‘Do What’s Best’ Legacy Leads to 120 Years of Manufacturing Success
Nestled among the scenic fishing spots of the Allegheny River, Warren, Pennsylvania is an outdoorsman’s dream. This picturesque river town surrounded by the hardwood forests of the Allegheny Mountains is part of northwest Pennsylvania’s rich oil and timber heritage and home to some of the region’s longstanding manufacturers, as well.
Here, in what could best be described as one of the most beautiful spots in small-town America, is a hidden gem of U.S. industry and innovation, producing parts used around the world.
One of the most fascinating of these operations is the sixth generation, family owned Betts Industries, Inc., which is not only one of the area’s oldest manufacturers at 120 years, but also one of its most successful. A highly respected name in the tank truck industry, the company is a leader in the design and production of critical components — valves, manlids, pressure/vacuum relief vents — as well as safety lamps, lighting systems and accessories for multiple liquid tank, dry bulk and industrial applications for more than 2,000 customers and distributors worldwide. In fact, international sales account for 25 percent to 30 percent of Betts’ annual sales.
“Betts Industries is a dominant name globally in the areas of valves, manlids and vents,” states President and Chief Executive Officer Chad Betts.
Betts Industries is well positioned for future growth and new opportunities as the world navigates the economic shocks of the COVID pandemic and the highly anticipated recovery in the year ahead. Since its founding in 1901, the company has weathered everything from two global pandemics, recessions, depressions and World Wars, and damaging floodwaters before completion of the Kinzua Dam in 1965.
“At one time, the water came up so high that my grandfather came up with the idea of placing furniture and equipment on 55-gallon drums to protect them from the rising waters,” recalls Chad Betts, who represents the fifth generation of Betts to lead the company following current Chairman Cliff Betts II. “Unfortunately, they failed to realize to punch holes in those barrels so, as the water rose, the barrels flipped. It was a tough lesson to learn but learn they did. Grandpa Clifford resolved this for future floods when he had his grandson, Rodney (company president from 2002 to 2012), come in over his school break and, using a pickaxe, punch holes in every barrel in the shop.”
Chad Betts, who assumed the company’s chief leadership role in 2018, is proud of Betts’ history and where it is today. During a tour of the expansive manufacturing facility, Betts points to the remnant of a cement block buried in the plant floor, a reminder of the 60-by- 90-foot building where the original Betts Machine Company began. Presently, with more than 275,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space on five acres at its Warren headquarters and 30,000-square-foot Lamp facility in Starbrick, Betts Industries is an expansive operation built on multi-generational success.
“Our 120-year history is steeped in family ownership and community values, and we’ve built a legacy and reputation for fair, honest business practices and genuine customer relationships,” states Chad Betts of the company’s guiding principles. “It’s our mission to strive each day to ‘Do What’s Best’ and to live up to the legacy of unsurpassed customer service, industry leadership and innovative products that stand the test of time.”
Legacy and History
Considering 80 percent of companies that existed before 1980 are no longer in operation, Betts Industries is a company that continues to beat the odds.
The company can be traced to Louis J. Betts, who founded Fairchild and Betts: Founders and Machinists with friend Charles S. Fairchild at 1111 Fourth Avenue in the former Warren Foundry and Machine Shop, producing equipment for the oil fields such as oil well pumping rigs and gas engines. The company continued to grow, and when Fairchild retired in 1922, Betts officially changed the name to Betts Foundry and Machine. After Louis Betts passed away in 1934, his sons Clyde and Raymond continued to work in the shop. At the persuading of their mother Ida, their brother Clifford R. Betts, a successful salesman, returned to lead the family business — later earning the title as “father of modern day Betts Industries.”
Prior to returning to Warren, Cliff had established a successful sales career, founding NYPENNO Sales Co, along with friend and fellow salesman Cappy Kauffman. In 1944, he moved the machine shop to a small cement block building — and the company’s present-day headquarters — at 1800 Pennsylvania Avenue West. The newly named Betts Machine Company took on jobs no one else would. In 1946, Joseph DeFrees, an engineer at Penn Furnace and Iron, approached Betts to make some parts needed for a new manifold valve. Cliff Betts convinced DeFrees that Betts Machine could make the entire valve instead. The patented design (the Warren Manifold Valve as it came to be known) became the company’s first proprietary product — and is still used for petroleum tank trucks today.
Read more in the June 2021 edition of the Business Magazine.
