Albert Luce
| Albert Laurence Luce | |
|---|---|
| Born |
26 June 1888 La Grange, Illinois |
| Died | 16 October 1962 (aged 74) San Francisco, California |
| Cause of death | Pneumonia |
| Residence | Fort Valley, Georgia |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | A.L. Luce |
| Alma mater | Northwestern University |
| Occupation | industrialist, entrepreneur, bus designer |
| Years active | 1915-1950 |
| Known for | Founder of Blue Bird |
Albert Laurence Luce (26 June 1888-16 October 1962) was an American industrialist, entrepreneur, bus designer, and business owner. He is best known for founding the Blue Bird Body Company, a bus and recreational vehicle manufacturer now known as Blue Bird Corporation.
Albert Laurence Luce was born on June 26, 1888 in La Grange, Illinois, a village in Cook County, Illinois. His parents were George P. Luce and Jennie Squire Luce. His father managed a lumber yard in La Grange. After completing high school in La Grange, Luce attended Northwestern University, studying science.
Luce moved to El Centro, California in 1913 to become a distributor for Maxwell automobiles (a forerunner of Chrysler). Luce enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917. He fought in France in 1918, and was returned to the U.S. in 1919. He purchased a Ford franchise in Fort Valley, Georgia; which would become his home for the rest of his life. In 1920, he married Helen Mathews (10 April 1890-2 July 1976), a daughter of a local minister.
As his business grew, Luce purchased a second Ford franchise in Perry, Georgia, which he named Houston County Motor Company. In 1925, the dealership received an order from a local cement company manufacturer for a Model TT fitted with a bus body to transport company workers. The wooden bus body, supplied from a North Carolina millyard, seemed to Luce not sufficiently durable for the rough Georgia roads; he was concerned the bus would have to be replaced before the owner finished paying for it. To develop a stronger body, he and a blacksmith in his Perry dealership fabricated a steel body.
The Great Depression nearly halted car sales at Luce's outlets. In 1930-1931, sales fell over 95%; while only 7 buses were sold, they constituted the majority of sales for his operations. Luce closed the Fort Valley dealership in late 1931 and sold the Houston County Motor Company in 1932, then started a company specializing in school bus bodies. First using rented facilities, in 1935 he built a 27,000 ft² factory in Fort Valley.
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