Robert Green joined the Willys-Overland organization sometime in 1945. Although Green’s employment records are not in the Willys archives, his arrival marked a critical point in the Farm Jeep’s history. How did a young engineer from Bowling Green, Ohio, end up working for Charles Sorensen, one of the most powerful men in automotive history? Why did Sorensen pick him to form a company to sell the new hydraulic lift system?
We start with Sorensen
Sorensen’s book, My Forty Years with Ford, describes how he left the Ford Motor Company after forty years as Henry Ford’s right-hand man but did not give any details about how he became the president of Willys. Nor did he ever write of this period in his life. Our research and writings about Sorensen have focused on how he came to be at Willys. Sorensen was one of the most powerful men in the automotive industry and could have picked from multiple jobs once he left Ford. He wrote that he believed the military version of the Jeep (which he helped produce while at Ford) was one of the most important inventions coming out of the war. And we believe he wanted to see a civilian version produced.
Sorensen could have hired anyone to work for him at Willys. We don’t know how many people he brought into the organization when he became president in 1944. There are no records from the Jeep archives from that period. However, two names have appeared in print. George Newlin and Robert Green were Willys’ employees working directly with Sorensen.
George Newlin had managed Sorensen’s farm operations for many years before being brought into Willys in 1945 to head a new agricultural and special farm equipment unit. The 2,000+ acre CESOR (Charles E. Sorensen) Farms had been used to test the Ford 9N tractor and was used again to introduce the new civilian Jeep. Newlin was both known and trusted by Sorensen.
How did Green end up working for Sorensen?
How did a young engineer from Bowling Green, Ohio, end up working for one of the most powerful men in automotive history? The mere idea that of all the people Sorensen had available to him, he (or someone close to him) picked Green is fascinating. How might this have happened?
Knowing that Green had worked at Ford, we searched for a connection to the Ford 9N tractor project, thinking that this might have been how Sorensen knew of Green. Sorensen had been directly involved in the 9N development. Plus, as we will see later, Green received a patent for a 9N lift device. Searches at the Henry Ford Museum and elsewhere came up empty. There was no evidence that Green ever worked on the 9N project.
It wasn’t until reading a 1959 interview that we learned that Ford had employed Green “working in test flight hydraulics for the Willow Run plant.” The Willow Run B24 Bomber Project was Sorensen’s crowning achievement. Books have been written about the massive facility where nearly a half million parts could be assembled into an airplane at the rate of one per hour. It was Sorensen’s design and his last major project at Ford.
Given the tens of thousands of employees at Willow Run (see https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/willow-run-bomber-plant/), it is unlikely that Sorensen knew Green. But Sorensen did know that some of the best engineers in the country were working there. It is easy to imagine a scenario where Sorensen arrives at Willys and assesses the situation. He knows that for the new Jeep to be successful, it will need a hydraulic implement lift that matches the Ford 9N tractor. He picked up the telephone and called one of his old employees at Ford. “Send me your best hydraulic engineer” would have been all it took to place Robert Green at Willys.
There are no employment records for Green at either Ford or Willys. While we have no proof that the scene above happened, it most likely explains how Green came to be known and, just as importantly, liked and trusted by Sorensen.
Green must have hit the ground running upon arriving at Willys to gain Sorensen’s trust so quickly (we are talking about months, not years). We have described on our website the changes that Green and his team of engineers made to the original implement lift Jabez Love designed for Willys. Love had worked with Willys since 1944, but the hydraulic lift wasn’t introduced until September 1946. There are no records from this period, but we believe Sorensen was unhappy with the Love design and wanted his man to take charge of this important project. Love left Willys immediately after the lift’s introduction. Love would sell his own version of the Jeep lift, which included changes introduced by Green.
Green asked to form Newgren
Among the many things Sorensen did to ensure the survival of the civilian Jeep was to separate the hydraulic implement system from Willys. Most likely to avoid legal entanglements, Sorensen wanted independent suppliers to build the equipment as an add-on.
Based on an unpublished interview given by Green, there is evidence that Sorensen told both Newlin and Green that selling lifts and implements for the Jeep could make them money. He urged (told?) them to form a company to do that. That Newlin, who was well known to Sorensen, would have been picked for this task is no surprise. However, Sorensen’s pick of Green indicates that Green must have made a great impression quickly.
Although Newlin would be named president of the company, Green spearheaded its formation. A July 20, 1946, Bowling Green paper headline reads, “B. G. Men Form Newgren Co.” It goes on to read, “The new firm the Newgren Company was Incorporated Friday by Robert H Green, George M Newlin and Moses Lane Jr all of Bowling Green.” There are no records of Newlin ever residing in Bowling Green. Moses Lane Jr. was Green’s longtime attorney. Note that the company was formed just before the introduction of the hydraulic lift in September 1946,
The Newgren Company would exist for just a short period, but its influence, as we shall see, on the Farm Jeep lasted for decades. All because Charles Sorensen somehow found Robert Green.
Part II – Robert Green’s first Green Manufacturing Company
Green’s obituary states he owned and operated Green Manufacturing in 1955 and sold it in 1967. However, in a 1965 article, Green says he started the company in 1945 to provide “engineering consulting work and invention development. In 1945, Green received patents for items to improve the performance of the Ford 9N tractor. This was one of the reasons why we assumed he had worked on the 9N project.
Although Green was employed full-time in this period, he managed to form his own distribution company. This arrangement would continue until 1955.
This ad shows some of the company’s products from a 1950-51 tractor book. The short list of “Other Products” contains two items of interest. The first is the “3 Point Adapter Hitches.” Other tractor industry publications of this period list Green Manufacturing as an implement lift maker.
The second item is the “Jeep Cab Seals.” Green was employed full-time at Willys or Newgren during this period. Several companies made metal cabs for Jeeps. It would be interesting to see a complete list of products to determine how many were Jeep-related.
Green Manufacturing was a family business. The two items pictured were the company’s first items sold. The initials T.L.G. and R.L.G. are Green’s daughters. The company’s address was Green’s residence for many years.
Next up, 1947-1950.
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