George A. "Bud" Berry III, 91, Diversified American Terra Cotta
Matthew Kruk
Diversified American Terra Cotta
GEORGE A. BERRY III: Transformed, expanded family manufacturing business
after World War II
April 23, 2010
BY MAUREEN O'DONNELL Staff Reporter
When you walk around downtown and look up at the graceful older
buildings, chances are George A. "Bud" Berry III's company had a hand in
their facade.
His family was involved in the business of terra cotta, that clay
confection that can turn ordinary facing into a birthday cake of beauty.
But he foresaw the day when terra cotta would fall out of fashion, so he
diversified their firm to keep it strong. "He helped build a company
that's now in its third generation in the family -- we're now in our
129th year," said his son Robert. "The company has been in Crystal Lake,
and the Berry family has been there for 75 years, running the business."
Mr. Berry, 91, died April 16 at his home in Florida.
He was born in Chicago, raised in Hinsdale, and attended Philips Academy
and Middlebury College. He married his wife, Jane, in 1946.
He began working in 1935 for American Terra Cotta Corp., a company
founded in the 1880s by William Gates that helped rebuild Chicago after
its Great Fire. George Berry III's father purchased the firm in the
Depression.
It supplied terra cotta to architectural superstars like Louis Sullivan
and members of the Prairie School. Its clay can be seen on the Wrigley
Building, the Carson's building, and William Le Baron Jenney's Manhattan
Building -- at 16 stories in 1891, one of the first skyscrapers.
The company began to diversify in World War II when it heat-treated
casings for grenades and artillery shells.
"While still in the Army, Bud realized they could use their tunnel kilns
for steel," said Sharon Darling, who co-wrote firm histories with Mr.
Berry called Bars and Blades and Common Clay.
He became a lieutenant in the Army Signal Corps and served in Europe. He
was at the Battle of the Bulge, Robert Berry said.
"My father got back from the war and saw terra cotta was not the
future -- they were going to steel and glass," Robert Berry said.
He oversaw the company's shift to heat-treating parts for heavy
construction equipment and steel mills.
"Bud essentially built the business from the ground up, buying
secondhand equipment from the war surplus," Darling said. "He didn't
know much about metallurgy, so he would bring books home and read. . . .
He would take a job -- he'd never say no -- and then he'd come home and
say, 'How are we going to do this?' "
He knew the names of all his workers and rolled up his sleeves with
everyone else, creating strong loyalty.
In 1959, Hough Tractor in Libertyville -- which would become
International Harvester and then Komatsu Dresser -- wanted Mr. Berry's
company to produce heat-treated cutting edges for its construction
equipment.
But Frank Hough "didn't want us to compete against him," Robert Berry
said. "He said to my father, 'Will you not sell to my competition?' ''
Mr Berry agreed. That strategy -- only selling cutting edges to the
original equipment maker -- helped TC Industries grow. Its current units
include its Processed Steel and Mill Products divisions in Crystal Lake,
and TC Industries of Canada East/West and Europe.
He spent winters in Florida, where he enjoyed snaring bonefish, permit
and tarpon. "He had a real zest for working hard and playing," said his
son George. "He loved hunting and fishing."
Mr. Berry is also survived by his two grandchildren and his sister Betty
von Dallwitz. A memorial is being planned.