He was considered a driving force behind Ford Motor Company's moving assembly line, and was president and chairman of auto-body supplier Murray Corporation of America.
The elder Ford immediately hired Avery as Charles E. Sorensen's assistant at his Highland Park plant.
[1] Sorenson put Avery through an extensive eight-month training course, where he worked in every phase of production at the plant, learning the system.
[1] The assembly line project was worked on by a number of Ford's top men, including C. Harold Wills, Peter E. Martin, and Charles Ebender in addition to Avery and Sorenson.
Although credit for the moving assembly line can't be pinned to one individual, those who took part acknowledged Avery as the guiding light of the project, and he became Ford's time study expert.
Anticipating a potentially large contract from Ford, then retooling for the Model A, Murray President William R. Wilson recruited Avery as chief engineer.
In addition, Murray built bodies for other manufacturers such as Chrysler, Hupmobile, Reo, Dodge, Peerless, Packard, Hudson, and Essex.
However, Ford, with an eye to keeping one of its major suppliers afloat, helped the company out with larger contracts and allowed Murray to use some Ford-owned dies.
[5] At the beginning of World War II, Murray Corporation of America was well-positioned to fulfill military contracts and Avery steered the company into the production of airplane wings and other components.