H. Ashley Barber

H. Ashley “Ash” Barber is recognized for his role in the restructuring of the Barber-Greene Co., the material handling and construction equipment business co-founded by his father, Harry H. Barber and William B. Greene. Barber is a Construction Equipment Hall of Fame Inductee.^[1]

[edit] History

[edit] Joining Barber-Greene Co.

Ash Barber began his career with Barber-Greene in 1933 after having completed his college career with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois. Due to Barber Sr.’s high blood pressure, Barber Jr. was responsible for many of his father’s tasks by the late 1930s.^[2]

[edit] Aiding the Company’s Growth

Beginning in 1946 and spanning two decades, Barber-Greene experienced significant growth.^[3] This expansion was due in part to Barber’s leadership and direction of the company’s engineering department, which continued to develop his father’s inventions. Additionally, Barber, along with William B. Greene, was a driving force behind the decision to divide the company, creating a construction division and an industrial division.

[edit] Rising in the Ranks

In 1954, Greene transferred the title of President, which he had held since 1945, from himself to Barber. This new role would enable Barber to make several decisions regarding the company’s organization, including making Barber-Greene public in the late 1950s.^[4]

[edit] Merger with Smith Engineering Works

Though the Barber-Greene Co. had resisted mergers in the past, Barber made the decision in 1960 to merge with Smith Engineering Works of Milwaukee. The decision was made as the result of Barber’s concern that the company’s growth and profitability would cease if it remained too closely held. Barber recognized that Barber-Greene was becoming too large for its current ownership.^[5] He had confidence in Smith Engineering Works, as the company had had a longstanding association with Barber-Greene. Additionally, his decision would expand his company’s product line, adding Smith’s complementary aggregate processing equipment to Barber-Greene’s offerings.

[edit] Leadership Through Difficulty

As Barber-Greene’s success began to falter in 1966, Barber made some decisions regarding the company’s organization and structure. Thanks to the five years Barber had spent in the early 1960s studying organizational alternatives, he implemented changes to the company, beginning in 1967, with the help of an outside consulting firm.^[6] These changes, focusing on the reorganization and decentralization of management and decision-making, slowly helped the company begin to turn around by 1972.^[7]

[edit] A Significant Development

Perhaps Barber’s most valuable decision during his presidency was the implementation of a production and inventory system, later to be joined by a cost accounting system derived from the same database.^[8] Barber had spent thousands of hours discussing and teaching concepts before developing the system.^[9] He focused on the development of a plan that was theoretically correct rather than analyzing and attempting to improve the company’s existing methods.

[edit] Final Years with Barber-Greene

In 1971, Barber transferred his presidency to Anthony S. “Tony” Greene, but remained Chairman of the Board. Barber’s decision to step down was the result of the newly implemented management style—it required much more delegation of decision-making responsibilities than he was used to. Barber retired from the company in 1976.

[edit] References

1. ↑ Construction Equipment Hall of Fame, 2008-09-27.
2. ↑ William B. Greene and Harry H. Barber. ANBHF.org, 2008-09-27.
3. ↑ William B. Greene and Harry H. Barber. ANBHF.org, 2008-09-27.
4. ↑ William B. Greene and Harry H. Barber. ANBHF.org, 2008-09-27.
5. ↑ William B. Greene and Harry H. Barber. ANBHF.org, 2008-09-27.
6. ↑ William B. Greene and Harry H. Barber. ANBHF.org, 2008-09-27.
7. ↑ William B. Greene and Harry H. Barber. ANBHF.org, 2008-09-27.
8. ↑ William B. Greene and Harry H. Barber. ANBHF.org, 2008-09-27.
9. ↑ William B. Greene and Harry H. Barber. ANBHF.org, 2008-09-27.