Our Journey
& Values
Our Journey
From the Beginning
We Did Things Differently
Since day one, our goal has remained the same: build a firm that is unmatched in its commitment to serving the distinct needs of our clients. With deep understanding of the manufacturing environment, we intentionally built a business model, culture, and approach that centers on the dynamic challenges our clients face and how we can be a catalyst to their success.
Over our more than thirty-five year history of organic growth, we evolved from a fledgling firm with expertise in manufacturing and technology to a national firm of more than 1,600 professionals serving clients across four markets from 45 offices. Every advancement in our capabilities, approach, and the ways we cultivate leaders was inspired by a real client need paired with our willingness to do things differently in pursuit our clients’ goals.
Our Core Values
We operate as One Firm united by unwavering values and a culture that cultivates leadership as the catalyst for the future.
Build Trust & Deep Partnership
We are leaders who prioritize relationships, empathy, and mutual respect
Demonstrate Unconditional Care
We measure success by the way we touch the lives of people
Cultivate & Celebrate Leaders
Creating a future with more leaders is our promise to our clients and each other
Strive to Exceed Expectations
We are owners who think long-term and perform with excellence
Challenge the Future, Together
Pushing beyond the boundaries of today through collaboration is how we unlock what’s possible
A Legacy in
Manufacturing & Technology
Our heritage powers our future and our commitment to cultivating leaders is how we contribute to Building a Better World through Business.
Born from Manufacturing & Technology
In 1885, Thomas J. Barry became an owner of a small millwright in Saint Louis, Missouri. In 1894, Alfred Wehmiller, Barry’s brother-in-law, joined the growing machine shop business. Together, they founded The Barry-Wehmiller Machinery Company in 1897, driving the dairy and brewing industries forward through innovation and establishing our 135+ year history as a leader in manufacturing.
Innovation That Changed Manufacturing
William A. Chapman joined Barry-Wehmiller in 1953 and in 1957 became President. By 1960, Barry-Wehmiller held 34 US patents and 84 patents globally. Building on its legacy of leadership and innovation, Barry-Wehmiller introduced The Palleter, bringing complete automation to bottling plants for the first time and changing the future of manufacturing. In 1975, Bob Chapman became chairman and CEO after his father’s sudden death from a heart attack.
Building Trust Through a Different Approach
In 1986, BW Design Group was founded by Bob Chapman as an independent engineering consulting firm. From day one, the firm was built to operate differently from other consulting firms, centered around serving the distinct challenges Barry-Wehmiller saw firsthand across its clients in manufacturing and technology. Building deep trust in the beverage market, BW Design Group expanded into food, consumer packaged goods, and life sciences.
Celebrating Leaders: Building a Better World
Recognizing culture as foundational to its success and client relationships, BW Design Group articulated its values, behaviors, and commitments to each other through “The Rules of the Culture.” Over the next decade, Bob Chapman and BW Group would solidify the principles of fostering a people-centric culture and would go on to become a global beacon of how leadership can Build a Better World.
Leading the Future of Manufacturing & Technology
By 2016, BW Design Group had grown to over 1,100 people and 35 offices. Now a fully integrated firm partnering with clients across the food & beverage, life sciences, industrial, and advanced technology industries, BW Design Group leverages its distinct business model, culture, and deep domain expertise to launch Strategy to Commercialization™ as a platform to partner with clients to build the future of manufacturing and technology.
The Barry-Wehmiller Family
Barry-Wehmiller is a global leader in manufacturing, technology, and consulting services. Operating across five distinct platforms and serving clients across the food & beverage, healthcare & life sciences, consumer packaged goods, and advanced technology markets, we are an organization of 12,000 people united by our belief in the power of leadership to Build a Better World through Business.
