How Bettcher Industries ’ flair for innovation has remained true to its core since 1944
To those native to Birmingham , Ohio , Bettcher Industries , Inc ( Bettcher ) is known and immediately recognizable by the big red barn in which it resides . However , its regard extends far further than being an iconic landmark along the Ohio Turnpike in Erie County . Since it was founded in 1944 , Bettcher has built towards a level of international critical acclaim in the manufacturing of innovative precision cutting and trimming tools for food processing and industrial applications .
Today , Bettcher is an Employee Stock Ownership Plan ( ESOP ) company with 300 employee-owners that boasts nearly 100,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space and has served across several industries including protein processing , foodservice , medical instrumentation and industrial . However , Louis A . Bettcher , Jr ( Bettcher , Jr ), the company founder , started out with a far humbler beginning .
Considered an inventor from his childhood years , Bettcher , Jr utilized his machine shop in Cleveland ’ s meatpacking district during World War II to bring about the revolution in the industrialized food processing field that he yearned for . Throughout this war-torn era , meat plants struggled to purchase new equipment , which is where he managed to make his initial breakthrough . In 1947 , he moved from
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