Spicer u-joint advert in Automobile Trade Journal 1916

Spicer Manufacturing Company was an American manufacturer of automotive parts, including the Spicer

joint A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

, invented by Clarence W. Spicer.

History

Starting in April 1904, Spicer's patented joint was initially manufactured through an arrangement with the Potter Printing Press Company in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

. Spicer incorporated the Spicer Universal Joint Manufacturing Company in May 1905, shortening the name to Spicer Manufacturing Company in 1909. In 1910, the company relocated to a site adjacent to the

Lehigh Valley Railroad The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad built in the Northeastern United States to haul anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Pennsylvania. The railroad was authorized on April 21, 1846 for freight and transportation of passengers, goods, ...

and Bound Brook in

South Plainfield, New Jersey South Plainfield is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is located in the heart of the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the bo ...

. Charles A. Dana joined the company in 1914 and renamed it the

Dana Corporation Dana Incorporated is an American supplier of axles, driveshafts, transmissions, and electrodynamic, thermal, sealing, and digital equipment for conventional, hybrid, and electric-powered vehicles. The company's products and services are aimed ...

in 1946. Production of universal joints was moved to a new plant in Toledo, Ohio, between 1926 and 1928. The plant in South Plainfield was sold in 1930 and subsequently occupied by a number of different manufacturers, most recently Cornell Dubilier Electronics, Inc. The plant was documented by the

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

in 2006 prior to its demolition in 2007-08.

References

External links

* {{Dana Corporation Auto parts suppliers of the United States Buildings and structures in Middlesex County, New Jersey Manufacturing companies established in 1905 Historic American Engineering Record in New Jersey Superfund sites in New Jersey 1905 establishments in New Jersey