The HistoryMakers

Entrepreneur and businessman John W. Barfield was born Johnny Williams Barfield on February 8, 1927 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Lena James and Edgar Barfield, both of whom worked as field hands. His father also worked in the coal mines and moved North to Pennsylvania in search of work. In 1932, when Barfield's father had earned enough money to send for his family, they joined him in Washington, Pennsylvania. While living in Washington, Barfield began his first job, selling dry soap on commission for a white shop owner.

In 1942, when Barfield was fifteen, his family moved again to Michigan, where his father began working in a bomber plant in Willow Run. In 1945, Barfield dropped out of Ypsilanti Public High School and enlisted in the United States Army, serving two years in France and Germany. Upon his return to the United States, Barfield began working as a custodian for the University of Michigan, and, in 1949, he married Betty Jane Barfield. With his wife, Barfield cleaned newly constructed houses for additional income.

In 1955, Barfield quit his job with the University of Michigan, as his job cleaning after hours had become more lucrative. He began his first company, a contract cleaning group called the Barfield Cleaning Company of Ypsilanti, Michigan, which employed 200 people. Barfield would clean businesses at night and wear a suit and tie during the day, promoting his business. That same year, Barfield also wrote the Barfield Method of Building Maintenance, which would set a standard for the commercial building maintenance industry.

In 1969, Barfield Cleaning Company was acquired by the International Telephone and Telegraph Company in one of the highest multiples ever paid for a commercial cleaning company. Barfield and his wife continued working for the company for three additional years. Then, in 1974, Barfield reentered the maintenance business when he incorporated the Barfield Building Management Company and began promoting his business to different building managers. That same year, when General Motors Corporation was unable to find minority and female suppliers, Barfield incorporated John Barfield and Associates, an organization that provided staffing services to General Motors, broadening its reach to include such companies as the Ford Motor Company, DaimlerChrysler and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

In 1978, General Motors asked him if he would be willing to manufacture transmission pins for them, and soon thereafter, Barfield founded the Barfield Manufacturing Company. In 1981, Barfield turned John Barfield and Associates, now called the Bartech Corporation, over to his son, Jon. Four years later, Bartech would be named "Company of the Year" by Black Enterprise Magazine. In 1986, the Barfield Building and Maintenance Company was acquired by Unified Building Maintenance Services, Inc. In 1991, Barfield Manufacturing would be purchased by Mascotech Industries, an automotive supplier. The following year, Barfield began his Share Products initiative, in order to bring attention to the issue of homelessness in the United States, and, in 1996, Barfield received The George Romney Award recognizing lifelong achievement in volunteerism.

Barfield and his wife have six children and reside in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Barfield was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on June 28, 2007.