Joseph W. Bettendorf
| Joseph W. Bettendorf | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
October 10, 1864 Leavenworth, Kansas, USA |
| Died | May 1933 (aged 68) Bettendorf, Iowa, USA |
| Resting place |
Oakdale Memorial Gardens Davenport, Iowa 41°32′46″N 90°33′00″W / 41.546°N 90.55°WCoordinates: 41°32′46″N 90°33′00″W / 41.546°N 90.55°W |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Co-owner of Bettendorf Axel Company |
| Known for | Industrialist |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Ohl |
| Children | Edwin, William |
| Parent(s) | M. Bettendorf Catherine Reck |
Joseph W. Bettendorf (October 10, 1864 – May, 1933) was a businessman with his brother William P. Bettendorf in Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa. The city of Bettendorf is named after the two brothers.
Joseph Bettendorf was born in Leavenworth, Kansas, the third child and second son of Michael Bettendorf and Catherine (Reck) Bettendorf. His father was born Michael Betteldorf in Nohn in the German Eifel region and changed his surname upon arrival in the United States. Joseph was nine years old when the family settled in Peru, Illinois, where he received most of his education. His first job was as a machinist and he worked his way up to foreman in the assembly department.
J.W. Bettendorf moved to Davenport, Iowa in 1886 to join his brother William where they organized Bettendorf Metal Wheel Company. He worked as a machinist before becoming a supervisor in the plant. In 1890 he moved to Springfield, Ohio where he managed a branch of the business. He returned to Davenport three years later where the brothers began manufacturing steel gear wagons.
In January 1895 the brothers incorporated their new venture under the name of the Bettendorf Axel Company. W. P. Bettendorf was the company’s first president and J.W. Bettendorf initially served as secretary and manager of the company. Two fires in 1902, one on January 28 and the other in May, destroyed the plant. The residents of the town of Gilbert, which was about three miles east of Davenport at the time, raised $15,000 to buy the old Gilbert farm between the Mississippi River and the Davenport, Rock Island and North Western Railway tracks. The brothers decided to establish a new plant in Gilbert. A year later the citizens of the town elected to change its name to Bettendorf. In 1906 J.W. became treasurer of the company.
The factory was built on a 70-acre (0.28 km2) plot of land. The company originally was a manufacturer of agricultural implements. Its rapid growth was spurred by William Bettendorf’s design of a one-piece railroad truck frame that eliminated bolts, which would work loose as the train was moving and cause delays or derailments. The new frame was cast from a single piece of steel and revolutionized the railroad industry. By 1909 the plant had grown to three times its original size. It contained two regenerative open-hearth basic steel furnaces, with a capacity of 25 tons of heat. They were able to output about one hundred tons of finished steel castings daily that were used in the construction of the railroad boxcars. A complete railroad car was built from raw materials in the east end of the plant to the finished product on the west end. The company expanded in the early 20th century and its divisions made 29 different machines or tools. They acquired the Dooler Oil Company, which was later renamed the Bettendorf Oil Burner, Buddy L toys, Slice-Master bread and cake slicers and Chippewa Pumps, which made water pumps. They also had divisions that produced hand dollys to move rail cars, ice crushers, table-top cigar lighters, and a machine to compress and bundle wastepaper. The company also built the Meteor automobile between 1907 and 1912. Corporate holding companies named Micro and Westco were established to hold these acquisitions. They were later merged and named Micro-Westco. Between 1903 and 1910 the workforce grew from 300 to 800 employees.
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