Dr. Clyde Orr grew up on a farm, an only child who had to craft ways to occupy himself when not knee-deep in chores.
He'd take things apart, put them back, sometimes make them better. As an adult, the Tennessee native sought to invent something that had purpose. With the help of Warren P. Hendrix, a Georgia Tech researcher, he did.
They invented a better way to measure the total area of all the tiny surfaces on things like particles of flour and beads of plastic. Their device used a metal case and gauges instead of a blown-glass container and mercury-filled tubes.
In 1962, he and the late Hendrix started Micromeritics Instrument Corp. in a garage then moved to a facility in Norcross, near Jimmy Carter Boulevard. They are credited with starting Gwinnett County's high-tech industry boom.
"Dr. Orr was a pioneer in creating methods to characterize particles," said Paul Webb, the firm's marketing director who co-wrote a book with the scientist called "Analytical Methods in Fine Particle Technology."
"If it weren't for the type of work he was involved in, we wouldn't have the quality of products we have now," he said. "Some wouldn't exist at all."
On Wednesday, Dr. Clyde Orr Jr. of Dunwoody died from complications of blood clots at St. Joseph's Hospital. He was 88. The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Dunwoody United Methodist Church. H.M. Patterson & Son, Arlington Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.
In the early 1960s, Dr. Orr and Mr. Hendrix were doing contract research for various organizations when they invented their instrument. Before then, the devices had been made out of glass and broke easily, Dr. Orr said in a 1987 article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"After many trials and tribulations we succeeded," he said at the time. "One day a salesman was in and saw our metal instrument and said, ‘I believe I could sell those.' "
Georgia Tech wasn't interested in building the device. The inventors couldn't find anybody to invest. No worries. Manufacturing started in Hendrix's basement, then moved to his garage and finally the Norcross plant. At the time, the county had no other high-tech outfit.
Today, Micromeritics sits off Beaver Ruin Road, a local employer of about 200. The privately-held company's annual sales top $50 million. Offices are in Germany, France, Italy, Japan, China and the UK. Overseas distributors sell scientific instruments and lab equipment.
Dr. Orr's daughter, Jeanne Thomas serves as executive vice president. A grandson, Danny Strickland, is a project engineer; and a son-in-law, Bob Strickland is an IT contract manager.
All of this thanks to an inquisitive, yet humble, man who asked that his family keep mum when he was accepted into the Georgia Tech Alumni Hall of Fame. He also still worked daily as company board chairman.
"It was a remarkable combination of two men," said a son, Donald Orr of Atlanta. "Neither would have done it without the other, but together they did."
Other survivors include another son, Douglas Orr of Dallas, Texas; another daughter, Lynne Strickland of Woodstock; and four grandchildren.
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