1944-1954

In 1944, the Company was honored with a contract by Aluminum Company of America to construct an office and permanent mold facility on Dunn Road in Detroit. I was 24 years old and the Project Superintendent. There was an existing plant on the old site. I applied and received a wrecking permit. Because of the scarcity of building materials, we dismantled the building piece by piece and sold the windows, radiators, structural steel and whatever else we could. In spite of my inexperience and youth, the project was successful.

The revenues for the firm were $2.3 million in 1944, and the stockholders equity had soared to $178,000. The future looked very bright. From a personal perspective, this time period was the most dramatic in the Company’s history. Quite possibly, the changes that took place in this third decade are the reason Barton Malow is still thriving today.

After surviving the Depression, which in itself was quite an accomplishment, the two owners, Carl Barton and Arnold Malow prudently invested their money. Carl invested in real estate and Arnold in the stock market. Prices were very reasonable and their investments prospered.

My 1946 promotion to General Field Superintendent allowed the owners more leisure time. Both were involved in many civic projects: Carl with the Y.W.C.A, Camp Oakland, while Arnold served on the Board of Children’s Hospital and Michigan Mutual Liability Insurance Company. They instilled in us a commitment to support the community, which paid personal and company dividends.

Harold Butler was promoted to Chief Estimator, replacing Sylvester Wolf, who continued to lend his wisdom and stability to the firm. Without question, Harold had one of the keenest minds I have ever had the privilege of working with. He could scan an estimate and quickly size up a project accurately. Harold and I continued building on a base of over 20 years of experience with committed and dedicated employees, many that had started with the Company in its infancy.

Volume started to escalate. Stockholders’ equity in the Company from 1945 to 1949 tripled to a net worth of $550,000, and revenues from $1.6 million to $6.35 million, with a five-year average of return of 32%. Today those figures do not seem very astounding, but 50 years ago the Company’s stature had grown with triple A accounts, a very profitable base and more importantly, a reputation of excellence and integrity.

Carl Barton had become weary of the building industry stress and had a strong desire to develop his real estate holdings. Arnold Malow, on the other hand, was well known in the industry and had a host of friends in prominent business positions. He never got too involved with operation details, but his expertise in financial matters was astounding.

During this time period, following in my forefathers’ footsteps, I was ordained a minister in the Evangelical Baptist Church (Apostolic Christian) as my grandfather Maibach had been before me after he had immigrated from Switzerland. In our faith, except in the mission field, all of the ministers are expected to be self-supporting following the practice of the apostles of our Savior. This unquestionably placed additional responsibilities on my life. Carl and Arnold were well aware of my convictions and were very supportive.

I was approached by Carl and Arnold to be a member of a Company reorganization plan. As the father of four small children at the time with a wife to support, and a poor country boy background, obviously there were no assets to draw upon. However, they were extremely understanding. The slate of officers and the new ownership consisted of Mrs. Malow and Mrs. Barton who would both invest $50,000 in the new corporation. Harold Butler and I would each purchase $15,000 worth of Company stock, which the Company loaned me at a reasonable rate of interest on my signature only.

Probably in the history of our Company, this period of time had the most dramatic changes and tremendously impacted me personally. When I purchased stock for the first time it opened avenues that I had not anticipated.

Carl Barton became President, Arnold Malow, Executive Vice President and Treasurer, Harold Butler, Vice President and Chief Estimator, and myself as Vice President and Director of Field Operations. The four of us, along with our accountant Kins Collins, were Directors. I was 29 and overwhelmed at the responsibility and opportunity that was before me, and frightened by what I considered an awesome debt.

Harold was 52 and well versed in the industry, moderately fixed financially, and extremely capable. The two of us were very compatible, had an excellent working relationship, and our efforts from the onset were profitable. The two senior statesmen provided excellent support. Carl was active in the community and Arnold continued to make contacts and provided financial strength that was essential to a thriving enterprise. The scripture well states, “Except the Lord build a house, they labor in vain that build it,” and from inception the blessings of Almighty God were upon us.

In 1952 our equity had grown to $358,000, and the Company had a net earning of $202,000 on a volume of approximately $14,000,000. We were awarded a contract by the Packard Motor Car Company, the largest the firm had ever received, to construct a new plant/warehouse and test cells for the production of jet engines under a contract with General Electric at Utica, Michigan. Albert Kahn was the architect on part of the Packard project, and it was a very harmonious relationship. The accolades gained from completing the huge undertaking helped to reaffirm the reorganized Company’s position and stature in the construction industry. Some unique products and techniques were introduced on this project in connection with the cells to test the jet engines. These cells required materials to withstand the extreme heat generated by the jets during testing. On site we built a building for precasting that was later relocated to our Oak Park yard, where it serves yet today as a maintenance shop for Cloverdale Equipment Company.

In 1952 the Company became the first construction firm in the U.S. to establish a profit sharing/pension plan for the benefit of employees. We set aside a portion of our profits in an irrevocable trust to accrue to the employees benefit to be made available upon retirement, termination of employment, disability or death. The money was tax free until the recipient had the money in hand. There is no question that this plan contributed immeasurably to the stability and growth of our Company.

In the early 1950’s we spread our operations to adjoining states, particularly in partnership with Udylite Corporation in the installation of automated plating equipment. We had approximately 2,000 employees on the National Steel account where we performed all trade work including the installation of all of the equipment in the rolling mills, track maintenance, and the relining of blast furnaces.

In June of 1953, Carl Barton resigned as President and became Chairman of the Board. Arnold Malow was elevated to President and I to Executive Vice President of the Company. Several new major accounts were added in 1953 which included the Ebling and Detroit Creameries, which later merged into National Dairies and Gobel and Koppitz, major breweries, which were eventually brought under the umbrella of the Stroh Company.

Gross sales for the year ending 1954 approached $18,000,000; dividends were paid regularly to stockholders and yield on investment was 75 percent in 1952, 67 percent in 1953, dropping to 37 percent in 1954. In 1954, a crippling strike by the CIO steel workers union brought the industry to its knees.

The settlement of that dispute completely revolutionized the construction methodology throughout the unionized industrial world. The settlement addressed the right of the various in-plant unions to regulate and their first right to any ongoing maintenance or support work in the plant. We were faced with the sad task of a massive layoff of approximately 1,000 men. This situation resulted in a full scale analysis of the Company’s philosophy, and we concluded that never again would we have all of our eggs in one basket, a very dramatic turning point in our Company’s history.

1954-1964

In the fall of 1954, Arnold Malow suffered a crippling heart attack which required him to have a long period of convalescence. He spent the winter and spring of 1954-55 in Florida. Unquestionably, the strain of expanding operations had taken its toll on our President.

During this fourth decade, the continuity of the Company was insured. A new management team was put in place and the vision of the Company changed to a much broader scope as far as diversification and geography was concerned.

The Michigan Mutual Liability office building in downtown Detroit was probably the first high rise structure the Company built. My father, Ben Sr., was Superintendent on this building, and because of the proximity of adjacent high rise buildings, the displacement of earth caused by the driving of piles resulted in some of the structures starting to rise. An innovative technique was used to correct the problem. A long cylinder was driven into the earth where the pile was to be placed. This was then extracted by forcing clay out of the cylinder with air pressure from the top end. The pile to be driven was then dropped down into the void created about half the length of the pile into the firm earth below: a simple but satisfactory method to resolve what could have been a serious problem.

Unfortunately, Arnold Malow never fully recovered from his heart attack. Despite this, he never lacked courage or enthusiasm. Without his financial strength, support and counsel, the firm would have floundered. He provided the stability we needed.

The four managing officers had a buy and sell agreement which included a provision that if for any reason any one of us was separated from the Company, we would be required to immediately sell our stock back to the corporation. Carl Barton, very distressed over Arnold Malow’s illness and other problems that had arisen, presented his stock purchased in 1949 for $50,000 to the corporation in 1955 for $500,000. Although the price was at a premium, we believed he was entitled to this settlement. We agreed to a five year window to retire this debt. His $50,000 investment in a five-year period had grossed him over $1,000,000, including profit sharing and wages.

Carl retired as Board Chairman and Director on May 31, 1955, which allowed him to take a more active role in the pursuit of the development of his personal real estate holdings, which had appreciated dramatically, and also to grant him additional time to devote to civic and social organizations with which he was affiliated. Carl Barton was really the founder and father of our Company and the author of many of the philosophies and principles that we continue to exercise today. He was an honest man who I highly respected.

We were extremely fortunate to develop a relationship with Cadillac Motor Car Company, which was essential when the Packard account was impacted by a merger with Studebaker, which eventually closed operations. Through the struggles of 1955, the volume dropped nearly a third to $12,000,000. We were fortunate enough to enjoy a small profit.

In 1956 we had a modest rebound and paid a dividend of $450,000.  The return to the shareholders was 26%. Fortified by these achievements, we created a Rigging Department to further accommodate our clients and diversify our services. Several of our clients called upon us on a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week basis to handle any emergency. Working crews 24 hours became a way of life and paid very handsome dividends.

With Turner Construction Company of New York, we formed a joint venture to construct a parts and equipment manufacturing plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan, for Ford Motor Car Company. I believe this was the first joint venture the Company was involved in.

Arnold Malow’s age and declining health motivated him to offer all of his stock holdings to the corporation. His main concern was that we have the ability to pay off the debt and not be a burden to the Company. He assured us that he would be as flexible as necessary. He insisted interest owed him would be less than that charged by our agreement with Carl Barton.

I was 36 years old when Arnold sold his stock, and the thought of continuing our operations without C.O. and Arnold gave me great concern. I had a wife and six children to support and the responsibility of managing the firm was overwhelming. The banks were very understanding and tolerant. Thankfully, they had confidence in the firm because of our earnings record and reputation in the community. On July 1, 1957, an agreement was reached that provided for the Company to purchase Arnold Malow’s stock over a five year period at 5% interest. Our annual yield upon investment for the eight-year period during this time averaged nearly 30%.

In recognition of our greater diversification, we were awarded a contract by Jones & Laughlin to modernize and enlarge a stainless steel sheet and strip mill in Louisville, Ohio. Parke Davis & Company, later a part of Warner Lambert, and now merged into Pfizer, awarded us a contract for their new research laboratories and offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This was our first contract in excess of $10,000,000. My hand actually shook as I signed the contract. Later in discussing this with my Dad, he thought we were being extremely risky. Volume escalated in excess of $16,000,000 with an earnings record of $139,000.

In 1958 Parke-Davis awarded us a second contract to build an office and warehouse in Skokie, Illinois. It was a unique project. Yamazaki was the architect and the bid documents called for a folded plate sawtooth roof to be either poured in place or prestressed concrete. Yamazaki was an innovator of the precast method and he had a relationship with Basalt of California who was supposedly an expert in the field.

Due to the length of the folded plate roof members, it was necessary to cast and prestress them at the jobsite. To the dismay of all, after the pours were made under the direction of the architect and engineers, every section was too short due to shrinkage and prestressing. After remedial work, the engineers accepted the panels with modifications. During the erection of the leaves, temporary shoring was placed. The top and bottom edges of these folds had imbedded angles and were welded together during construction. When the shoring was removed, one of the sections failed causing a domino effect on the other sections. In just a matter of minutes, the whole roof collapsed.

God looked down kindly upon us and spared us from a major disaster. The roof collapsed near quitting time when most of the workers were out of the building. Fortunately, a truck and a crane inside the building helped support some of the roof and allowed people to escape. It was a miracle that no one was killed or seriously injured. Obviously we had a very serious problem on our hands.

Through this experience I learned a very important lesson. In a meeting with the owner, architect, engineer, subcontractors, insurance companies, and myself to resolve the problem, it became obvious that there was a lot of finger pointing. An amicable solution seemed unlikely from the tone of the meeting. I personally met with the representatives of all concerned firms and recommended that we accept responsibility jointly, and pool our resources to fix the problem in lieu of spending a lot of money in court which would have only delayed the project and would have been extremely costly. Gratefully, reasoning prevailed and in very short order the roof was re-constructed and we continued on our way.

My role in this settlement played a large part in my being elected to the Board of Directors of our insurance carrier, Michigan Mutual Liability Company, now Amerisure.

Volume grew by $1,000,000 and profits by about 30%. On June 1, 1959 we entered into a contract to construct a U.S. post office in Detroit, which at that time was the largest building in cubic feet in the State of Michigan. The approximate cost was $23,000,000. Floyd Wieland was the Project Administrator. This building, with a very tight schedule, was completed in record time and very dramatically enhanced our image in the industry. Unfortunately my father, one of the oldest employees of the Company, suffered a fatal heart attack while working on this job.

It has been wisely said that nothing is more vulnerable than entrenched success. Growing too fast, combined with operations in remote areas and becoming involved in new types of construction, almost caused disaster.

In Marquette, Michigan, with Bechtel Corporation the engineer, we were to construct a pelletizing plant for the Empire Mine. We soon learned that pouring concrete in rock and tunnel excavations was not our forte. We also had three contracts with Oakland County, Michigan, to construct a large part of the 12 Town Relief Drains. These cast-in-place storm sewers were large enough to drive automobiles through them. Unfortunately, unseasonable torrential rains flooded the excavations and complicated an already tense situation. We were able to finish the projects wiser, but much poorer. Volume shrunk $5,000,000 to just above $12,000,000, but we were able to maintain a slight profit of $92,000.

My partner, Harold Butler, who shared 50% of the ownership of the Company with me, had an aneurysm. During his convalescence I visited him in the hospital and was shocked he wanted to offer his stock for sale. Our $15,000 original investment, in spite of the buyout of the two senior partners, was now a considerable sum. The corporation was not in a financial position to redeem Harold’s stock.

On April 1, 1960 I made arrangements for Rolland Wilkening, a Purdue University civil engineer graduate who had started work for the Company in 1950, to purchase 40% of Butler’s stock. I guaranteed the debt, and acquired the remaining balance which gave me 80% ownership of the Company. From my holdings, I sold a portion amount of stock to eight other Company employees.

Harold Butler retired completely from the Company in June of 1962. He retired early because of his concern for his health and yet he is well to this day.

The Company had always been active in Associated General Contractors. Carl and Arnold had both served as President of the organization and I was also elected to the Presidency. Our firm remains an active member of AGC today.

In April 1961 we moved into new offices at 13155 Cloverdale, Oak Park. Architectural Forum magazine reported that our volume for general contractors in 1961 had placed us 35th in the nation and second in the State of Michigan. On a volume of $9,679,000 we had a net earning of $131,000.

1962 was a banner year — the Jefferson Apartment Building, 27 stories plus penthouse, was the tallest reinforced concrete structure in the State of Michigan. We had ongoing contracts in Alpena, Michigan, with Abitibi along with Huron Portland Cement Company where we installed several kilns while simultaneously working with Peerless Cement Company, in Detroit. In Fort Wayne, Indiana, we built the St. Joseph Hospital.

The backbone of our success however, was long-term relationships with firms such as Kelsey-Hayes, Cadillac Motor, General Motors, National Steel, Difco Laboratories, Union Carbide Company, General Electric, Alcoa, Standard Oil, and many others.

Personally, our family had grown to seven children, two boys and five girls. The Company was expanding rapidly. I was doing a lot of international public speaking along with added responsibilities in my church as a minister and in the community. My nature was to make fast decisions and most of those decisions were good, but unfortunately, I also got careless. In 1963 all of the profits that had been gained in the three previous years were almost eradicated. Since the 1949 reorganization, 1963 was the only year the firm found itself in a loss position. Arnold Malow kindly rose to the occasion and agreed to postpone the payment of monies owed to him for his stock for another year. It allowed the firm to regain its equilibrium.

Adversity is not always bad. The mettle of an organization and individual strength is manifested when problems arise. 1963 was one of the most educational years I have ever had. Thanks be to God that 1964 was a turning point and better things were on the horizon. Ford Motor Car Company awarded us a contract in 1964 to build a 2.6 million SF stamping plant in Woodhaven, Michigan, which gave us the opportunity to rise above possible impending catastrophe.

Lee Iacocca, Vice President of Ford, is acknowledged as the father of the Mustang, and he wanted to get his brainchild into production. We were brought in to help develop innovative ideas to expedite the construction of this facility in record time.

This project was the first fast-track or construction management job the Company managed. Working in close concert with Ford and the architect, Albert Kahn, we used every possible method to expedite the construction. When actual production started in the front of the facility we were still completing a portion of the rear section. Results were satisfactory and rewarding...continued