Finding aid for the Acme-Cleveland Corporation Records

History of Acme-Cleveland Corporation

The Acme-Cleveland Corporation was formed from the merger in 1968 of the Cleveland Twist Drill Company, a manufacturer of high-speed drills and metal cutting tools, and the National Acme Company, a manufacturer of automatic multiple-spindle lathes and screw machines.

Cleveland Twist Drill originated in 1876 when Jacob D. Cox II (a.k.a. J. D. Cox Sr., 1828-1900) invested in a Dunkirk, New York, machine shop owned by C. C. Newton. Newton and Cox moved a few months later to a rented shop on Columbus Street in Cleveland, Ohio's Flats neighborhood where they made machine tools and metal cutting tools. In 1880, Cox bought out Newton and sold a 40% share to his brother-in-law Francis F. Prentiss (1858-1937). The firm of Cox and Prentiss moved to West Street in 1882 and then to its primary location on East 49th Street, Cleveland, Ohio, between St. Clair Avenue and Lakeside Avenue, in 1888. It was renamed Cleveland Twist Drill in 1883 when it discontinued making machine tools, and was incorporated in 1904 when J. D. Cox Sr. retired. By 1896, Cleveland Twist Drill had reached $200,000 in sales, concentrating on twist drills, reamers, and other metal cutting tools, and it began opening sales offices in other cities. Francis F. Prentiss, who had directed sales and marketing for the firm since 1880, succeeded Cox as president in 1904. The company became a leader in the manufacture of superior-grade high-speed twist drills. By 1905 the company was selling internationally, as well as maintaining stockrooms in New York and Chicago through which it conducted a highly competent distribution and sales network.

In addition to serving as president of Cleveland Twist Drill until 1911, Francis F. Prentiss was president of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, and chairman of the Cleveland Industrial Exposition of 1909. He was a noted philanthropist, supporting the arts and social causes. He backed the Visiting Orchestra Series and the Musical Arts Association, and was trustee of the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Western Reserve Historical Society. He was also on the Board of Trustees for Hiram House, and was a co-founder of the Workman's Collateral Loan Company, which was an organization created and run by members of Cleveland business community to support working families by offering low- and no-interest loans to pay for rent, food, clothing during times of distress, or until work could be obtained.

Cleveland Twist Drill flourished under the leadership of Jacob D. Cox, Jr. who became president in 1916. During the 1920s, the company pioneered the development of steels made of molybdenum as a substitute for tungsten supplies which had been cut off during World War I. By 1936, the company was the largest manufacturer of high-speed drills and reamers in the world. Under J. D. Cox, Jr. a pioneering profit-sharing plan was implemented along with numerous other employee benefits. J. D. Cox Jr. also wrote extensively in the area of economics and in particular on the subject of wages. He authored two books, The Economic Basis of Fair Wages (1926), and Material Human Progress (1952), in which he presented his view that productivity rather than wages was the sole determinant in the rise or fall of the standard of living.

The National Acme Company was founded in 1895 in Hartford, Connecticut, as the Acme Screw Machine. This company made the first automatic multiple-spindle screw manufacturing machine to be a commercial success. Called the "Acme", this machine accomplished all its operations in the turn of the longest single cut. In 1901, the company moved to Cleveland and merged with the National Manufacturing Company, a parts manufacturer which was using Acme machines. In 1915, the new firm, National Acme Manufacturing Company, located at 7500 Stanton Avenue, purchased a major competitor, the Windsor Machine Company (Windsor, Vermont), and in 1916 incorporated itself as the National Acme Company. It constructed a new plant at East 131st Street and Coit Road and consolidated its operations into this facility in 1933 and discontinued making or selling screw machine products in favor of the machines themselves.

During World War II, both National Acme and Cleveland Twist Drill supported the war effort, which resulted in increased production and profits following the war. During the 1950s, National Acme acquired Shalco Systems, a producer of foundry shell and core mold machines. Following the merger of National Acme and Cleveland Twist Drill, Acme-Cleveland Corporation focused production in the automotive, capital equipment, and screw machine products industries. In 1972, Acme-Cleveland acquired LaSalle Machine Tool, Inc.

The economic recession of the 1980s forced the corporation to cut costs and its workforce. The LaSalle unit was sold off in 1984. During the period between 1982 and 1992, the company lost $45.5 million. In 1994, Cleveland Twist Drill was sold to Greenfield Industries and its product line absorbed into that company. In 1996, the remainder of Acme-Cleveland was acquired by Danaher Corporation where it now produces communication, motion control, and measurement systems.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Acme-Cleveland Corporation

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Jacob Cox

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Francis F. Prentiss

Scope and Content

The Acme-Cleveland Corporation Records, 1869-1982 and undated, consist of histories, correspondence, writings by company executives, articles of incorporation, annual reports, ledger books, publications, records of acquisitions and subsidiary firms, and newspaper clippings, as well as the records of the Cleveland Twist Drill Company and the National Acme Company which merged to form the Acme-Cleveland Corporation in 1968.

This collection traces the development of a major Cleveland machine tool corporation which had its beginnings in the nineteenth century, as well as developments within the metal cutting tool and machine tool industries in Cleveland and the Northeast during their formative years. By virtue of a complete set of employee newsletters for the Cleveland Twist Drill Company from 1942-1952, the collection contains valuable information on the metal cutting tool and machine tool industries in Cleveland during this very important 10 year period. The collection also illuminates in detail the lives of Jacob D. Cox Sr. and Jacob D. Cox Jr., and in the case of the younger Cox, his political and economic views. J.D. Cox Jr.'s writings contain a strong anti-communist leaning and reflect the fear of Communism prevalent in both the 1920s and the 1950s.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

The researcher should also consult MS 5378 Acme-Cleveland Corporation Records, Series II.

All photographs have been removed to the photographs and prints collection.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, folder ___ ] MS 4507 Acme-Cleveland Corporation Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Acme-Cleveland Corporation, 1985

Processing Information

Processed by Richard Hite and Robert Ray in 1990.

Detailed Description of The Collection