. A new innovation for 1974 is a flocked material
that looks
like suede.
“The plant also makes vinyl door panels
for
Chevrolet, said Hoffman, and ‘angels wings,’ which are the upper rear
quarter panel for the
interior of a car, for Chrysler.
“In the past, the factory also turned out
arm rests, roof rails, golf carts and rebuilt truck cabs into sleepers.
“Another facet of the company that is
unusual is the production of urethane foam, a material much like foam
rubber used for
cushioning. Automotive Industries is the only producer of sun visors
that makes its
own urethane foam, and also ships 12 million square feet a year to
their
sister company in Toronto.”
At the time of the 1968 sale to Donlee Mfg.,
Alton MacKenzie, John's younger brother, purchased the rights to
Automotive Industries' truck cab business and moved the operation 6
miles north to Pigeon, Huron County, Michigan, theNovember 12, 1969
edition of the Progress
Advance (Pigeon / Elkton / Owendale, MI) reporting:
“A new manufacturing plant is being
erected
in Pigeon by Alton MacKenzie. The plant is located south of the C&O
Railroad
tracks on Sturm Road. The new factory will be engaged in sheet metal
fabrication
for truck and farm implement industries and is called the Alton
Company.”
Located at 120 N.
Sturm Rd. and reorganized as the Alton Manufacturing Co., MacKenzie
abandoned the sleeper cab business, concentrating on building 4-door
crew cabs for
light,
medium, and heavy-duty trucks. In 1980 Jerry Adams joined Alton as vice
president and following the June 1983 death of Alton MacKenzie (b. Aug.
30, 1915), he assumed ownership of the firm.
Dodge introduced their full-sized 'club cab'
pickup
truck in 1973, which was closely followed by Ford's 1974 'super cab'
but for reasons unknown General Motors waited until 1988 to introduce
their first full-size extended-cab pickup. Prior to its introduction
Alton Manufacturing termporarily filled the void with their own 'club
cab' which offered Chevrolet and GMC full-size truck owners with a
choice of a9” or 24” cab extension.
Alton also supplied Chevrolet and GMC 4-door
crew- and extended-crew cabs for Western Hauler, a Fort Worth, Texas
manufacturer of custom medium-duty fifth-wheel haulers. Another
customer was Auto
Truck, Inc. a Chicago-based manufacturer of 'rail-ready' (aka
high-rail) pickups, cranes, welders and inspection vehicles that
utilized Alton-built quad cabs. Another customer was Chicago's Peter
Pirsch Co. for whom they suppliedfire and rescue truck cabs and
canopies. At that time Alton employed fewer than a dozen employees who
produced as many as
three hundred truck cabs a year.
In 1984 Donlee Manufacturing, the parent
company
of Automotive Industries, was acquired by Redpath Industries, the
November 3, 1984 issue of the New York Times reporting:
“Redpath Agrees To Buy Donlee
“Toronto, Nov. 2 — Redpath Industries
Ltd. said it had agreed to acquire Donlee Manufacturing Industries Ltd.
for $16 million
in cash, $16 million in promissory notes and 400,000 nonconvertible
preferred
Redpath shares.”
In January of 1994 Aero Detroit purchased
Pioneer Engineering & Manufacturing Co., renaming the firm APX
International, the August 15, 1994 issue of Automotive Industries
reporting on the name
change:
“Aero Detroit/Pioneer Engineering of
Madison
Heights, Mich., North America's No.2 automotive and aviation
engineering service firm
behind Modern Engineering, has changed its name to APX International.
The
company was created in January by the merger of product design and
prototype
development firm Aero Detroit Inc. and tool design and manufacturing
engineering
firm Pioneer Engineering & Manufacturing Co.”
An August 2, 1994 press release included a
few more details relating to the founding of APX:
“Through a January 1994 combination of two
respected Detroit engineering firms - Aero Detroit Inc. and Pioneer
Engineering &
Manufacturing Co. - APX International has become North America's
second largest engineering service firm serving the automotive and
aviation
industries.
“APX International offers a full range of
concept-to-production engineering services to automakers and system
suppliers - including a suite of rapid prototyping technologies, expert
computer-aided design capabilities and special expertise in the
production of
resin-transfer molded automotive body panels.
“APX International employs some 2,000
professionals and operates 10 major facilities spanning more than
800,000 square feet
throughout the metropolitan Detroit area. Its parent company, TAD
Resources
International, Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., is the largest privately held
contract
services firm in the United States, providing over 20,000 professionals
to over 4,000
client companies in 32 countries.”
Herbert J. Wettlaufer, the founder of
Wettlaufer Engineering and Manufacturing, passed away in August 26,
1996 at the age of 92, his obituary follows:
“Herbert J. Wettlaufer, 92, of Coral
Springs,
FL, formerly of Saginaw, MI, passed away August 26, 1996. He was a
member of First
Presbyterian Church in Pontiac, MI, life member of the Kiwanis Club,
the Elks, and a
Mason, also life member of the Telephone Pioneers of America. He
attended law
school at the University of Michigan, and vice president of Wettlaufer
Engineering, Detroit, MI. Survived by his 2 sons, John C. Wettlaufer of
Chicago, IL,
and William H. (Bonita) Wettlaufer of Coral Springs; grandchildren,
Lisa
(Michael) Orr, Wyoming, MI, Max Wettlaufer of Farmington Hills, MI,
Virginia
Wettlaufer of Chicago, John W. (Chris) Wettlaufer of Chicago, Kenneth
Churchill of
Coral Springs, FL, Angela (Michael) Hegy of Boca Raton, FL; and 3
great-grandchildren, Michael C. Hegy, Jacob F. and Angona, and John W.
Wettlaufer II.”
In 1996 Alton Manufacturing's Jerry Adams
sold the company to a group of employees headed by Nick Pavlichek, who
eventually become sole owner of the firm.
In the early 2000s Alton introduced a line of six door medium-duty SUVS
they christened the Alton 'XUV'. The firm was an regular ehibitor at
the SEMA shows in Las Vegas - where the massive Ford F-650s attracted a
lot of attention. One celebrity Alton XUV owner was Shaquil
O'Neill who ordered a silver six-door Ford F-650 in 2004.
For its last years in business, Alton shared
a plant with Richmond's Steel Inc. at 6767 W. Pigeon Rd.,
Pigeon, Michigan. Their last SEMA appearance was in the fall of 2008
and they disappeared following the 2009 Chicago Auto Show.
© 2015 Mark
Theobald for Coachbuilt.com
Appendix 1 Wettlaufer Patents:
Combined arm rest and door pull – US Design
Patent No. D14896
- Filed Jun 13, 1946 - Issued Mar 9, 1948 to Elmer G. Wettlaufer
Combined door pull-to and armrest – US
Patent No. 2601677 -
Filed Feb. 9, 1949 - Issued Jun 24, 1952 to Elmer G. Wettlaufer
|
