Charles Emil Sorensen (7 September-1881-11 August, 1968) emigrated from Denmark to the United States with his parents when he was four years old.
Early Career
He first worked as a surveyor's assistant, then apprenticed at the Jewett Stove Factory in Buffalo, New York as a foundry pattern maker. In 1900, the family moved to Detroit, and while working at a foundry in Detroit, Michigan he met Henry Ford. In 1904 he accepted a job as a pattern maker at Ford Motor Company. By 1907 he was head of the pattern department.
Sorensen (with others, notably Clarence Avery and Peter E. Martin) is credited with developing the first automotive assembly line, having formulated the idea of moving a product (for cars, this would be in the form of the chassis) through multiple workstations. His innovations were widely applied to the mass production of complex products average people could afford.
On a Sunday in 1910, in the Piquette Plant, Sorensen and another Ford executive, Charles Lewis, tested his idea. Apparently, by the end of the day he had determined that moving a car in a straight line from one end of the factory to the other, with parts added along the way by specialized workers performing repetitive tasks (with the stockrooms also placed strategically along the line) was the most efficient and therefore cheapest way to build an automobile.
Later Contributions
Sorensen was a major contributor to the launch of the Highland Park plant in 1913, where he became second in command to production chief Peter E. Martin. He then helped with the development of the Fordson tractor, transfer of auto assembly to the Rouge, and modernization of Lincoln when purchased by Ford from Henry M. Leland. Following the move to the Rouge in the late 1920s, he was essentially Ford's head of manufacturing.
During the 1930s Sorensen was also responsible for production techniques allowing the manufacture of a sophisticated and powerful V-8 engine block from a single cast of iron, earning him the nickname "Cast-Iron Charlie".
During the early 1940s Sorensen had responsbility for Ford's defense contracts, notably aircraft engines and production of the B-24 Liberator bomber at Willow Run. Each was made up of 488,193 parts and they were turned out at a still astonishing rate of one per hour. He was knighted by the king of Denmark and made a member of the Order of Dannenbrog for this and similar accomplishments.
During his career he was noted for his brilliance in organization and his hard-driving personality, and also for insensitivity to others and an explosive temper. After Henry Ford II joined company management as a vice-president on December 15, 1943, Sorensen's position was weakened, and he resigned on March 13, 1944. He then accepted a position as president of automaker Willys-Overland and was vice-chairman from 1946-1953.
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