History
Butler ManufacturingTM has been challenging the status quo since 1901.
That approach continues today with a commitment to research and innovations that break the mold for high-quality commercial and industrial metal building systems.
Humble Beginnings
It all started with a stock tank. Emanuel Norquist and Charles Butler met in Clay Center, Kansas, while Emanuel was working to build durable preassembled tanks from copper-bearing galvanized steel that wouldn’t rust or leak. Butler was a natural risk-taker and saw enormous untapped sales potential in this project. This was the start of Butler Manufacturing Company.
The First Butler Building
In 1909, Emanuel needed a garage to protect his Metz automobile. His brother Victor assembled corrugated galvanized-steel culvert sheets bolted to an all-steel framework to create a sturdy, lasting garage. By 1910, the first Butler building was sold to corporate secretary Fred Rufi, which was used in central Kansas City for more than 45 years. When Butler introduced a sturdy two-car version, the market response was immediate: Butler Manufacturing Company was in the building business for good.
The Great Grain Bin Adventure
The popularity of steel bins continued to grow. The U.S. Department of Agriculture sent a call out for bids on 30,666 steel bins—an order 1.5 times more than the number produced by the entire industry in 1938. Butler took on the challenge and, against phenomenal odds, refurbished an abandoned plant in Galesburg, Illinois, supplied it with machinery, staffed it, and mass-produced 14,500 steel bins in 59 days, plus another 6,000 in just 15 days.
Rigid Frame Innovations
Brothers Wilbur Larkin (Butler Farm Equipment Division) and Kenneth Larkin (civil engineer at Burns & McDonnell in Kansas City) worked together to shape an industry with a quality pre-engineered building design that provided more usable interior space, looked better, used less steel, and could be fabricated and erected faster and with fewer people. By 1940, Butler Manufacturing Company had a complete line of rigid frame buildings ready for the market.
Expanding Opportunities
While embracing the technological advances of a newly opened research center and still savoring its 50th-anniversary celebration, Butler began to feel the strains of growth. To maintain a competitive edge, Butler developed a plan to shift leadership into a product-line organization, putting quality management close to a product and its particular customers. Five product divisions were formed. Manufacturing buildings for commercial, industrial, institutional, and rural use continues to be the strength of the company.
Integrating New Markets
The Butler product line evolved into a comprehensive building system, including Butler frames, walls, roofs, fasteners, doors, and windows. An integrated approach to construction enabled Butler development teams to overcome traditional limitations. The expanded size and flexibility of pre-engineered buildings helped bring the Butler way of building to many new markets.
Making Industry History
Butler extends the long-term value of buildings by making them virtually weathertight—an innovation in the industry. Totally waterproof double-lock roof seams with expansion and contraction provision and insulated purlins not only added to the durability of the structure, but also aid in energy conservation. Butler also introduced new building systems that defied traditional ideas about pre-engineering, including Multistory, Long Span, and the distinct look of the Landmark 2000™ structural system. Today’s Butler Manufacturing is all about flexibility and options.
A New Beginning
On April 27, 2004, Butler Manufacturing was acquired by BlueScope Steel Limited of Melbourne, Australia. BlueScope Steel is a flat-steel products company, with a manufacturing and marketing reach that spans Australia, Asia, and North America, focused on developing markets for its downstream coated and painted steel products (such as COLORBOND® and ZINCALUME® steel) and developing complete steel solutions for its customers.
With the acquisition of Butler Manufacturing Company, BlueScope Steel is now the leader in pre-engineered buildings in North America and China and is No. 1 in premium steel building products in China.
Focused On the Future
At Butler Manufacturing, you can trust that we will always challenge the status quo to do and be best. Our team actively seeks out ways to advance and grow alongside the ever-changing steel industry. We are dedicated to innovating and investing in new technologies that streamline the building process and create more effective and efficient solutions for our clients for centuries to come.

Ready to Start Building?
Whether you’re a small business, corporation or a government buyer, Butler is here to help you build.