It is often said that during WWII, the United States was the Arsenal of Democracy. The nation, thankfully removed from aerial attack and combat in the streets, and blessed with abundant resources and industry geared toward mass production, certainly lived up to the moniker. However, before the gears of industry can begin to churn out armaments, the decision has to be made what was going to be made, and by who. Reaching these decisions were not always linear processes.
“Big Bill” Knudsen, more formally William S. Knudsen, had come to America from Denmark as a 21-year-old in 1900. A bicycle mechanic in Denmark, once in the U.S. he worked in shipyards and then the shop of the Erie Railroad until gaining employment with the John R. Keim Mills of Buffalo, N.Y. in 1902. Keim manufactured bicycles, and when that market was slow, also produced metal components for other manufacturers. One of those was Ford Motor Co. By 1908, Knudsen was superintendent of the Keim plant, which was making Model T mufflers, fuel tanks and axle housings.
In January 1911, Ford purchased Keim, and in 1913 relocated much of the plant and 62 key men to Highland Park, Mich. One of the men hired was Knudsen, who remained in Buffalo with his new wife Clara.
Knudsen’s new job with Ford did not require him to live in the Detroit area, as he was charged with establishing 14 additional Ford assembly plants in the U.S., as well as three in Europe. He worked with Albert Kahn, and together the two men revolutionized plant design by planning the work flow first, and then creating a structure to house it, rather than the previous convention of adapting the work flow
