Established in 1925 by Joseph F. Buhr, Buhr Machine Tool Co. primarily made high-speed multi-spindle drilling machines for the automotive industry. In about 1969 the business was acquired by Bendix Corp. and continued to operate under the name Buhr Machine Tool Corp. until 1976 when it became part of the newly formed Bendix Machine Tool Division of Bendix Corp.

Information Sources

• Mentioned in a 1925 issue of Machinery: "Buhr Machine Tool Co. has been organized at Ann Arbor...
• Mentioned in a 1944 issue of Michigan Manufacturer and Financial Record.
• The 1956-06-30 Endowment and Student Loan Funds of the University of Michigan. The $5000 "Scholarship for Oriental Men" was established by the Buhr Foundation in "memory of Joseph F. Buhr, the founder of the Buhr Machine Tool Company, an Alsatian by birth, who came to this country and carved out an enviable career in his chosen field of machine tool multiple drilling." The Buhr Foundation also established a $5000 Buhr Foundation Engineering scholarship, for upper class or graduate students in various mechanical and manufacturing-related engineering specialities.
• The Catalog of Copyright Entries for July-Dec 1956.

  BUHR MACHINE TOOL CO. ©
  Buhr Economatic performs 55 operations every 23 seconds. (In American Machinist, Aug. 9, 1956.

  BUHR MACHINE TOOL CO. ©
  Buhr Economatic performs 55 operations on two types of torque-converter adapter plates. (In Fortune, Apr. 1956, p.203).

• Mentioned in a 1964 issue of Automotive Industries. The company address was 830 Greet Street in Ann Arbor.
• The 1972 United States Patent Quarterly mentions a lawsuit, The Cross Company v. Buhr Machine Tool Corporation.
• From a 1976 issue of The Iron Age.

  ... Meanwhile, the consolidation of two subsidiaries, Buhr Machine Tool Corp. and Michigan Special Machine Co., into a new organization, the Bendix Machine Tool Corp., was announced by Donald S. Jones, president of the industrial group of the Bendix Corp.

  The 2001 book, Ford Cleveland 335-Series V8 Engine 1970 to 1982, by Des Hammill, mentions a 1976 shipment to Australia of five Buhr machines that were damaged in transit when a bulldozer broke lose at sea in a ship's hold. The machines had to be returned to Buhr where they were completely rebuilt.