About Us

A Storied History

Founded by Mr. James “Jimmy” Newberry in 1927 as an equipment company, Newberry soon developed a national reputation as a supplier of oil tanks, thanks to hard work, quality products, reliable delivery times, and intentional innovation.

But something not everyone knows about Newberry Tanks is that Jimmy played a key role in helping two of his welders go on to be musical legends in 1946: legendary blues guitarist Booker (Bukka) White, and his young second cousin…none other than the ‘King of the Blues’ himself, B.B. King.

Bukka worked at Newberry long before he became a celebrity, his skills as welder as deft as his skills on a guitar. After he got out of prison, Bukka needed a job. Expecting a no, he went back to see Jimmy. A revolutionary in how he fosters employees and their families, Jimmy hired Bukka back. Then B.B. showed up. Barely older than a teenager, he’d hitched all the way from Mississippi, in the hope his famous cousin could introduce him to the Memphis music scene. Bukka not only did that, but introduced him to Jimmy so he could support himself. Together, Bukka and B.B. welded by day at Newberry, and set fire to Memphis blues scene at night.

Bukka never forgot the kindness Jimmy Newberry had shown him and his young cousin: he stayed with the company the rest of his career. B.B. left Newberry to become a musical legend.

Jimmy Newberry meanwhile rose to prominence within the petroleum storage industry. In 1951, he became a founding member of the Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI) and nicknamed “The Father of PEI.: Upon his retirement, the company was acquired by Hamilton Tanks of Columbus, Ohio, and continued to grow its reputation for providing quality products and services, working with organizations such as the PEI, the STI (Steel Tank Institute), the SPFA (Steel Plate Fabricators Association), the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association), the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), and Underwriters Laboratories.

But the legend of innovation Jimmy Newberry fostered lives on at the company to this day. In early 2011, Chris Long became the CEO and brought rectangular lube tanks and lube dispensing and oil recycling recovery systems to the company’s catalog of storage tanks & equipment services. He then introduced the concept of “New Thinking,” with the intention to do for customers what Jimmy had done for employees: invest in their well-being and their needs.