Mitchell Corporation

History and Production Record Estimates

Mitchell-Bentley
Ionia and Owosso, Michigan

Don R. Mitchell was born on July 24, 1903 and raised in Owosso, Michigan. In his early years he started a lawn care business with boyhood chum, Thomas E. Dewey, who would later become Governor Dewey and twice ran for President of the United States. During the 1930's, Don started his own company called Mitchell Sales and represented several automotive related manufacturers.

Mr. Mitchell became sales manager for the Ypsilanti Reed Furniture Company in 1938, which was the largest manufacturer in Ionia, Michigan. Don was quite a salesman and an innovative engineer. The company had up 2,400 employees including some from the local state prison in which it manufactured maple and rattan furniture, however it was still in financial trouble. He formed another company in Owosso called Mitchell Plastics which manufactured many plastic trims and automotive emblems for several automobile companies.

Don built a "Hi-Speed" gas station downtown Owosso in the 1940's

Mr. Mitchell helped to expand the furniture business into the automotive field, especially truck and bus seating. He became president of the furniture company in 1942 and the name was changed to Ionia Manufacturing Company since the furniture manufacturing was almost non exsistant. During World War II, the plant was kept busy with military contracts making jeeps and seats and tarpaulins.

In the early days of the auto industry, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler contracted out body work to body builders such as Briggs, Murray, Fleetwood, LeBaron and others. As the time went by, the Big 3 continued to produce more parts in-house and these body builders faded into the history books.

However, after the war, Mitchell secured contracts for wooden station wagon bodies for Pontiac, Olsmobile, Buick, Chevrolet and Chrysler. These companies were experimenting with station wagons and did not want to spend alot of money on manufacturing until there was enough demand. So these bodies were built in limited quanity by Ionia Manufacturing.

In 1953, Owosso Manufacturing and Ionia Manufacturing Company merged to become the Mitchell-Bentley Corporation under the leadership of Don Mitchell. Calvin Bentley who had served as President of Owosso Manufacturing for many years was well beyond retirement, saw the energetic vigor of Don Mitchell and made him President of the new company. The Mitchell Panther was a prototype developed for the Packard Automobile Co.

More automotive contracts were negotiated and Mitchell-Bentley became a major supplier of quality automotive interior trim parts including seat cushion covers, door trim panels and bucket seats. Certain Lincoln Continental bodies and early Corvette bodies were built at Owosso.

PRODUCTION ESTIMATES

Ionia and Owosso Plants

1938 and 1939.....15 prototype station wagon bodies built

1942.....327 wooden station wagon bodies built for Buick

1946....2,500 station wagon bodies built for Pontiac

1946.....900 station wagon bodies built for Chevrolet

Oct. 1 to 6, 1946....."Ionia Body" on display at General Motors building Detroit

1947.....554 station wagon bodies built for Chevrolet

1946 through 1948....18,791 station wagon bodies built for Pontiac

1949 through 1953....12,791 station wagon bodies built for Buick

1950......Glaspar...fiberglass....predecessor to the Chevrolet Corvette

1953....last year for wood trimmed station wagon bodies

1953....first to put gold plated trim on cars...Kaiser Golden Dragon

1953.....Bamboo vinyl tops....Kaiser Dragon

1953.....503 Nash-Healey fiberglass and alluminum bodies

1954.....Dodge Granada concept car....first all fiberglass car

1954.....Packard "Mitchell Panther"...4 concept cars built

1954......8,000 bucket seats sold to Dodge truck (first bucket seats in trucks)

1954 through 1964......139,344 all metal station wagon bodies built for Buick

1957 through 1964......143,696 all metal station wagon bodies built for Olsmobile

1955 through 1958.......83,335 all metal station wagonbodies built for Mercury

1955 through 1957.......Owosso plant builds Continental Mark II bodies

1959 Edsel trim

1959 through 1964....all Corvette bodies

1961 Corvette
Owosso built fiberglass body

On the night of February 11, 1955 a devastating $2,000,000 fire swept through the automotive trim plant of the Mitchell-Bentley Corp., the occupant of the old Owosso Manufacturing building, which was a four-story brick structure that occupied an area equivalent to six square blocks.

A new plant was quickly built near the old factory building on Chipman St. In about 1964, the Ionia plant was sold to A.O. Smith Corporation. Don's son Bill assumed company control and later changed the name to Mitchell Manufacturing Group, Inc. which grew to include several plants through out Michigan, but in 1999 all operations ceased, ending one of Owosso's oldest manufacturing concerns.

Don Mitchell's son Bill assembled a small museum to exhibit examples of the companies work. Part of the old Owosso plant was remodeled and in 2000 was home to about 60 vehicles. The museum is rarely open to the public.

Woodie Wagon History

Woodie station wagon bodies were used generally because wood was cheaper than metal before the World War II era. After the war, the automotive industry realized the demand for the station wagon was increasing, but not enough demand to warrant in-house manufacturing. The cost and time involved in hand-making the wood bodies were too great for Woodies to be made in any great quantity. Thus, body builders like Don Mitchell had their impact on the 'station wagon craze'.

Sales of Woodies had peaked by the early 1950s and the all metal station wagon bodies were on the rise. Wood trim was bolted to metal bodies to give it the Woodie feel and simulated wood trim was being tested as early as 1950 by GM.

The 1953 Buick Roadmaster was the last real American Woodie, actually relying on wooden construction of structural components; the entire rear deck and window frame are wooden.

Bill Mitchell, above, owns the longest privately owned vessel on the Great Lakes measuring 121 feet and named the Mitch-Mate III.

The Mitchell Family has contributed thousands of dollars to the Shiawassee County area over the last 50 years.

The Shiawassee Independent of Novemeber 2001 reported that the Mitchell Corp. headquarters on Chipman St. in Owosso, MI has been put up For Sale. Built in 1957, the 180,000 square foot facility sits on 20 acres and the asking price is $3.7 million. The listing notes that a buyer could also contact Owosso city officials about an adjacent 20 acres.

In Dec. 2002 the factory building was sold to Tuscarora Inc. of Chesaning, MI for $2,200,000.00

Shiawassee County History