The Worthington Corporation was a diversified American manufacturer that had its roots in Worthington and Baker, a steam pump manufacturer founded in 1845. In 1967 it merged with
Studebaker
Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...
and
Wagner Electric
Wagner Electric Corporation was an electric equipment manufacturing firm established in 1891 that became part of Studebaker-Worthington in 1967.
History
Wagner Electric Corporation was founded by Herbert Appleton Wagner and Ferdinand Schwedtma ...
to form
Studebaker-Worthington
Studebaker-Worthington was a diversified American manufacturer created in 1967 through a merger of Studebaker-Packard Corporation, Wagner Electric and Worthington Corporation. The company was in turn acquired by McGraw-Edison in 1979.
Origins
Fou ...
. This company was in turn acquired by
McGraw-Edison
McGraw-Edison was an American manufacturer of electrical equipment. It was created in 1957 through a merger of McGraw Electric and Thomas A. Edison, Inc., and was in turn acquired by Cooper Industries in 1985. Today, the McGraw-Edison brand is us ...
in 1979.
Worthington Pump Works (1845–1899)
Worthington and Baker, manufacturers of hydraulic machinery such as steam pumps and meters, was founded by
Henry R Worthington and William H. Baker.
Worthington was the inventor of the direct acting steam pump.
The first foundry was near the
Brooklyn Navy Yard
The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a semicircular bend ...
. In 1854 the partners moved to Van Brunt Street in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.
The partnership was dissolved around 1860 when Baker died.
A new partnership called Henry R. Worthington, or Worthington Hydraulic Pump Works, was formed in 1862.
The
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
used Worthington pumps to pump: boiler feed water,
bilge
The bilge of a ship or boat is the part of the hull that would rest on the ground if the vessel were unsupported by water. The "turn of the bilge" is the transition from the bottom of a hull to the sides of a hull.
Internally, the bilges (us ...
water, fire fighting, and general services (https://www.asme.org/about-asme/engineering-history/landmarks/262-worthington-steam-pumps-uss-monitor) aboard various ships during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
(1861–1865), including the
USS ''Monitor''.
After Henry Worthington died in 1880 he was succeeded by his son
Charles Campbell Worthington
Charles Campbell Worthington, or C.C. Worthington, (January 1854 – October 1944) was an American industrialist whose efforts were in part responsible for the foundation of the Professional Golfers Association. He invented the first commercially ...
(1854–1944).
While head of the company, Worthington contributed many useful improvements to pumps, compressors, and other machines. The company moved from Brooklyn to
Harrison, New Jersey
Harrison is a town in the western part of Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, New Jersey, and is located from New York City.
As of the 202 ...
in 1904.
In 1885 the Worthington Pumping Engine Company, representatives of Worthington pumps of the US, obtained an order from the British Army to deliver ten high-pressure pumps to deliver water needed by the
British Expeditionary army coming to the aid of
General Gordon in
Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
, Sudan.
The British pump suppliers could not deliver the pumps fast enough. The British company
James Simpson & Co. learned of the Worthington company because of this order, and on 13 December 1885 signed an agreement with the Worthington Pumping Engine Company under which they gained exclusive manufacturing rights for Worthington pumps in Britain.
The British company's pumps were sold in the English and Colonial markets.
International Steam Pump Company (1899–1916)
Benjamin Guggenheim
Benjamin Guggenheim (October 26, 1865 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman. He died aboard when the ship sank in the North Atlantic Ocean. His body was never recovered.
Early life
Guggenheim was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, t ...
was a member of a family that had made a fortune in the smelting business in the United States, largely through his efforts, and that controlled the American Smelting and Refining Company.
Guggenheim founded the International Steam Pump Company (ISPC).
The ISPC was organized by the
Seward legal firm in 1899.
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Gol ...
were the bankers.
The ISPC merged Blake and Knowles Steam Pump Works, Ltd. (BKSPW), Worthington Pump Works and other companies that together made up a large part of total American capacity for making steam pumps.
The company's products were diverse, including the elevators for the
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Locally nicknamed "'' ...
.
Worthington Pump Works was the largest of the merged firms.
Charles Campbell Worthington was president of the company until he retired in 1900.
Guggenheim became president of the ISPC.
The ISPC soon ran into financial difficulties, and Guggenheim invested increasing amounts of capital to keep it afloat.
BKSPW had been registered in England in 1890 with a capital of £300,000 to purchase in full the George F. Blake Manufacturing Company and the Knowles Steam Pump Works, with three plants in the United States.
In its 1901 Annual Report the ISPC reported holding £200,000 of ordinary shares in BKSPW. The George F. Blake Manufacturing Company, an ISPC subsidiary, had liabilities that included $1 million of mortgage bonds and $500,000 of preferred stock of BKSPW. The ISPC 1904 Annual Report noted that BKSPW had been dissolved in 1903, replaced by a company with the same name based in New Jersey.
An October 1908 description of the Blake-Knowles Steam Pump Works in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
, part of the International Steam Pump Company, said it was the second largest of its kind in the United States, employing more than 1,700 men.
![International Steam Pump Company 1909 bond](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/International_Steam_Pump_Company_1909_bond.jpg)
In 1903 Guggenheim founded a factory in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
to manufacture mining machinery. In 1906 it was merged into the ISPC.
By 1909 the ISPC as a whole was employing 10,000 men.
In May 1910 Benjamin Guggenheim reported strong results with net earnings of about $2 million and profits of about $700,000. The company had purchased the JeanesvilIe Iron Works Company and had obtained a controlling interest in the Denver Rock Drill and Machinery Company, adding at least 30% to capacity.
The Holly Manufacturing Company (1859–1912) was acquired in 1912.
Guggenheim was a passenger on and died on 15 April 1912 when the ship sank.
The International Steam Pump Company went into receivership in 1914. A plan of reorganization was issued on 5 August 1915 and under this plan the firm was reorganized in 1916 as the Worthington Pump & Machinery Corporation.
Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation (1916–1952)
The Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation had subsidiaries in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
,
Holyoke, Massachusetts
Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfield ...
,
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
and
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England.
In 1917 the independent but associated British Worthington Pump Co. changed its name to Worthington Simpson. The Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation purchased a stake in Worthington-Simpson in 1933.
Worthington Corporation (1952–1967)
In 1952 the company became the Worthington Corporation. As of 1956 the Worthington Corporation had laboratories in Harrison, Holyoke, and Buffalo. The labs employed five chemists, forty engineers, four mathematicians, four metallurgists, two physicists and thirty five others.
They conducted research into hydrodynamics, thermodynamics, mechanics and materials.
In 1964 Worthington purchased the
American Locomotive Company
The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...
(Alco).
Merger with Studebaker (1967)
In 1967 a merger with
Studebaker
Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...
was arranged by the entrepreneur
Derald Ruttenberg
Derald H. Ruttenberg (17 February 1916 – 19 September 2004) was a lawyer who became a deal maker, organizing large industrial mergers. He arranged the merger of Studebaker and Worthington Corporation, and for some time ran the combined Stud ...
.
[Worthington to merge '']Railway Age
''Railway Age'' is an American trade magazine for the rail transport industry. It was founded in 1856 in Chicago (the United States' major railroad hub) and is published monthly by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation.
History
The magazine's ...
'' July 31, 1967 page 64 He took the risk of buying Studebaker despite the liabilities that came with it, including dealer warranties and union agreements. He saw that Onan generators and STP engine additives were healthy businesses. The large tax loss was also valuable. Worthington was expected to continue to earn steady profits, but could use the tax loss to avoid paying taxes. The stockholders of Studebaker and Worthington approved the merger despite rumors that the Federal Trade Commission considered the merger would be "substantially anti-competitive".
Studebaker was acquired by Wagner Electric, which in turn was merged with Worthington Corporation to create Studebaker-Worthington.
The merger was completed in November 1967, creating a company with $550 million of assets. The former chairman of Worthington,
Frank J. Nunlist, was appointed president and chief executive officer.
Randolph Guthrie of Studebaker was chairman of the new company.
McGraw-Edison purchased Studebaker-Worthington in 1978. McGraw-Edison was in turn acquired by
Cooper Industries
Cooper Industries was an American worldwide electrical products manufacturer headquartered in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1833, the company had seven operating divisions including Bussmann electrical and electronic fuses; Crouse-Hinds and CEAG ex ...
in 1985.
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
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External links
Worthington Compressor Services OEM, services and parts company, legacy spin-off established in 2012
{{Authority control
Companies based in Holyoke, Massachusetts
1845 establishments in New York (state)
1967 disestablishments in New York (state)
American companies disestablished in 1967
American companies established in 1845
Defunct manufacturing companies based in New York City