Berkley Family History Interview

Interview conducted by Gene T. Chavez, Ed.D., Historian in Residence
Video recorded and edited by Zachary Laman
Recorded at Tension Envelope, Kansas City, Missouri
May 25, 2023

Members of the Berkley family--Bert, Bill, and Dick--discuss the family’s business history as well as their civic engagement in Kansas City. Bert Berkley, grandson of the Company’s founder, became president and CEO of Tension in 1962. Bill Berkley, great-grandson of the founder, became President and CEO in 1988 with Bert continuing as Board Chair. Richard “Dick” Berkley served as the 50th mayor of Kansas City MO from 1979-1991. This candid interview provides insights into the Kansas City family that started a business that has revolutionized the mailing industry. The interview also discusses the many historic and civic endeavors around Kansas City, Missouri the family has been involved with including Dick Berkley’s years as mayor of Kansas City MO.
From the time that William J. Berkowitz and his brother Maurice founded Berkowitz & Company Printers in 1886 the company was a successful provider of business stationery, printing, and advertising novelties. In 1894, the company brought the first envelope-folding machine to Kansas City. By 1896, Berkowitz & Company was concentrating on the production of envelopes so much that by 1901 the company became Berkowitz Envelope Company and got its first patent in 1909. In 1937, Berkowitz Envelope acquired the assets and patents of Tension Envelope, becoming Tension Envelope Corporation in 1944.
By the 1960s, the Berkowitz family change its name to Berkley. Tension continues to be one of the longest operating private, family-owned companies in the country. Beginning in the late 1990s, Tension expanded into the international marketplace with affiliated manufacturing facilities and fully-owned plants in Asia. Tension now operates in China and Taiwan.