TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview of the Collection

History

Scope and Content

Arrangement

Restrictions

Index Terms

Related Material

Administrative Information

Detailed Description

Series I: Administrative Files, undated, 1942-1989

Series II: Subsidiaries, Affiliates and Acquisitions, undated, 1883-1989

Series III: Shareholders Files, undated, 1908-1987

Emhart Corporation Records

History

Emhart Corporation was a multinational company located in Farmington, Connecticut. Prior to its 1989 merger with Black & Decker, Emhart operated in over one hundred countries with a worldwide work force of 30,000 employees. Emhart's products included machines for the manufacture of glass bottles and shoes; filling, sealing and packaging machinery; security systems; electronics; chemical products; metal fasteners; rubber processing equipment; and consumer and do-it-yourself products. Brand name products included True Temper® hardware and sporting goods, and Price Pfister® plumbing fixtures.

Emhart's domestic roots went back to the American Hardware Company, founded in New Britain, Connecticut, in 1902. Ten years later, the company merged with the Hartford-Empire Company, a glass factory, and the name Emhart Manufacturing Company came into being. Over the next several decades, a series of mergers followed, both domestic and foreign, until Emhart Manufacturing emerged as the world's leading glass-machinery maker. In 1976, the company merged with the United Shoe Machinery Company, founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1899. United Shoe had followed a similar path of growth and acquisition both at home and abroad, and the merger of these two giants produced the modern-day Emhart Corporation.

In 1989, in order to resist a $2.4 billion takeover attempt by a New York investment group (which included oil heir, Gordon P. Getty), Emhart merged with Black & Decker Corporation. The merged company operates from Black & Decker's headquarters in Towson, Maryland. The company headquarters in Farmington, Connecticut, were closed in June 1989.

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Scope and Content

The collection contains corporate and subsidiary administrative materials from 1883-1989 [1951-1989]. Included are correspondence, memoranda, reports, stock agreements, price books, product manuals, product specifications, news briefs and releases, newspaper clippings, and videotapes. Organizations mentioned in the collection include: divisions of Emhart, Airway Products, Akticbolaget Sundvalls Verlestader, American Hardware Corporation, Arcotronics, Barber-Colman Akticbolag, Bob Goshe Company, Bostik, Broad View Chemical, B.U. Supplies and Machinery Company, Ltd., Casady Engineering Associates, Connecticut Kellering, Inc., Consumers Cordage Company, Inc., Corbin Cabinet Lock Company, Corbin Clamp, Corbin Motor Vehicle Corporation, P & F Corbin, Corbin Screw Corporation, Cordo-Hyde Company, Inc., Crown-Metro, David Bridge and Company, Ltd., Dynapert, Dynapert-H & C Corporation, Emhart Canada Ltd., Emhart Scandia AB, Empire Machine Company, Finch Paint and Chemical Company, Garden America, Green Sales, Inc., H & O Strong and Sons, Ltd., HTC Corporation, Hartford-Empire Company, Hartford-Fairmont Company, Hartlung Fasteners, Henry and Wright, C. V. Hill and Company, C. V. Hill of Canada, Hill Corporation, Hill Refrigerators of Canace, Hoague-Sprague, Household Aids, Inc., Icon, Industrial Instruments, Inpak, Inter-Coastal Shoe Machinery, International Hardware of Canada, Irish Shoe Supplies, Ltd., Kwikset, LaClade-Christy, Lombard Industries, Maquinas Imical, Moira Investments Ltd., Monitor Industries, Mullen Brothers, National Shoe Foundation for Disabled Feet, Inc., undated Industries, Inc., Never-Seez Compound Corporation, Nippon Pop Rivets, O. A. Miller (Ireland) Ltd, O.A. Miller Lasting Company, Ltd., USM Orthopedic Research Lab, Parker Kalon, PCI Group, Inc.Pearson & Bennion Ltd., Pickering Gov. Company, Plastic Machinery Company, Inc., Plax Corporation, Plymouth Cordage Industries, Inc., Powers Manufacturing, Inc., Price Pfister, P. R. Mallory and Company, Redington, Inc., Royton Realty, Russel and Erwin Manufacturing Company, Safe Hardware, Samco-Strong, Ltd., Savage Arms Corporation, Schaffer Magnetics, Shoe Farm, Inc., Sistemas de Fajacion Tucker, Skyworker, Spiras Systems, Standard Knapp, Standard Tool Company, Technical Devices Company, Texon, Inc., Thomas Haley and Company, Ltd., Transamerican Shoe Machinery, True Temper, Truelove and McClean, Tucker Products, Inc., Turner Machinery, Ltd., Turner Tanning Machinery, United Awl and Needle Company, U.S. Gear Corporation, United Marketing, Ltd., USMC International, Ltd., United Shoe Machinery Corporation, U & O Press, Vibrac Corporation, Warren Fastener, William De Boule Company, and Woodmont Products.

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Arrangement

Series I: Administrative Files (undated, 1942-1989) contain the company's mission statement, annual reports, letters to stockholders, stock agreements, Securities and Exchange Commission correspondence, price books and product manuals, product specifications, news briefs and releases, newspaper clippings and video tapes. The materials are arranged alphabetically by subject.

Series II: Subsidiaries, Affiliates and Acquisitions (undated, 1883-1989) consist of memoranda, reports and correspondence with companies doing business with or part of Emhart's multinational holdings. The series is arranged alphabetically by subject.

Series III: Shareholders Files (1908-1987) contains annual reports, letters to stockholders and notices of meetings of six subsidiary companies of Emhart Corporation: American Hardware Corporation, Hartford-Empire Company, Hill Corporation, Plax Corporation, Savage Arms Corporation and United Shoe Machinery Corporation. The materials are arranged alphabetically by name of subsidiary.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Restrictions on Use

Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from both the University of Connecticut Libraries and the owner(s) of the copyright.

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Related Material

Archives & Special Collections has a substantial collection of materials pertaining to Connecticut business and industry. For detailed information on these collections please contact the curator or ask at the reference desk.

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Index Terms

This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.

Subjects:

Document Types:

Occupations:

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Item description, #:#], Emhart Corporation Records. Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.

Acquisition Information

The Emhart Corporation Records were donated to the Historical Manuscripts and Archives Department (now Archives & Special Collections) by the Emhart Corporation in two separate accessions in May and August of 1989.

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Detailed Description