Monroe

During the first part of the twentieth century R. Frank Monroe founded the Monroe Body Company to supply production automobile bodies to regional automakers.

As early as 1908 the firm was listed in the State of Michigan’s Annual Report of the Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics. Officers included R.F. Monroe, the firm’s president and Alfred Fritzsche, general sales manager of the General Fire Extinguisher Company of Warren, Ohio, vice-president.

Although Monroe is mainly remember for his close association with Billy Durant, Chevrolet and his own Monroe automobile, earlier on he had produced production bodies for the Ford Motor Company as did his Pontiac, Michigan neighbor, O.J. Beaudette Co.

By 1909 business had improved to the point where Monroe was utilizing a number of Pontiac, Michigan manufacturing facilities in addition to a satellite plant in Detroit that produced bodies for the Cadillac automobile Company who at the time were the nation’s 5th largest automaker.

(source: Coachbuilt) ©2004 Mark Theobald - All rights reserved.