Enid company is turning 80 years old

Business

Discussion

May 3, 2008

By Robert Barron, Staff Writer The Enid News and Eagle Sat May 03, 2008, 11:43 PM CDT

A little company in Enid is about to turn 80 years old.

A.W. Brueggemann Co. Inc. has manufactured bronze and steel-backed babbitt bearings since 1928.

Art Brueggemann, originally from Covington, started the company after working for Franks Machine Shop in Enid in 1928. Today, his grandchildren, Geoffrey Brueggemann and Jennefer Branch, are the third generation to operate the family owned business. They plan a birthday celebration in July.

The company sells industrial tools and manufactures babbitted bearings. Art Brueggemann focused his business on the oil field and automobile repair. Today, the oil industry is a major customer for the company, which manufactures connecting rod bearings to fit on oil field engine crankshafts to protect the shafts.

Babbitt is an alloy used to provide the bearing surface in a plain bearing. Composition for babbitt alloys is varying percentages of tin, copper or lead to reduce wear.

“We are still manufacturing some of the same type bearings that Art was making in 1948,” Branch said. Geoff Brueggemann is a civil and structural engineer with his own business next door. Branch is president of the company.

Brueggemann experienced some tough times in the 1980s and early 1990s and again in 1999, rebounding for its best year ever in 2000.

Geoff Brueggemann started working in the building sweeping floors in junior high school and continued to work there until he graduated high school and left home to attend college. He left the business when he ob-tained his engineering degree. Branch also was gone until 1970 when her father and mother both became ill.

Older brother Mike Brueggemann worked in the business more than 40 years.

What is the secret to surviving 80 years in business?

“Cash and carry,” Branch said. “We didn’t buy anything we didn’t have the money for. My grandfather and father were very frugal.”

She developed the same habits in business; however, she said the company also tries to maintain a high level of quality in its work and a reputation for taking care of its customers.

In the supply store, they are known for having items no one else carries, she said.

Their father, Warren Brueggemann, had an engineering degree from Oklahoma State University and designed and built some of the equipment they still use in the shop.

“He was a smart man,” she said.

Text Only

Business

Leveling the playing field
May 19, 2012 1 Photo
FYI for 5-20-12
May 19, 2012 1 Photo
Businesses searching for an empty space
With a strong economy, double-digit growth in sales tax revenue, low unemployment and a high quality of life, Enid is attracting a lot of attention from retail developers aiming to tap into the strengths of the regional market.

May 12, 2012 1 Photo
FYI for 5/13/2012
May 12, 2012 1 Photo
FYI for 5/6/2012
May 5, 2012 1 Photo
Local elevators hiring workers to collect wheat crop from area fields
With the weather warming and wheat fields offering up what’s predicted to be an excellent crop, area grain elevators and employment placement services already are working to fill positions for the frantic few weeks of wheat harvest.

April 28, 2012 1 Photo
FYI for 4/29/2012
April 28, 2012
Gun sales are up
President Obama’s greatest legacy regarding the firearms industry may not be any executive efforts to restrict gun sales, but rather his ability to drive sales beyond the production capacity of even the largest gun manufacturers.

April 21, 2012 1 Photo
FYI for 4/22/2012
April 21, 2012 1 Photo
Activity in oil, gas and construction results in demand for equipment training
If you’ve driven much in north central Oklahoma in the last year, you’ve probably noticed an increased number of wide-load trucks hauling heavy-equipment to construction sites.

April 14, 2012 1 Photo
More Business Headlines

Business

Search Results

Discussion

Enid company is turning 80 years old

Site Map

Contact Us