The DAVY MCKEE CORP., a multinational engineering corporation with a net worth of $50 million in 1978, began on 1 Nov. 1905, when metallurgical engineer ARTHUR G. MCKEE set up an iron and steel consulting firm in the ROCKEFELLER BLDG. at Superior and W. 6th St. In 1906 he formed a partnership with 2 other engineers; they incorporated in 1915 as Arthur G. McKee & Co. McKee served as president until 1946. The company offered complete engineering and construction services for iron and steel projects. By 1919 it required larger facilities and moved to 2422 Euclid Ave. McKee increased its operations significantly in 1926 when it merged with the Oklahoma-based Widdell Engineering Co., an oil-refinery engineering firm. In 1941 the company relocated to 2300 Chester Ave., where it played an important role in the design and construction of WORLD WAR II defense plants. In the 1950s and 1960s, McKee set up subsidiaries in Canada, Australia, Europe, and South America. But McKee's greatest growth came in the 1970s, when net worth increased from $18 million in 1971 to $50 million in 1978. Arthur G. McKee & Co. merged with the Davy Corp. of London, England, in Nov. 1978 and in June 1979 became the Davy McKee Corp., a subsidiary of the U.S. holding company Davy, Inc. Although Davy McKee employed 1,400 people in the Cleveland area in 1981, the company employed fewer than 400 Greater Clevelanders in Apr. 1983. Davy McKee subsequently relocated its petroleum-processing and chemicals-engineering operations from facilities in Independence to Houston, TX. A subsidiary of Davy U.S. Inc. of Pittsburgh, PA, it no longer maintains a presence in Cleveland.
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