Butler America Holdings Inc history

Butler's founders started that subsidiary in the wake of the airplane craze prompted by Lindbergh's famed transatlantic flight in 1927.

The plane, which Butler stored in a Kansas City hangar, continued to perform just as it had when the Butler brothers completed it in 1929.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), realizing the urgency of the situation, announced in July 1939 that it would accept bids on 30,666 steel storage bins.

Butler posted a loss in 1983 of $7.5 million, its first loss in more than 30 years.

In 1986, in an effort to improve the company's performance, Butler's directors placed Robert West at the helm of the organization as chairperson and named Donald Pratt as president.

Operating earnings rose to $33 million in 1994, buoying Butler's stock price.

A subsidiary, Butler (Shanghai) Inc. was established in the People's Republic in 1995.

In November 1996, Butler's shares migrated to the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "BBR." The next month, the company announced the purchase of 90 percent of Beker Kft, a manufacturer of building systems based in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary.

Butler bolstered its Vistawall Architectural Products division in 1997 with the acquisitions of Rebco West Inc., a California manufacturer of entrance doors and storefront windows, and Modu-Line Windows, Inc. of Wisconsin.

Butler announced it was selling off its entire European operation, based in Hungary, in March 2002.