Ben-Hur Mfg. Company During World War Two
Milwaukee, WI
1911-1941  Lavine Gear Company
1941-1961 Ben-Hur Mfg. Company

This page added 1-21-2025.

The company called the Ben-Hur Mfg. Company during World War Two had two company names over its lifetime and three diverse product lines.  The company was formed in 1911 and originally manufactured automotive steering gears. 

This 1920 Lavine Gear Company advertisement shows its first product line and its address of 60-80 Keefe Avenue in Milwaukee.  This was the first of two factories which housed the operation in during its lifetime.  Both were on Keefe Avenue.  The 60-80 Keefe Avenue address is now a residential neighborhood.  Its second and final location was 634 East Keefe Avenue.

The second product was 63,335 3/4-ton and 1-ton trailers that the company built for the U.S. Army during World War Two.  Trailers built in 1940 were built under the Lavine Gear Company name.  In 1941 the company changed its name to the Ben-Hur Mfg. Company and trailers built in 1941 through 1945 were built under that name. 

The third product line was freezers.  This was its product until the company ceased operations in July 1961.  The company was not able to compete with the larger appliance manufacturers and the board of directors decided to liquidate the company's assets.  250 persons lost their jobs in the closure. 

The Ben-Hur Mfg. Company won the Army-Navy "E" award four times during World War Two

Ben-Hur Mfg. Company's World War Two Products:  Table 1 shows the company had $22,473,000 in major contracts during World War Two.  With exception of one contract worth $258,000 for camouflage kits, the balance of the total was for trailers and trailer parts.  Table 2 shows that the company produced 63,335 trailers.  These were produced under both the Lavine Gear and Ben-Hur Mfg. company names. 

Note that the company was issued more registration numbers than it used.  It only manufactured 49,956 1-ton, 2-wheel trailers.

This information sheet was part of the display of the Ben-Hur Mfg. Company-built trailer shown below.  This gives an excellent background on the trailer.  

This Ben-Hur-built trailer was on display at the 2024 MVPA national convention in Oshkosh, WI. 

Not all of the data plate remains on this trailer, but enough of it remains to indicate this trailer was built by Ben-Hur Mfg. Company.  The data plate indicates that this is serial number 7741 built in April 1941.  Author's photo.

Author's photo.

This Ben-Hur-built 1-ton, 2-wheel trailer is part of the collection of vehicles at the Indiana Military Museum in Vincennes, IN.  Author's photo.

The data plate indicates that this is serial number 212316 and delivered in 1942.  Author's photo.

Author's photo.

Author's photo.

Author's photo.

Author's photo.

This Ben-Hur-built 1-ton, 2-wheel trailer was on display at the 2019 MVPA national convention at York, PA.  Author's photo.

The data plate indicates that this is serial number 16375, delivered on 8-24-1943.  Author's photo.

Author's photo.

Author's photo.

This particular trailer was adapted to carry an O'Keefe & Merritt PE-95-K generator.  Author's photo.

Author's photo.

The Ben-Hur Mfg. Company Factory:

This Google Maps satellite image shows that the plant was located on the north side of East Keefe Avenue. 

This Google Earth image shows the plant looking north. 

This Google Earth image shows the plant looking northeast.

This Google Earth image shows the plant looking southeast. The curved design of the building indicates that at one time a railroad spur ran into the plant. 

This Google Maps street view shows the trees and grass in front of what used to be the main entrance for the Ben-Hur Mfg. Company.