"Berlin Machine Works" was the new name of the former J. L. Perry & Co. after Mr. Perry sold out in 1883. In 1884 the company was bought by Porter B. Yates. He quickly expanded the company, which according to Dana Batory was "the only company in the United States that specialized in building sanders." The company incorporated in 1887, and in 1888 it moved to Beloit. In 1908 they opened a large factory in Hamilton, ON, which had plentiful and inexpensive hydroelectric power and provided access to the protected Canadian market.
During WWI, in 1916, the company changed its name to P. B. Yates Machine Co. to avoid the Germanic connotation of the old name; See the entry under that name for the subsequent history.
Harry B. Ross, a machine designer for Berlin Machine Works, invented the idea of honing knives in place, which allowed all the knives to cut equally. Ross left the company and formed Stetson-Ross Machine Co. in 1907.
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