Norton enterprises ny

In a depression hit the United States economy, and several of Norton's potters started experimenting with grinding wheels as a way to generate income. Norton had seen a silicate grinding wheel produced by a company in Detroit, and the story goes that he bet his crew a bucket of beer that they could not duplicate it.

In a Swedish immigrant potter named Swen Pulson mixed emery with slip clay and fired three wheels at about degrees in the Norton kiln, one of which vitrified successfully. The clay melted and the emery bonded or fused with it. Frank Norton was unenthusiastic about the grinding wheels, mainly because he did not want to take a chance on an unproven product with an unknown market.

Nevertheless, he patented Pulson's process in and started production in The wheels took a back seat to pottery and often were only fired when there were no pottery orders. Frustrated, Pulson left the company. Norton hired another Swede, John Jeppson, to take his place. Jeppson soon became the acknowledged master at setting kilns and firing emery wheels. As business expanded, Norton hired Walter L.

Messer to sell and promote the emery wheels throughout the country. He set up a distribution system that offered huge discounts and extremely easy to the point of laxness credit schemes, reasoning that because these wheels were consumed in use, easy terms would attract a loyal clientele. By , largely as a result of Messer's efforts, the company was able to expand and hire more workers.

By Norton's wheel business far surpassed pottery sales, and the company probably produced 10 percent of the entire industry output. Frank Norton never involved himself in the affairs of the outsiders he had hired to make emery wheels, and the success of the new enterprise caused friction.

In consideration of several factors, including ill health and debt, Norton was more than happy to sell. In order to raise the money and capitalize the new company, the three brought in four new partners--Milton P. Higgins, George I. Alden, Fred H. Daniels, and Horace Young. The business style of the four owner-operators of the new firm--Jeppson, Allen, Higgins, and Alden--is described by Cheape as follows: "Like New England merchants in the seventeenth century, they believed that business required careful attention, enterprise with close scrutiny and risk avoidance, and growth by reinvestment while maintaining a strong cash reserve.

In the partners built a new factory on the outskirts of Worcester, where land was relatively cheap, yet accessible to two rail lines. To hold down costs, they recruited students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute to do the surveying, and in the partners forewent the yearly dividend. These parsimonious measures enabled the partners to virtually self-capitalize the project.

Another indication of the partners' general mindset is apparent upon examination of the lack of compensation the partners bestowed upon themselves in these early days.

President Higgins and treasurer Alden were not paid a salary until , when it was clear the company would succeed. The new kilns at the factory were highly efficient for the time and enabled the company to standardize production.

Heat could be controlled to a great extent, allowing the production of wheels with a variety of "grain, grit, and grade" characteristics for different jobs. Marketing was at least as important as production. The company introduced a numbered grading system and distributed catalogues and pamphlets to customers, explaining in detail the characteristics and uses of each wheel.

The permutations of 26 grades, ten faces, 15 thicknesses, 23 diameters, and 21 grits was staggering. By the early s, Norton stocked the largest grinding wheel inventory in the world. In addition, Norton consultants spent whatever time necessary on site to advise on special orders and handle customer questions. Not only did Norton's sales expand in the United States, where it opened distributorships in Chicago and New York , but also in Europe.

Sales in Europe are credited with saving the company during the depression of By Norton was the undisputed industry leader. The company was profitable each year including and paid "conservative" dividends each year with the exception of , the result of the move. What was not paid out in dividends went into reinvestment and cash reserves.

These cash reserves allowed the company to self-finance construction of an office building in the s and an abrasives plant in However, the firm's conservatism also had a downside. It sometimes passed up innovation. For example, in Edward Acheson sent an electric current through a mixture of clay and powdered coke. The resultant crystals, which he dubbed carborundum, scratched glass, and, according to Acheson, diamonds.

This new technology opened the way for artificial abrasives: the components of grinding wheels could now be controlled in ways that naturally occurring compounds could not. Norton turned down Acheson's request for financing.

Acheson then turned to banker Andrew Mellen for help in forming the Carborundum Company, and by the early s, Acheson's company was Norton's major competitor, with a big head start. It was not until the early s that Norton entered into the realm of artificial abrasives. In the company did, however, enter into a partnership with Charles H. The machine tool business was quite a departure for Norton and was undertaken gingerly. The clay melted and the emery bonded or fused with it.

Frank Norton was unenthusiastic about the grinding wheels, mainly because he did not want to take a chance on an unproven product with an unknown market.

Nevertheless, he patented Pulson's process in and started production in The wheels took a back seat to pottery and often were only fired when there were no pottery orders. Frustrated, Pulson left the company. Norton hired another Swede, John Jeppson, to take his place. Jeppson soon became the acknowledged master at setting kilns and firing emery wheels. As business expanded, Norton hired Walter L.

Messer to sell and promote the emery wheels throughout the country. He set up a distribution system that offered huge discounts and extremely easy to the point of laxness credit schemes, reasoning that because these wheels were consumed in use, easy terms would attract a loyal clientele. By , largely as a result of Messer's efforts, the company was able to expand and hire more workers. By Norton's wheel business far surpassed pottery sales, and the company probably produced 10 percent of the entire industry output.

Frank Norton never involved himself in the affairs of the outsiders he had hired to make emery wheels, and the success of the new enterprise caused friction. In consideration of several factors, including ill health and debt, Norton was more than happy to sell. In order to raise the money and capitalize the new company, the three brought in four new partners--Milton P. Higgins, George I. Alden, Fred H.

Daniels, and Horace Young. The business style of the four owner-operators of the new firm--Jeppson, Allen, Higgins, and Alden--is described by Cheape as follows: "Like New England merchants in the seventeenth century, they believed that business required careful attention, enterprise with close scrutiny and risk avoidance, and growth by reinvestment while maintaining a strong cash reserve. In the partners built a new factory on the outskirts of Worcester, where land was relatively cheap, yet accessible to two rail lines.

To hold down costs, they recruited students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute to do the surveying, and in the partners forewent the yearly dividend. These parsimonious measures enabled the partners to virtually self-capitalize the project. Another indication of the partners' general mindset is apparent upon examination of the lack of compensation the partners bestowed upon themselves in these early days.

President Higgins and treasurer Alden were not paid a salary until , when it was clear the company would succeed. The new kilns at the factory were highly efficient for the time and enabled the company to standardize production. Heat could be controlled to a great extent, allowing the production of wheels with a variety of "grain, grit, and grade" characteristics for different jobs.

Marketing was at least as important as production. The company introduced a numbered grading system and distributed catalogues and pamphlets to customers, explaining in detail the characteristics and uses of each wheel. The permutations of 26 grades, ten faces, 15 thicknesses, 23 diameters, and 21 grits was staggering.

By the early s, Norton stocked the largest grinding wheel inventory in the world. In addition, Norton consultants spent whatever time necessary on site to advise on special orders and handle customer questions.

Not only did Norton's sales expand in the United States, where it opened distributorships in Chicago and New York , but also in Europe. Sales in Europe are credited with saving the company during the depression of By Norton was the undisputed industry leader.

The company was profitable each year including and paid "conservative" dividends each year with the exception of , the result of the move. What was not paid out in dividends went into reinvestment and cash reserves. These cash reserves allowed the company to self-finance construction of an office building in the s and an abrasives plant in However, the firm's conservatism also had a downside.

It sometimes passed up innovation. For example, in Edward Acheson sent an electric current through a mixture of clay and powdered coke. The resultant crystals, which he dubbed carborundum, scratched glass, and, according to Acheson, diamonds. This new technology opened the way for artificial abrasives: the components of grinding wheels could now be controlled in ways that naturally occurring compounds could not.

Norton turned down Acheson's request for financing. Acheson then turned to banker Andrew Mellen for help in forming the Carborundum Company, and by the early s, Acheson's company was Norton's major competitor, with a big head start. It was not until the early s that Norton entered into the realm of artificial abrasives.

In the company did, however, enter into a partnership with Charles H. The machine tool business was quite a departure for Norton and was undertaken gingerly. Charles Norton was a machinist who came to the company with an idea for building stationary grinding machines that could replace expensive workmen. What they got in was a versatile production grinder capable of high volume.

Moreover, the grinder was able to work with pieces up to pounds and had the ability to grind to the unheard of tolerance of. Price shown is for first year. Plus applicable sales tax. See subscription details below.

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