industrialist, pioneer aluminum manufacturer, b. Witten-an-der-Ruhr, Germany. He earned his master's papers in metal at the Krupp Works, Essen, Germany. He migrated to the U.S. and to Milwaukee in 1888, where he was employed by the E. P. Allis Co. He was later employed by the Berlin Machine Works in Beloit, and the Richards Iron Works in Manitowoc. In 1896 he founded the Two Rivers Iron Works, a firm producing iron, brass, bronze, and aluminum castings. In 1900 he organized an all-aluminum foundry at Manitowoc and set about developing usable alloys and creating a market for the new metal. The firm was incorporated in 1906 as the Aluminum Foundry Co. and grew rapidly with the increasing use of aluminum in the new automobile industry. In 1910 the firm was sold to the Aluminum Co. of America, but Werra continued as manager until 1913 when he moved to Waukesha and founded the Werra Aluminum Foundry Co., a firm producing aluminum alloy castings for the automobile industry. He continued his connection with this enterprise until it was sold to the General Malleable Corporation in 1937. Waukesha Freeman, May 15, 1934; L. Falge, ed., Hist. of Manitowoc Co. (2 vols., Chicago, 1912).

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Conrad Werra Records for details.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]