This oral history interview with Robert A. Benz was conducted by Jacob Cohen in Portland, Oregon, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's oral history program. The interview was conducted in two sessions, on February 27 and May 30, 1980. An unidentified woman was also present. On the original cassettes, the recording speed increases throughout the first interview session. In a digitized version of the recording available online in OHS Digital Collections, the audio has been edited to adjust the speed.

In the first interview session, conducted on February 27, 1980, Benz describes how Benz Spring got its name and gives directions to the spring. He speaks about the history of his family’s spring-manufacturing company, the Benz Spring Company. He talks about the uses for the company’s springs, about the manufacturing process, and about the company’s other products and patents. He also talks about a spring he donated to the Oregon Historical Society. He then discusses his family background. He talks about the Benz Spring Company's competition with the Laher Company, which also manufactured springs.

In the second interview session, conducted on May 30, 1980, Benz speaks further about Benz Spring, and continues to discuss the history of the Benz Spring Company. He talks about the company’s products, including logging trailer springs and leaf springs; speaks again about a spring he donated to the Oregon Historical Society; and describes the power sources the company used for its manufacturing processes. He then speaks further about his family background and talks about his service in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. He closes the interview by discussing the growth of the Benz Spring Company.