GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A hundred years of history sits on the walls, and in books, of the Spruit Brothers Inc.'s office building GR's West Side.
March marks the century milestone for the business that specializes in making bricks, owned and operated by Ted and Fred Spruit.
A business built on a solid foundation, the company is now on its third generation of owners.
The machinery that's tucked into the back corner of the shop that makes the whole operation work by pressing down on the unformed bricks is almost as old as the business itself.
"1950, 1940s. Somewhere in there. Since World War Two," said Ted.
The brick press is one of the few manual machines left in the country that's still operational. It's what gives the bricks their shape one of the final stops before getting shipped off to customers.
A lot of that final product has shaped the way that Grand Rapids looks now.
"There's been hundreds of jobs," said Ted.
One of them, the Grand Rapids Public Museum, has been touched by Spruit Brothers History.
"My brother he sold all the bricks for a museum downtown," said Ted.
While they are celebrating a huge accomplishment, it hasn't come without its hard times.
"The two recessions we've been through were tough," said Ted. "The 80's, and then 2008. We survived though."
And what's the secret for a successful business?
"It's all about family, I'd say, you know, over the years," said Ted. "I still feel them around me. You know, my dad. It's it's a good feeling. You know, to say that because it's really cool. It keeps me going."
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