Ford Motor Company. Superintendents Office.

Clarence Willard Avery was born in Dansville, Michigan in February 1882. After attending public schools, Ferris Institute, and the University of Michgian, he became teacher of manual training in several public schools. After a short stay in Ispheming, Michigan, he was named director of Manual Training at Detroit University School. There he formed a friendship with Edsel Ford, and it was through Edsel's influence that Avery was hired as Charles Sorensen's assistant at the Highland Park Plant. Utilizing his unique technical skills and organizational abilities, Avery became the primary directing force in the development of progressive assembly, which became the renowned Ford assembly line. Avery's career at Ford reflected his wide-ranging interests and skills. At the request of Henry Ford, he studied traditional methods of industrial glass manufacturing and developed a process of continuous rolling that became an industry standard. Avery was responsible for organizing and developing Ford's newly acquired Northern Michigan timber properties into a productive part of the company's vertical integration of raw materials, transportation, manufacturing, and distribution. For a period in the 1920s, Avery was responsible for the operations of Henry Ford's Village Industries and hydroelectric power plants. One of Avery's greatest accomplishments came after Henry Ford purchased the assets of Lincoln Motor Company in 1922. Avery assisted Edsel Ford in the design and development of newer, streamlined Lincoln cars that became a benchmark of automotive design, as well as the necessary tooling and production methods to ensure profitability. Avery left Ford Motor Company in 1927 after Model T production ceased and development of the new Model A began at the Rouge River Plant under Charles E. Sorensen's direct supervision. Avery was named president of Murray Corporation, a supplier of bodies and body parts to Ford in 1927 and held that position until 1948. Clarence Avery died in 1949.