had an annual capacity of over 25 million brick (and later, with the Bahamas, and the District of Columbia. For five years from new kilns, 60 million brick a year). Acme equipped the site with 1963 to 1968, Acme enjoyed one of the most prosperous periods all the latest machinery, specially designing a Harrop Kiln more in its history. than 380 feet long. The plant initially encountered problems By the late 1960s, Acme Brick had also redefined its in shrinkage control in the earliest months of its operation, but product line and expanded its role in the construction business. those problems were solved. The Denton Tunnel Kiln “B” was It increased sales of several lines of brick during this time, Corporate Identi ty History (dates approximate) added in July 1965 and Tunnel Kiln “C” in March 1967, leading including “the King Size” Brick, “Classic,” “Old Time,” and to the old Denton Plant (which had operated since 1917) to many other brick shapes. The King Size Brick remains the

pre-1920 early 1960s close down for good in 1967. Around this same time, Acme also opened the fully automated East Gate Plant at Perla, (“Perla No. 3) in late 1967, having closed its refractory business at Perla in the early 1960s. Acme Pressed Brick Company Opens Operations mid-1960s A Six-State System When George Bennett received news that his samples 1920s By the middle of the decade, Acme Brick Company seemed were of good quality, he immediately began buying up to be on a roll. The company had become a six-state system land, purchasing three 160-acre tracts in April 1890 for just The Bennett Plant crew in March 1951; many had returned to the plant from wartime service. that extended over four regional areas, operating twenty-three

In the summer of 1950, the country once again found itself needs. Again looking ahead, Acme Brick tried to take advantage brick and tile manufacturing installations in Arkansas, , drying the new kiln and bringing it to operating temperatures over $4 per acre. He then spent months buying machinery, 1970s preparing for war. The ’ entry into the Korean War of the market demands through a lease purchase arrangement, 1920s-1950s White Brick emerging from a kiln at Perla. , , , and . It had twenty- took more than a month, and much of the spring and summer following North Korea’s invasion of South Korea again brought buying plants at Monroe and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Workers and their families at the Bennett Plant employee picnic in 1949 enjoyed barbecue and gospel music. of 1996 was spent adjusting the new kiln to characteristics of testing samples, attending to legal matters, overseeing plant Acme Brick Company further showed its impressive growth nine branch offices, and in 1965 shipments reached a peak of a fear of shortages, stimulating the brick business and illustrating Acme Brick purchased the Monroe plant from the Frizzell 1950s-60s Bennett’s clays.2 the cyclical effects that war can have on the industrial economy. Brick Company, though the plant was at first operated on a lease in the mid-1960s when it renovated and opened the state-of- construction, and taking brick for testing. Construction began 433 million brick. The company had an ownership of 300,000 The new plant represented the largest single investment Refractories increased output, face brick sales fell off, and existing agreement pending the settlement of the Frizzell estate. The the-art Denton Plant. Acme Brick laid plans and started the makes & ships 300 in Acme Brick Company’s long history, but it was one that on buildings to house the machinery, horses, mules, and tools housing shortages accentuated the trend (much like World War Baton Rouge Plant, on the other hand, was twice as valuable as construction of the new building in 1962, opening the new plant shares distributed among 504 stockholders in nineteen states, Corporate IdentiII), with an amplified ty fallHistory and then rise in(dates building materials approximate) the Monroe Plant. The plant had used several outdated kilns in Octobermillion 1963. The openingbrick was a majorper event year in Denton, the company felt more than justified in making. “We see an with the company providing guided tours, refreshments, and ever-increasing appreciation for the qualities that hard-fired as well as a blacksmith and repair shop. Roofs were built over 1980s amateur and professional bricklaying contest for guests. The 1968 Acme o ers non brick products with purchase of brick bring to a project,” Company President Ed Stout told the the updraft kilns, and houses in the little company town (named pre-1920 early 1960s 1940s grand opening even featured a fireworks display on Halloween Nolan Browne CompanyCorporate (Featherlite) Identi ty History& McDonald (dates Brothers approximate) crowd.3 He also noted that with the addition of the new Bennett night. As a history of Acme noted, the company had “pulled out Plant, Acme Brick Company would offer the broadest variety of all the stops” in promoting the new Denton Plant, as well as “to Bennett, after its founder) were quickly completed. The brick Cast Stone Company, both in TX quality brick products in the company’s history. get the public interested in the brick industry and make them pre-1920 early 1960s The new Bennett Plant came on-line at an opportune time. was perfected using shale from the bank of Rock Creek. aware of its importance to the community.”4 United Cement Products Company & Born Block Corporate Identi ty History (dates approximate) The new plant at Denton, built to be “the ideal brick plant,” Acme Brick Company established new records for sale of brick Workers pose outside a large updraft kiln at the Bennett Plant in 5 (concrete block), both of Wichita KS and purchased products in 1996, with revenues increasing 9 was one of the1989-2011 most modern plants in the nation. With more 2005 mid-1960s 1950s-early 1960s Troy Aikman with legendary pro football player and broadcaster 2013 Acme Brick 1908, the year of the strike. pre-1920 early 1960s than 160,000 square feet of manufacturing floor space, the plant Unloading brick from the Perla Plant in the 1960s. percent to a record high in Justin Industries’ building materials ACF Precast Products, Inc., of Lubbock TX mid-1960s Pat Summerall. 1990s Troy Aikman ads, Dennis Knautz 1960s unloading process group. Higher natural gas prices and the start-up costs Vision app launched CHAPTER 3 Concrete Casting Corporation of Little Rock AR 60 ACME BRICK COMPANY associated with the new Bennett Plant kept profits at a level O cial Brick campaigns, becomes president and CEO 1920s Above: White Brick emerging from a kiln 1920s Corporate Identi ty History (dates approximate) at the Perla Plant in 1949. WAR AND THE slightly below the record year of 1994.4 2019 Fort Smith, Left: Walter Bennett, Jr., second from What drove Acme Brick Company’s very solid makes1996 & ships Pat Summerall radio ads right, front row, was one of Fort Worth’s RETURN OF pre-1920 early 1960s Denver brick plants, mid-1960s business leaders in the 1930s and 1940s. 1983 new product meeting The centennial advertising campaign highlighted Acme Brick in the 1910s and 1920s. numbers was the continuing performance of the Texas and 2004 BRIX system replaced with PROSPERITY Postwar Perla Brick Plant 700 million Converse Block, 1950s-early1936 TO 19591960s logo South Central U.S. housing market. The company sold 12 homeowners clamored for more spacious brick 1930s-40s Walter Bennett, Jr. (second from 1938 employees 1940s-early 1960s A new product meeting in 1983. ERP software from J.D. Edwards 1920s This postwar aerial view of the Perla Brick Plant with tunnel kiln and beehive kilns indicates that brickmaking had changed little since early 1970s percent more brick in 1996 than it had in 1995, despitebrick earlier per year Round Rock Block in the twentieth century. quarters. New construction figures between 1919 Acme Brick 1920s-1950s production across its system in the mid-1980s. In 1983, the States,predictions Germany, of France, a drop Spain, in housingand Italy competed starts by for the the mid-1990s. 1999 right seated) & Fort Worth’s business leaders employees, circa 2011-present 1994 Acme purchases and 1925 showed a rise of $3.4 billion nationwide, 48 ACME BRICK COMPANY 1938; a few are company reopened the Ouachita East Plant in June mid-1960sand the project, and the company finally selected Lingl Corporation & Burnishing, 1970s enjoying a beer. 125 YEARS ACROSS THREE CENTURIES 47 “Forecasters had predicted that the rate of housing starts would with residential construction in the Southwest 1920s-1950s Edmund Plant in December. The Baton Rouge Plant opened from Germany to build the Greenfield Plant off I-10 just American Tile Supply Company Harrold Melton representing nearly two-thirds of the total in 1926.1 early in 1984, and the new Tulsa Plant opened in 1985 to westfall ofas Houston. the aging The babySan Felipe boom Plant generation was fully automated, was replaced by a much Dallas Block, Coosada The Depression affected various Acme Brick 1920s 2008 produce architectural brick, special shapes, and pavers. andsmaller utilized population a Pleistocene group,”clay deposit Justin that had Industries stymied explained in its becomes president Not surprisingly, Acme Brick Company seemed plants differently. For instance, the Bennett Plant Corporate Identi ty History (dates approximate) Acme becomes largest US poised for a postwar boom even as early as 1919, nearly stopped production in 1933, although In 1984, Acme Brick Company solicited bids for brick1996 manufacturers Annual Report in the. past. “This But haseighteen not monthsoccurred after nationally, and Limestone and Texas 1920s logo 1970s men still stayed on the payroll and performed construction of a brand-new plant near Sealy, Texas, to serve being awarded the contract, the German engineers helped selling a record 16 million1920s-1950s brick during that year. 1996 New plant at Bennett TX 1933 Production halted at Denton maintenance tasks. In contrast, operations at Perla pre-1920 early 1960s the booming Houston market. Bidders from the United Acmeparticularly Brick plant in personnel Acme’s bring home the territory,San Felipe Plantfor two into major reasons. brick manufacturer by volume Quarries close For an entire decade, Acme Brick made major 1970s logo1980s makes & ships and Denton were halted in the early 1930s. The First, immigration and migration is at the highest level in the changes and expanded into untouched markets. Tulsa Plant operated at near full production after with 552ft gas- red kiln - longest in US purchases Ochs Brick plant, o ce & Perla plants, Malvern plant closes 1940s Lubbock Block New ventures into new states and new partnerships 1936 except for 1938 and 1940, which coincided 1990s since the turn of the century; and second, the highest 1 BILLION 1970s The Betenbough Homes corporate office in Lubbock was built with Acme Brick inside and out. with down years for Fort Smith and Oklahoma Corporate Identi ty History (dates approximate) 1965 employees in hard hats 1920s-1950s 2021 IBP rebranded helped shape its business foundation for decades City. The Wichita Falls Plant had its lowest 1960s kiln temperature controls percentage of home ownership is found among the country’s & McFarlane Stone both of MN plant takes over to come. When the 1920s came to an end, Acme production and profit record in 1936–1937, while older population (those over sixty-five), with this age group brick this year 1930 Plant closures of Little Rock, Pine Malvern closed down completely in 1933. mid-1960s to o er cladding, stone, found itself in a relatively strong position to weather During the last eighty 1997 Acme acquires brick.com burnished 1980s Acme Brick took other measures to recover pre-1920 the economic depression that would plague the early 1960s years, Acme has 1920s-50s logo from the Depression. It expanded the Refractories produced a variety 1985 Tulsa Plant Grand Opening Blu , & Wichita Falls, sixteenThe brick Merchants sales Biscuit Company in Denver, circa the late 1930s. block products thin brick and more country for nearly the next decade. With great 1980s 1920s of paperweights 1940s for its customers, determination and business acumen, Acme found The growingPopular Dallas middle1920s class brick in the 1920s home proved a ready market for homes The Bennett Plant crew in March 1951; many had returned to the plant from wartime service. 1950s-early 1960s 1989-2011 40 ACME BRICK COMPANY like this Texas making special shapes, architectural brick & pavers Bennett plant workers in the updraft kiln like this brick Four Square. o ce closures 1940s Perla125 YEARS Plant ACROSS THREE CENTURIES 43 1951 employees Workers at the Fort Smith Plant show off their Service Award in December 1965; note the near universal use of hard hats. The grand opening of Acme Brick’s Tulsa Plant, 1985. Ed Stout is right behind the scissors at the ribbon-cutting ceremonies. itself standing at the beginning1940s of the next great Sesquicentennial paperweight in 1986. Corporate Identi ty History (dates approximate) world war, a testament to its leaders and dedicated In the summer of 1950, the country once again found itself needs. Again looking ahead, Acme Brick tried to take advantage smooth production of residential brick. On July1980s 28, 1986, the 2002 Acme Brick Brick Boy workforce. 1945 Acme purchases preparing for war. The1950s United States’ Acme entry into purchases the Korean War of the market demands through a lease purchase arrangement, pathfinders were always the first into a landing zone (LZ) to oil was going to take years to recover. Hubert Capps, the plant 1940scompany’s first shipment of dark red and brownpre-1920 King Size early 1960s mascots introduced following North Korea’s invasion of South Korea again brought buying plants at Monroe and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. early 1960s logo mid-1960s provide coordinates for incoming helicopter-borne troops. manager at the Denton Plant offered Martinez a job he couldn’t 2014 New sales o ces 2020 Purchased products 125 YEARS ACROSS THREE CENTURIES 61 8 a fear of shortages, stimulating the brick business and illustrating Acme Brick purchased the Monroe plant from the Frizzell mid 1960s1970s logo residential brick began flowing out of the plant. refuse: monorail supervisor in the Packaging Department. Pat Summerall the Bishop Brick Company & the Monroe plant from the 1920s-1950s the cyclical effects that war can have on the industrial economy. Brick Company, though the plant was at first operated on a lease 82 ACME BRICK COMPANY doing radio 26 ACME BRICK COMPANY “Through Good Brick and Bad Brick” Martinez has spent the rest of his career with Acme Brick in Southeast Lousiana amount for a larger part In the Bennett Plant’s updraft kilns, brick were carefully hand- In about 1915, these workers extruded unfired sewer pipe at what advertisements Refractories increased output, face brick sales fell off, and existing agreement pending the settlement1958 ofAcme the Frizzell purchases estate. The plants in Kanopolis and Everything at the San Felipe Plant was automated. Mining Acme Brick supported Garrison Vitri ed Brick Company Frizzell Brick Company and1920s Martinez returned to the Bridgeport Plant in 1971 and Company, and has never looked back. And he noted “the thing for Acme Brick Costumed reenactors stacked for the most effective firing. is now Acme Brick’s Plant near 1950s-earlyDenver, 1960s . 1989-2011 housing shortages accentuated the trend (much like World War Baton Rouge Plant, on the other hand, was twice as valuable as 1965 Super Bowl winning help a young guest of Acme’s sales than ever 1950s-early 1960s 1989-2011 1940s-early 1960s joined a packaging crew. Acme Brick was running at full that has been most important to me in the plant is the people I in the 1990s. George Bennett, third from left with the wide-brimmed black hat, visits the Bennett Plant’s machine room around the turn of the century. II), with an amplified fall and then rise in building materials the Monroe Plant. The plantGreat had used Bend several fromoutdated kilnsGreat Bend Brick & Tile in KS the clay and stacking the brick in the yard were the only two Quarterback make a Colonial Brick Bennett plant machine room a Baton Rouge plant strength to build up brick inventories in the wake of the 1970 have worked with, who have mid-1960sgone through good times and bad at the opening of the 1950s-early 1960s 1989-2011 Troy Aikman and Acme Cladding Services makes & ships functions at the plant2011-present that were not recession,computerized.1980s and Martinezlogo Thatand his crew was were a busy. They used times, through good brick and bad brick.” Elgin Handmades2011 Cultural Beliefs 2016 New sales 1918 Acme partnership his Foundation Plant in 2000. Worth in 1911. The new offices at 824 Monroe, a one-room The Denton Plant was located one mile south of Denton’s 1942 1960s closure of Alexandria, 1975-2016 brick packing machine pneumatic tools to strap and band the brick, and forklifts were throughout the 1990s. affair, housed a staff of four, with a strengthened sales force Public Square. William Bryce had organized the Denton that was to serve the company during the next two decades of 1954 Acme purchases Bu alo Brick & Tile in trend that was already being implemented across the1920s company. de ned and adopted o ce in Northwest Unit started in Dallas. Soon the one-room office became overcrowded, so Pressed Brickwith Company inElgin-Standard 1901 to develop the rare clay deposits 433 million in greater use. Leather gloves would not hold up to handling Recovery headquarters were moved to two rooms on the tenth floor of in Denton. Not much changed in operations during the first few tremendous growth. The Board abolished the position of vice makes & ships 100 The management team assists at the ribbon cutting at Acme Brick’s Elgin Handmades Great Bend & Waskom plants, 1980s brick, so the crews found an innovative solution. They made By 1983, the “Reagan Recovery” was in full swing. Record Founded by the First National Bank Building at Seventh and Main in early years after the merger, with the plant producing 40 million brick president and general manager, instead creating a chairman Bu alo, Kansas, plants in Alexandria, Louisiana, 1973 Tulsa OK & McQueeny TX plants open 2000Plant Elgin in 2000. Handmades plant opens Acme purchases Arkansas 1913. Over the next six years, Acme leased every vacated room from 1912 Brickto 1914. In January Company 1914, the plant was shut down A panoramic view of the Bennett Plant in 1933 showing how many brick were in inventory during the Great Depression. 1940s brick per year “palms,” circles cut to the outside diameter of their hands from housing starts, fueled by falling mortgage interest rates, Secondthat became available in the building. for extensive repairs, and just when it was finished and “running of the Board. Under this new system, William Bryce became million brick per year 1970s 1980-82 Recession 1930s Bennett plant inventory  ve sales o ces Modernizing the Sales Force 7 In the midst of these headquarter moves, Acme Pressed good,” the plant unexpectedly caught fire and burned completely. and Waskom TX from Tri-State Brick Company used tire inner tubes, with slits104 for fingertips. ACME BRICK COMPANY propelled Acme Brick Company to record sales years in both George E. Bennett The purchase of Arkansas Brick and Tile was considered in that area, had a good market for its products.chairman While Acmeof the had Board and James Ernest Fender assumed the 1920s-1950s & close with demand Jenkins Brick Company, AL Brick Company made its first external expansion. On January W. R. Bennett had received a call from Superintendent A. 1997 Acme purchases Corporate Identi ty History (dates approximate) Martinez worked at Bridgeport for ten years after getting 1983 and 1984. In 1983, the company made and shipped 2000112 Acme ACME BRICK purchases COMPANY Eureka Brick 6, 1912, William Bryce (president) and W. E. Guthrie B. Kelly at six o’clock in the morning about the disaster. Bennett by many to be a “masterstroke,” as it gave Acme Brick the the plant initially make both dry-press andresponsibilities stiff-mud brick, within and a title of president of Acme Brick Company, a As Acme Brick Company had modernizedcauses plants and streamlined President 9 Acme Pressed Brick Company’s first office was located on the Texas Pacific Railroad tracks in Bennett and was abandoned in 1907. 1940s-early 1960s competitive edge over brick imported from St. Louis, Missouri. few years it stopped the dry-press method. The Wichita Falls Plant (secretary-treasurer) of Denton Pressed Brick Company signed caught a train to Denton, looked at the smoldering ruins, and position he held until 1959.2 out of the service. In 1981, he left to work in the oil fields north nearly 600 million brick, almost 50 percent more than Acme 11 1970s Innovative Building Products papers finalizing Acme Pressed Brick’s acquisition of Denton said “Kelly, we will build this bigger and better than ever.” True With the acquisition, the company added Arkansas plants in operated well for a few years, with a capacity of about 20 million brick 1940s-early 1960s of Fortidle Worth. and By 1986,reopen1920s-1950s it was becoming apparent that 1987Texas employeesBrick Company had at shipped sales in training1981. Acme Brick ramped up & Wheeler Brick in Arkansas Melton told employees that the acquisition by Berkshire 1890Economic First Panic and Acmea Leader Lost Pressed Brick O ce Pressed Brick. Acme was recapitalized at $150,000, which to his word, the Denton Plant was back into production within Malvern, Pine Bluff, and Little Rock. The Malvern Plant was a year.10 Unfortunately, by the early 1930s those Forimpressive the nextnumbers few years, more and more responsibility pre-1920 throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, it had begun to 1891 Ralph Root early 1960s Hathaway would be good for Acme Brick Company. “The For the first years of the twentieth century, Acme Pressed Brick Company required the company to negotiate a loan from Elmo Sledd, a sixty days, and by 1918 stiff-mud machinery was installed to 2011-present particularly successful, as it was already producing in 1926 when would be drastically reduced, as the country plummeted into the found itself in the midst of its busiest production schedule since being founded. devolved upon the company’s vice presidents and managers. acquisition will be a very beneficial thing for Acme’s homebuilder prominent Forth Worth banker, in order to raise the $60,000 complement1914 the dry-press - WWI plant. Meanwhile, - 1918 the Bennett Plant 1940s-early 1960s 1929 - The Great Depression - 1939 1939 - WWII - 1945 1950 - The Korean War - 1953 1950 - The Vietnam War - 1975 2006 - The Great Recession - 2013 2019 - Covid Pandemic But that all would change in 1907, as businesses all over the country were 1920 New plant outside Denver CO Acme Brick acquired it. Bennett had been looking at the plant worst economic slowdown of the twentieth century. investigate the potential for designing and implementing2011-present an customers,” Melton said. “All the things that Mr. Buffett and affected by one of the worst economic panics in American history. When a in cash needed. began making updates, with a conversion from dry-press brick By 1946, the lines of authority had become more formalized for years, even buying the land near the plant from Malvern 1989-2011 believe in—continuity, sound conservative 7.8 earthquake hit San Francisco on April 18, 1906, a shockwave was sent The Denver Plant in the 1920s was located in the foothills some 1950s-early 1960s Lumber Company in 1921–1922. However, the plant struggled and clearly defined. Fender, the president and general manager, 125 YEARS ACROSS THREE CENTURIES 81 through the entire country. “The devastation of that city drew gold out of the The Great Depression Hits Acme Brick Above: White Brick emerging from a kiln information processing and communications system that would business practices, and growth with stability—are excellent fits world's major money centers,” noted Robert F. Bruner, dean of the University thirty miles south of Denver, Colorado. to significantly improve for several decades, partly due to The acquisition of Wichita Falls Brick and Tile Company 2011-present at the Perla Plant in 1949. with Acme Brick Company’s century-old philosophy. Our new 125 YEARS ACROSS THREE CENTURIES 21 relied heavily on subordinate managers who acted in the capacity Sales training, like this group session in 1987, became more 8 of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration. Although geographical and equipment troubles. marked the end of Acme’s period of considerable expansion. In ownership will enable Acme Building Brands to continue making not necessarily similar to the San Francisco earthquake, the financial contagion of vice presidents. “This manager–vice president concept had Left: Walter Bennett, Jr., second from 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 link Acme Brick Plants with sales offices1980 and support functions. formalized during the 1980s. 1990 2000 the necessary investments in manufacturing and distribution2010 to PRESENT caused by WallCorporate Street speculation and excess borrowing created a liquidityIdenti ty History (dates approximate) Part of the Arkansas Brick and Tile purchase included the 1927, Acme employed approximately nine hundred employees who right, front row, was one of Fort Worth’s crunch that launched a sharp recession starting in June 1907. By October and old Atchison Brick Works, which would become the second shipped 140 million brick. The next yearevolved in 1928, Acme out soldof Fender’smore long experience in sales with Acme Brick mid-1960sbusiness leaders in the 1930s and 1940s. stay abreast of our customers’ growing needs. The acquisition will early November, a full panic had gripped banks in New York City and other Supervisors stand on twisted girders and survey the damage after 1980s provide ever improving products and services, and more selections plant at Perla. The plant required extensive repairs, with Acme than 165 million brick, a total that went Company.”unsurpassed for3 twenty With his sales background, it was not surprising As early as 1979, Ed Stout had directed the company’s research American cities, triggered by a failed speculation that caused the bankruptcy of for Acme’s customers.”16 9 A pug mill extrudes clay tile at the Denver Plant, circa 1940s. 1980s two brokerage firms. Brick having to remodel the dryer and add a new machine years. The company had experienced two more years of outstanding the fire at Perla on December 11, 1944. When Walter Bennett took the helm of the newly that gross sales rose toDuran more Stubblefield than $2was millionAcme Brick’s by top the salesman early in the1940s White Perla Brick was used in the construction of this Texas gas station in To make matters worse in Texas, Acme Pressed Brick Company was dealing A supervisor at the Bennett Plant, circa 1910; room, grinding room, dry pass, and a clay shed. A Bonnot brick production and sales, with storage yards nearly cleaned out despite 1920s and 1930s. the 1930s. 1940s and development team to begin investigating a way to electronically carried in the trunk of your car,” he said. “The first cellphone 1891 - George Bennettwith - a tremendous 1907 loss of its own in the summer of 1907. On a trip to Galveston note the book in the pocket of his lab coat. 1907 - Ralph Root - 1916 1916 - Walter Bennett - 1935 1935 - William Bryce - 1941 19411920s - Ernest Fender - 1959 Boldrick 1961 - D.O. Tomlin - 1969 1969 - John Justin - 1973 1973 - Ed Stout - 1999 1999 - Harold Melton - 2005 Continuing Expansion 2005 - Dennis D. Knautz - Present pre-1920 machine was moved from Denton to the new plant, and the an attempt to keep 2 million brick in reserveunder stock. Fender’s Acme was leadership, though net worth did not rise as 1940s largest customer for a number of years. Adding the Tulsa early 1960s expanded as it purchased four other brick companies with their stock was recapitalized, bringing it from $150,000 to $600,000. During the negotiations with Buffett and the transition reorganized Acme Brick Company in April 1916 with a sensesecond Perla Plant was soon converted to production of building similarly optimistic in 1929, with the company shipping 155 million 16 ACME BRICK COMPANY much (due to debt reduction and large outlays in dividends). enter orders and identify inventories quickly. Stout wanted to distribution centercarrier would give was American MetroCell. Tile a stronger presenceWe were paying thirty-nine cents a The Acme Brick Boys appear with two of the to Berkshire Hathaway ownership, John Justin’s health had nine plants, modernized its two original Texas plants, built two As its centennial history noted, “Acme Brick Company entered 48 ACME BRICK COMPANY and face tile. Perla No. 1 also received upgrades during this time. brick. By 1929, Acme Brick had the capacity to make 170 million Students learn about how women helped the government mascots at the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in deteriorated. Justin died in Fort Worth on Monday, February Still, as war intensifiedadditional abroad, plants (PerlaAcme’s No. 1sales and Tulsa), in 1942 and formed surpassed a mutually the [1930s] as a large, modern, efficient, and prominent clay 1940s-early 1960s in Oklahoma.20 Omaha, Nebraska, in 2004. 1890s of boundless energy and determination, the world was in the A tunnel kiln, which was a new innovation that would increase face brick a year in its eleven plants scattered across the Southwest, 10 26, 2001.17 He was sorely missed by the Acme Brick Company pre 1920s logo beneficial alliance with Elgin-Standard. It redesigned its financial products enterprise” that had weatheredindustry many challenges; in still,Texas and the Southwest following the December production, was installed in 1929 while business was still good. but year after year its capacity was taxed.the During 100 this million peak, the brick mark for the first time since 1929. It was a and private companies during World War II to fill the gap in replace the cumbersome paper order entry system that was makingAcme Brickminute, Company went so further you afield talked in late 2001 fast.” when community, but his death illustrated the wisdom he had shown structure and established sound operating procedures while also the stock market crash of October 1929 and the subsequent 1961 John Justin arrives on horseback at Acme Brick for the centennial celebration in 1991. 1910 Acme plant reopens after midst of its first1921 great Newwar. plantThe Southwestern in Perla AR United States Four hundred feet long, gas-fired, with the capacity of fifty-nine company’s net worth was $3,666,970, almost ten times pre–World 1941 attack by Imperial Japan on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl it acquired the Denver Brick Company in the Denver suburb of in 1999 and 2000 to create an orderly transition for Justin 1916 1934 Acme sign that economic hardshipstrategically placingwas finally service outlets far andbehind. sales offices throughout Depression rocked Acme Brick (and all other similarly-large 1943-1945 labor left by all those 1952men who Acme went to moves fight on theinto front new lines. 2011-present1969 2006-2008 the Acme Brick sales force far less efficient than it could1983 have BRIX been. computerGreg sales Hinnrichs, & inventory who started with the company1991 several years Industries out of Justin family control. makes & ships cars, Kiln “A” burned 2,223 brick per hour. War I assets totaling $386,129.58 in 1917. the Southwest and the nation. Twice before 1930, Acme Brick companies) to the core, affecting its prosperityHarbor. for years. During the war, the growing refractories business and tile Castle Rock, Colorado. The tunnel kiln plant produced about 50 2000 anticipated American entry into the war effort, with Texas1926 and In 1927, with its Pine Bluff Plant failing to prove profitable, By the end of the 1920s, Acme had experienced as profitable At Acme Brick, women were hired to handle, truck, and off- D.O. Tomlin installed as president Acme Brick Company, meanwhile, continued its strategy 2010-13 Acme dabbles in 2021 Ernest Fender secures new large job 1975 Alpha Cargo Motor Express million brick per year, and was noted for its diverse product line and Like any company that instinctively of acquiring brick plants and distribution facilities in the Restructured & renamed Acme acquired Wichita Falls Brick and Tile Company in Wichita recordsand successful a decadeits as it could have hoped for in the wake of manufacturing accountedPOWs for the were greater employed part of production, to meetwhile headquarters on W. 7th St. before Snyder, was assigned the Northeast Texas Territory in many associ- 1970s 1950s-earlysystem 1960s implemented under 1989-2011 South Central United States. In July 2001, Acme Building 1923 Acme Falls, Texas. This large plant, having operated for more than a decade World War I. In ten years, the company’s physical operations had 125 YEARS ACROSS THREE CENTURIES 35 bear brick, as well as to do clerical work formerly done by men. quality customer service through its nationwide distributor network. understands the importanceAcme of its roots becomes and part of 2 million other surrounding states experiencing a boom in manufacturing 1920s-1950s Acme purchases Fraser Brick & Brands acquired the Holly Springs, , Brick Plant  oor/tile stores called Patina Acme Brick Stats: Acme merger with New plant in Tulsa OK face brick sales surged briefly after Pearl Harbor. In 1943, the 1950s-early 1960s 1989-2011 (ACME)  eet created Harrold Melton called the purchase “an exciting opportunity culture, Acme Brick Company chose to mid-1960s Acme Brick Company  rst loss military manufacturing needs However, unbeknownstFort to many,Worth German TX and Italian prisoners Dennis Knautz,1981, Ed Stout a territory he still serves thirty-five years later. “You didn’t fromates Hanson Brick laid America, o a division of Hanson Building and other industries. Acme Brickmerger was no with different, preparing itself government set priorities for building materials, allowing few face to expand into a completely new market for Acme Brick. celebrate its centennial by chronicling theWarren Bu et’s Materials America, Inc. The plant in Holly Springs was located 34 ACME BRICK COMPANY 6 of war were also employed at many domestic manufacturing Tile Company of San Antonio TX brick per year Denton Pressed Brick Acme purchase of the Acquiring this getplant addscalls about all 5 percent day,” to ourhe annual said. “I always had a pocket full of quarters. company’s first one hundred years. During in Northern Mississippi, some fifty miles southeast of Memphis, 15 Plants bricks to be sold or produced. firms, especially after late 1942. At .with18 The acquisitionclosure was in line of with the company’s for the onset of a global conflict by revamping its Denton plant 21 the centennial year, every Acme Brick Fort Smith 1944 Acme purchases production capacity.” Melton added that the acquisition Berkshire Hathaway strategy of acquiring plants capable of serving customers in Arkansas Brick & Tile Company Acme Brick, German POWs helped makeswas in line& with shipsI Berkshirecan tell Hathaway’s you expansionto this policies. day where every pay phone was located in Company plant and sales office scheduled metropolitan Memphis, and built on the recent purchase of 2013 Bennett plant reopens 56 Sales O ces A shale planer in action at Fort Smith, Arkansas, in 1946. 1978 half the plants 1920s in time for World War I production. Bennett restructured the Wheeler Brick Company in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Brick Company A print logo used in the 1930s and into the 1940s. produce the badly needed clay “ has enthusiastically supported and encouraged Acme brick at the jobsite 2003. well-publicized anniversary celebrations. Clinton OK plant from 1963 Acme acquires United my territory and where the cell coverage cuts out in ten different Harrold Melton noted that “over the last four years, 2011- present logo our strategy of production capacity that enables us to more The company hired the Ashley and Taylor Acme sales into the Memphis market have nearly tripled. Our ~2000 Associates Following the 1910 merger of Acme finances and organization of his new company while also opening products that went into industrial ACME 1901 First large 1930s-40s print logo makes & ships 600 million quarter-century old. BRIX did pass the Y2K test, when many Pressed Brick and Denton Pressed Brick, adequately serve our customers,” Melton told employees.22 11 public relations team to coordinate the purchase of this facility will provide an additional source of brick workers at the two plants sometime Western Brick Company information technology departments were concerned about the H. L. Frost came to moved back and forth as needed. Department, sought less and less residential business, and turned furnaces, war plants, and military Brick Division of Martin- places across Northeast Texas all the way to Paris.” for our Memphis customers. . . . Acquiring this plant adds about the Bennett Plant Acme Brick During World War II 1980s 1940s-early 1960s centennial activities at the forty-seven branch sales offices in San Antonio, Houston, and West Texas. 1927 3 percent2010 to our annual Weir production KS capacity, and its location will from the Denton ability of computer systems to transfer data from the twentieth 900 Million Brick Per Year commercial project to institutional (both industrial and commercial) markets. The The outbreak of any war inherently brings with it an upsurge brick per year Pressed Brick construction from 1943 to 1945. In 550 million locations in seven states, and Acme Brick Twenty-First Century Technology allow us to improve our product offering and service level to our Company in 1910. Mark Burden, a native ofcentury Muleshoe, to the twenty-first Texas, century. recalled But the Unisys-based how BRIX 1935 Marietta, expanding further TURNS customers in support of our growing presence in the Memphis During the late 1910s, Acme1924 Brick Acme and purchase other similar Acmebrickmaker purchase had to deal with of labor Wichita issues, which included the in sales and production for manufacturing. When war broke out 1940s Berkshire Hathaway expected that its companies1989-2011 stay 2011-present logo Company’s marketing department made Workers gather for a group photo around late 1943, POWs from the European system was out of date and needed to be replaced. area asplant well as in Northern closed Mississippi.”19 The updraft kilns hadand ona top voraciousof beehive kilns at the Denton appetite for fuel, and shoveling coal to feed the kilns required sizable crews of men and mules to unionization of the Malvern, Perla, and Bridgeport Plants in in Europe in September 1939, Acme Brick experienced that technologically in step with the latest computer systems, sure to key the entire year’s marketing focus Plant, circa 1907. 1940s-early 1960s 1959 Neill Boldrick brick per year essentially unwieldy the company’s order entry system was. The Holly Springs acquisition came on the heels of Acme companies certainly felt the effects of the war. It joined the war and North African Campaign into MO, KS, OK In July 2001, Acme Brick Company’s management team 1 of Oklahoma-based the 1930s and workers at Bridgeport striking in the 1940s. Reopeningbrief increase in sales, of although Bridgeport orders fell off &again during the and by the time Acme Brick Company joined the Warren to the one-hundred-year anniversary. Brick Company’s May 2001 purchase of Laufen International, accomplish the task. Falls Brick & Tile Company 1986 San Felipe Plant made the decision to install a new computer system. Dubbed Fort Worth’s Burk Burnett were brought in and put to work in Inc.’s tile distribution center located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Laufen Building, originally housing Acme Brick was not antilabor but antiunion, as its leaders period of the “phony war” in the fall of 1939 and winter of 1940. takes over after Fender retires, Buttett family Burden,of companies, its who BRIX systemwent was through more than a sales training in 1985, can remember 100 Ashley and Taylor provided highlights of the State National Bank, effort by selling old equipment for scrap, buying large amounts the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project, the new International said it planned to concentrate on the manufacture was one of many local 1970s Ferris plants through New Deal 2011-present Warren Buffet considered Acme Brick one of his better buildings constructed of American Brick & the company’s first one hundred years of and management team had always supported its workers with When Nazi Germany began its blitzkrieg attacks against France many Acme Brick Plants, including built to serve Houston TX area investments. of ceramic tile at its Oklahoma plant. Acme Brick Company Acme Brick during the1920s-1950s system was brought to life when Acme Brick Company hired early twentieth century. of saving bonds, and making payroll deductions available to writing up a brick order on a piece of sheetrock paper. “The operation to both local media and industry and American Tile Company had been Laufen International’s makesbetter-than-average & wages ships and treatment. Finally, around 1935, in the spring of 1940, America’s industrial output once again Perla, Fort Smith, Bennett, Denton, modernization of Malvern, Rush Weston as its new technology director.23 Weston, who had Denton plant renovated and 1969 D. O. Tomlin, left, 1972 First Worth Corporation becomes trade journals. 125 YEARS ACROSS THREE CENTURIES 11 Tile Company Acme Brick tried to revive its Sales Department, attempting to surged, and Acme Brick’s refractory business began to go into 7 The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported on the Acme Brick Centennial with an interview employees who wished to use this method to buy war bonds Bridgeport, and . customer would hand me the receivedorder his and computer I’d science typeCentralof degreeEd Stoutit fromup in April ArkansasSouthernon 1991. a Methodist Wetlands reclamation 118 ACME BRICK COMPANY 4 1989-2011 opens El Paso sales & more 140reacquire million sales territory lost during the Depression. While all “Acmehigh gear. suProduction ered reached its 1925 greatest levels, and by loss 1941, whenof 1950s-early 1960s opened and John Justin signed the Justin Industries, Inc., Justin moves to University in 1981, had worked information technology jobs in 2013 American Tile Supply and stamps. The company also supplied brick for many key these efforts helped Acme Brick survive economic downturn German armies invaded Soviet Russia, Acme Brick had sold 85 1940 Smith-Corona electric typewriter.the Metroplex Then since you’dthat time.project handHe sold his enter completed IT business it ininto Dallas of the 1930s, it was the election of a new president that finally 90 ACME BRICK24 COMPANY industries and military bases, such as Camp Bowie. brick per year themillion depression” bricks, the largest amount with in morethe than death a decade. of While merger agreement between Chairman of the Board a ledger book at night for inventory.in 1996 and joinedYou Acme had Brick a Company.three-ring binder merged into Acme Brick Tile & Stone solidified the company’s position as the 1940s began. stockholder confidence was restored and sales were reviving, James Ernest 1967 fully automated Perla “In 2001,” he said, “we had an aging mainframe. The At the 1941 Stockholders’ Annual Meeting, the temporary 5 An aerial view of the Garrison Plant in technology was outdated. There were still good functions to Workers at the Denton Plant in 1914 produced pressed brick and fire brick. the company still ran at only half capacity. Acme Brick quickly Acme Brick Company & Justin In the late 1980s and 1990s, Acme began selling more products that the company did not manufacture, like the items pictured above. When the war ended in November 1918, America (and Walter Bennett 1946, one of the company’s facilities with hard manila folder stock for customer cards. There were leadership structure established in 1935 was replaced by one ramped up production, however, to provide brick for the defense Fender made Jane Justin (left), John Justin, and Ed Stout (with hard hat) present BRIX, but the general ledger and order entry were on separate Third President that utilized German prisoners of war East Gate plant opened in AR Acme acquires Elgin Butler As part of its long-term strategy, Acme Brick Company “An Extremely Successful Year” H. L. Frost , 25 late 1980-90s Acme increases sales of platforms.” continued to make the capital investments to keep its plants Acme Brick Company didn’t disappoint in 1994. John Justin in late June, founder and president George Bennett became ill office. His duties typically consisted of selling brick by telephone the Southwest specifically) underwent stupendous economic Companies to become part of EdwardSafety L. Stout Awards in 1980. during World War II. rotary phones and little pink ‘While You Were Out’ slips on a producing in the future. The company upgraded the brick had expected what he called “another strong year in the Building with stomach issues. He died on July 3 in a Galveston hospital and approving customer orders. President Weston pulled together a task force of fifty-five employees machine at its Fort Smith Plant, relined two kilns at the Materials area, with Acme Brick Company leading the way with and his body was returned  rst to Fort manager Worth, where he received a As a response to the economic panic, Acme had to take 44 ACME BRICK COMPANY 12 face brick plant near Austin TX non-manufacturedBridgeport Plant, completed a kiln car rehabilitation project productsits robust market share, and continued growth in purchased changes.Walter With R.the Bennett popularity of automobile transportation spike. It was a very slow pace fromat thearound time.” the Acme Brick Company system, and they spent at the McQueeney Plant, and completed roof repairs at the products operations. This expectation was certainly borne out by Masonic funeral on July 5. drastic measures. It layed off some workers and curtailed output 30 1980s Senior VP William Bryce First Worth Corporation named president Denton Plant. One of the larger capital investments completed an extremely successful year by Acme Brick. Demand for brick After Bennett’s death, his son, twenty-one-year-old Walter at its Bennett plant. Angered by the economic depression, 2001 narrowing the software search to three companies: Oracle, during the year was the replacement of existing brick extruders was strong, testing our ability to produce and deliver the record- R. Bennett, traveled tofrom Alton, Illinois, Dentonto attend a stockholder’s layoffs, and wage cuts, plant workers went on strike in 1908, exploding nationwide, the brick business thrived. Muddy 1940s-early 1960s at the Denton Plant with the largest machines available. setting quantities of brick demanded by our customers.”31 1919 With a market share in its Texas and South Central U.S. 1946 Garrison TX Plant Acme Brick Company sold more than 750 million brick meeting on August 20, 1907. Despite having grown up at the forcing Root and Bennett to close the plant. A long stalemate At the time, sales personnel were still doing things the way Baan, and J. D. Edwards. “Those fifty-five people voted for J. D. of Acme Brick sales territory estimated at more than 50 percent, Acme Brick becomes President and during 1994 to help the Building Materials group record a 25 26 1940s brickyard, young Bennett was passed over for a steadier and ensued, though eventually enough young farmers in the area Edwards,” Weston said. “IT voted for Oracle.” Company anticipated further gains in 1994. The plan for the percent increase in revenues and a 42 percent gain in operating 18 ACME BRICK COMPANY Bryce becomes streets and roads were replaced with paving brick, the expanded year called for the increase of production levels wherever possible older hand at the helm. Ralph Sellow Root, youngest son of A. were hired to reopen the Bennett plant in 1909. Irregular 2011-present their predecessors had in the 1950s. There were no cell phones, BRIX 1998 Acme acquires profits.Witt Acme Brick Brick Company’s purchased products division Pressed Brick and an expansion of the company’s purchased products division. makes & ships 125 YEARS ACROSS THREE CENTURIES 45 Acme Brick Company finalized a contract with J. D. continued to excel, increasing sales almost 20 percent from K. Root, was elected president, with Walter Bennett becoming production continued throughout 1908–1909, frequently idling 2007 Acme’s new Fort Worth restructures creating Plants closed in Oklahoma Company 1993. Sales in the division were accelerated in August when vice president and general manager. A well-educated man, the Acme Pressed Brick Company. As a result, the company oil industry required additional brick office buildings, and chairman of the Edwards in the spring of 2002, and Weston implemented a Acme Brick Company closed on the purchase of American Tile Root would remain president from 1907 to 1916. He was not decided to shut down in the fall of 1910 because of the Following the 1910 merger of Acme pagers, fax machines, texts, or e-mail. In 1983, Acme Brick Company began the multiyear & Supply in Temple TX, 14 ACME BRICK COMPANY seven-phase approach to making the new ERP system work. He 1907 Beehive kilns at Denton Plant necessarily thrilled with being hurried off to Texas, consequently continuing effect of the 1907 recession. 98 ACME BRICK COMPANY 16 million Pressed Brick and Denton Pressed Brick, a Board of Directors City, Harrisonville MO, and General O ce headquarters opens spending little time at the brick plant and only a half-day at the workers at the two plants sometime Board of Directors Dallas native Brent Snyder started as a sales trainee at the development and implementationpicked of twelve its peopleBRIX as trainers, system and they (Brick underwent six months Texas Clay plants in Malako TX H. L. Frost came to moved back and forth as needed. Ferris TX of learning, tests, and conference room pilot programs. Over a brickthe Bennett per Plant year 1987 Acme begins stamping name 1994 125 YEARS ACROSS THREE CENTURIES 19 three-year period, the trainers trained others on the intricacies of from the Denton Harry Hines Showroom in 1983. He did inside sales for three Reporting and Information exchange), which it identified as “the 1913 New o ce in Fort Worth the ERP system. Phase I involved general ledger and accounts Pressed Brick This Acme Brick Dallas instituted the 2016 Ivan “Pudge” Rodríguez Company in 1910. Workers perform kiln months, and then got launched into his own territory in Dallas.Acmeinto urged residential prospectivemost homebuyerscomprehensive brick to look for the Acmeon-line logo as computerizedpayable, and was completed information in late 2002. systemPhase II involved in mansion with a carriage house makes & ships maintenance, circa the a sign of quality in 2001. 2001 Acme purchases Holly Springs MS 1919 - 1952 HQ moved to 1950s kiln maintenance late 1950s. John Justin takes over as 13 Acme’s new spokesperson 1950s-early 1960s 1989-2011 in back wasWorkers perhaps gather for one a group photo around “When I first started, there were no pagers,” he said. “We were the industry.” BRIX was rolled out over a three-year100-Year period and was and on top of beehive kilns at the Denton Hanson Brick plant, Laufen Int’l tile center OK, of the city’s most desirable The Oklahoma City Plant takes delivery of a brand-new fleet of 20 million 1940s-early 1960s logo 120 ACME BRICK COMPANY Neil P. Anderson Building,Plant, circaFort 1907. Worth tandem1924 vehicles Oklahoma in 1924. City Plant president of Acme Brick supposed to call into the office four times a day—every two installed in every company plant and sales office Guaranteeby the end of 1986. addresses in the 1920s. Denver Brick Company brick per year 1960s kiln at Perla plant hours or so—to pick up your messages.”9 In the mid-1980s, Dennis Knautz, a Chicago-area native who had come to 2007 “Baby Clay” worlds largest brick born The Tip of the Expansion Iceberg plants, one at Fort Smith and the other at Mansfield, Arkansas. Snyder was among a group of company sales personnel who got Fort Worth to attend TCU, worked for Bill Lemond at Fort The new Perla Plant was only the tip of Acme’s expansion125 YEARSThe MansfieldACROSS THREEPlant was CENTURIES to be shut down, 25while the Fort Smith iceberg during the decade. In response to other companies trying Plant (then the largest paving brick plant in the South) was their first cellphones. “It was a Panasonic briefcase phone you Worth City Transit in the late 1970s. Lemond left for a job White Brick emerging from a kiln at Perla. to move in and go into business in Malvern, Bennett began converted to face brick operations. Fort Smith’s “Heritage Brick” Acme Brick Company further showed its impressive growth of mixed textures, irregular shapes, and otherwise defaced brick negotiating with Fort Smith Brick and Tile Company and The company’s in the mid-1960s when it renovated and opened the state-of- Arkansas Brick and Tile Company even prior to the completion soon became a “bestseller.”3 Safety Logo in the-art Denton Plant. Acme Brick laid plans and started the 125 YEARS ACROSS THREE CENTURIES 83 the 1950s. construction of the new building in 1962, opening the new plant of the first Perla Plant. On April 13, 1923, the Fort Smith Brick in October 1963. The opening was a major event in Denton, 1940s-early 1960s with the company providing guided tours, refreshments, and Company agreed to a merger with Acme Brick, which was the amateur and professional bricklaying contest for guests. The first out-of-state acquisition made by the company. The merger grand opening even featured a fireworks display on Halloween night. As a history of Acme noted, the company had “pulled out 2011-present nineteen manufacturing plants and thirty-two sales offices in its Company, retired in 1959 at the age of seventy-six. He had was based on a small amount of cash and a significant increase in all the stops” in promoting the new Denton Plant, as well as “to five-state area and was producing and selling 300 million brick served the company for nearly fifty-three years, and after his stock. According to a history of Acme Brick Company, the April get the public interested in the brick industry and make them per year, with a net worth of nearly $10 million. The company retirement, it was noted in a history of the company that “an era aware of its importance to the community.”4 1923 Stockholders’ Meeting has been considered one of the most had an expanded Board of Directors with a new organization had ended.”9 Acme Brick’s leadership and employees would have The new plant at Denton, built to be “the ideal brick plant,” and defined responsibilities. But the end of the 1950s also to begin a new decade with a new president and new top-level was one of the most modern plants in the nation.5 With more important in the history of the company, with fourteen people and marked the end of a legendary leader’s career at Acme Brick personnel. than 160,000 square feet of manufacturing floor space, the plant Unloading brick from the Perla Plant in the 1960s. fourteen proxies representing 85 percent of the shares deciding Company. James Ernest Fender, president of Acme Brick to absorb Fort Smith Brick Company by recapitalization. Acme 60 ACME BRICK COMPANY Brick paid $125,000 for the company in the form of 1,250 shares 125 YEARS ACROSS THREE CENTURIES 55 of the new common stock while also paying a dividend of 2,000 shares ($100 par value) to its stockholders. Fort Smith, located on the Arkansas and Oklahoma state line about 165 miles northwest of Little Rock and 305 miles northeast of Fort Worth, was a major hub for rail transportation. The convergence of six rail lines made Fort Smith a burgeoning industrial metropolis in the early 1900s. The Fort Smith Brick 18 ACME BRICK COMPANY The company’s animal barn northeast of the Bennett Plant was in Company was organized when seventy miles of street needed use until the mid-1920s, when Acme Brick abandoned the use of bricks for paving. With the 1923 merger, Acme Brick added two mules at the Texas plant.

125 YEARS ACROSS THREE CENTURIES 31