Barry-Wehmiller
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Manufacturing technology and services |
| Founded | 1885 |
| Founder | Thomas Barry, Alfred Wehmiller |
| Headquarters | St. Louis , United States |
Area served | International |
Key people | Robert H. Chapman (Chairman and CEO) |
| Products | Machinery for packaging, paper converting, sheeting, corrugating, engineering, IT consulting |
| Website | www |
Barry-Wehmiller Companies is an international supplier specializing in manufacturing technology and services, with its headquarters located in St. Louis, Missouri. In 2016, it was positioned tenth on the St. Louis Business Journal’s ranking of the Top 150 Privately Owned Companies.
Originally established in 1885 as a machinery manufacturer catering to the brewing sector, Barry-Wehmiller has grown by acquiring more than 80 firms spanning industries such as packaging, paper converting, sheeting, corrugating, engineering, and IT consulting.
Robert H. Chapman serves as Chairman and CEO; he co-wrote Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring For Your People Like Family and is acknowledged for his visionary leadership and dedication to cultivating a strong organizational culture.
1885–1975
During the 1880s, St. Louis ranked as the third-largest beer producer in the United States, benefiting from innovations like mechanical refrigeration and advanced bottling methods. In 1885, Thomas Barry made an investment in a machine shop that supplied equipment to local breweries. By 1897, Barry and Alfred Wehmiller had taken full ownership and renamed the enterprise Barry-Wehmiller Machinery Company.
The firm transitioned from a regional supplier to an international provider, delivering pasteurizers and bottle washers to prominent brewers such as Anheuser-Busch, Falstaff Brewing Corporation, and Miller Brewing Company. Throughout Prohibition (1920–1933), Barry-Wehmiller diversified its product line to include machinery for soft drink and dairy industries while continuing to serve brewing clients abroad.
Confronted with market difficulties during the 1950s, majority ownership was transferred in 1957 to William Chapman, a former Arthur Andersen auditor who had also served as company treasurer. Although challenges persisted into the 1960s and mid-1970s, this change in control established a foundation for subsequent expansion.
1975–1987
In 1969, Robert H. (Bob) Chapman joined Barry-Wehmiller at the invitation of his father William Chapman. Following William’s unexpected passing in 1975, Bob assumed the roles of CEO and chairman of the board of the $18 million company. Despite banks withdrawing their loan commitments soon after, Chapman implemented cost reductions and enhanced financial outcomes, increasing revenue to $22 million by 1976.
Chapman invested in innovative technologies including a solar-powered system designed to heat pasteurizers; Anheuser-Busch was the initial buyer for its Jacksonville brewery. By 1980, company revenues had climbed to $71 million.
Nevertheless, by 1983, consolidation within the industry coupled with technical difficulties caused revenues to decline to $55 million alongside a $5 million loss. Financial institutions froze credit facilities and demanded loan repayments. In response, Chapman adopted an acquisition approach inspired by Emerson Electric’s CEO Chuck Knight, focusing on acquiring underperforming businesses to broaden market presence and technological capabilities. These strategic purchases ultimately generated profitable operations.
In 1987, executives managing Barry-Wehmiller’s UK acquisitions completed an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange that raised $1.1 billion from $28 million worth of stock—oversubscribed by a factor of 35. The capital raised was used to retire company debt and left $28 million in cash reserves, marking a significant financial milestone.
1987–present
After experiencing two near-crisis events within ten years, Chapman maintained his acquisition-driven growth strategy to evolve Barry-Wehmiller into a multifaceted industrial packaging machinery supplier.
A landmark acquisition was Pneumatic Scale, a century-old publicly traded company based in Quincy, Massachusetts. Over nearly three decades, Barry-Wehmiller acquired 82 companies distributed among 11 divisions: PneumaticScaleAngelus, Hayssen Flexible Systems, BW Container Systems, BW Papersystems, Accraply, Thiele Technologies, Paper Converting Machine Company, Design Group, Barry-Wehmiller International, Synerlink, and others.
Chapman’s leadership style alongside the company’s cultural transformation was highlighted in Simon Sinek’s 2014 publication Leaders Eat Last. In 2015, Chapman collaborated with Raj Sisodia to publish Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring For Your People Like Family, which outlines Barry-Wehmiller’s business development and internal culture initiatives. The book gained acclaim from Inc. (magazine) for influencing leadership perspectives and was recognized among Forbes’ top business books of 2015.