Hyatt Roller Bearing Company

Last updated
Hyatt Roller Bearing Company
IndustryRoller Bearings
Founded Harrison, New Jersey, 1892
Founder John Wesley Hyatt
Defunct1916
FateAcquired by General Motors
Headquarters
United States
Key people
 Alfred P. Sloan
ProductsRoller bearings

Hyatt Roller Bearing Company was a manufacturer of roller bearings from 1892 to 1916, when it was acquired by General Motors. It continued as a distinct division of GM for many years. The company struggled at first, then entered a phase of profitable growth under the leadership of Alfred P. Sloan (later president of General Motors). The innovative design of Hyatt's roller bearings made them more durable and efficient than others. They were widely used in early automobiles by various manufacturers, and in industrial vehicles and equipment.

Contents

Foundation

John Wesley Hyatt was a printer by trade and a prolific inventor who secured over 250 patents, the first issued in 1861 for a knife grinder. His chemical experiments led to the invention of celluloid. [1]

In 1888 he was working on a mill for crushing sugar cane, but lacked adequate bearings. His solution was a roller bearing where the rollers were made from coiled strips of steel, which he patented. [2] The helical-shaped rollers made from flat spring steel were more flexible than solid-cylinder rollers, did not heat up and lock due to friction, and lasted longer. [3] Later Hyatt introduced refinements, with the bearings assembled within a closed cage. [2]

Seeing broad potential for the invention, he founded the Hyatt Roller Bearing Company in 1892. [2] The company was originally based in Newark, New Jersey, but soon moved to Harrison, New Jersey. [4]

Early years

A 1903 advertisement for a Haynes-Apperson car Haynes-Apperson car in a 1903 catalog ad.jpg
A 1903 advertisement for a Haynes-Apperson car

In 1895 the company had about 25 employees and sold about $2,000 of roller bearings each month. [5] That year Hyatt hired the 20-year-old Alfred P. Sloan as a draftsman. Sloan had recently obtained a degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. [6] He had been struggling to find a job, and was recommended to Hyatt by John E. Searles, president of the American Sugar Refining Company, a friend of his father and a major investor in Hyatt. [7]

Sloan wrote later,

Well, I am bound to admit the first sight of my opportunity was disappointing... Not far from a city dump on a weed-grown, marshy plain was an old weather-worn building, like an overgrown barn. In its indefinite yard there was a small mound of coal and a great mound of reddish-gray cinders and ashes; also a disorderly accumulation of discarded machinery ... Once the factory had been painted brown. Only one word describes it: "dirty." Smoke from the dump carried an acric odor. Eventually across the wall nearest the railroad track there was lettered in black this legend: HYATT ROLLER BEARING COMPANY. [7]

Although the company was mismanaged and financially insecure, Sloan saw that the spirally-wound flexible roller bearing product had real potential. [7] At that time industrial parts were not machined precisely, so the flexibility of the Hyatt bearing was a valuable quality. However, Sloan left Hyatt in 1897 to take a better-paying job with which he could afford to marry his fiancée, Irene Jackson. [5] He joined another start-up company named Hygienic Refrigerator, which was trying to develop an electric refrigerator. [8]

Hyatt bearings for automobiles were first produced in 1896 for use in the Haynes-Apperson car of Elwood Haynes. [2]

Expansion

Advertisement in The Literary Digest of 26 February 1916 Hyatt Bearings Advertisement in Literary Digest 26 February 1916.JPG
Advertisement in The Literary Digest of 26 February 1916

In 1899 John Searles, the largest investor in Hyatt, decided to cut his losses. Sloan's father joined forces with another investor to buy out Searles for $5,000. [9] They gave Sloan the job of turning the company around, with a six-month deadline. Sloan became general manager in charge of production. The company bookkeeper, Pete Steenstrup, was made sales manager. Under the new discipline imposed by Sloan and Steenstrup the company made a profit of $12,000 in the first six months, more than exceeding expectations. [8]

In the summer of 1900 the company received a breakthrough order of 120 bearings for the rear axles of 30 automobiles from the Olds Motor Works of Ransom E. Olds. The Olds Motor Works had plans to build over 1,000 vehicles in 1901, and would use Hyatt bearings if the test vehicles were successful. [10] Sloan was appointed president of Hyatt in 1901, and oversaw rapid and profitable growth of the company. Sloan and his family invested over $50,000 in the company. [6] Hyatt moved to new premises and became a large, modern industrial operation. [9] Sloan was awarded patents for shafting hangers and hanger boxes, and for improvements to these inventions. [11]

Sloan learned an important lesson early in his tenure from Henry M. Leland, general manager of Cadillac, then an independent company. Leland refused to accept the first shipment of Hyatt's bearings since they were not accurate to within 0.001 inches (0.025 mm). Given the importance of the contract for immediate revenue and for Hyatt's reputation as a quality supplier, Sloan at once travelled to Detroit to discuss the problem. At first Sloan defended his products, but then listened as Leland forcibly explained the importance of uniform precision in automobile parts. He said "Mr. Sloan, Cadillacs are made to run, not just to sell." Sloan now asked for Leland's advice. He later said, "I was determined to be as fanatical as he in obtaining precision in our work. An entirely different standard had been established for Hyatt Roller Bearings." [12]

Soon Hyatt bearings were used in axles and transmissions by a number of manufacturers. [6] Hyatt supplied bearings to the Covert Motor Vehicle Company, founded by B. V. Covert, who also co-founded the Harrison Radiator Company. Later Sloan would bring Harrison Radiator into the United Motors Company. [13] Hyatt supplied bearings to the Lincoln Steel and Forge Company for use with the axles of coal mine car frames, Lincoln's highly successful main product. [14] Henry Ford became a major customer. [2] By 1916 the Ford Motor Company had almost half the market for new automobiles, selling 577,036 vehicles that year. [15] Hyatt also became a critical supplier of bearings to component manufacturers who supplied General Motors. [6]

James D. Mooney, later to become head of General Motors Overseas, was hired by Hyatt and worked there before enrolling in the army in 1917 during World War I. [16]

General Motors subsidiary

In 1916 General Motors purchased Hyatt for $13.5 million as part of a drive by William C. Durant, co-founder and president of General Motors, to bring key suppliers in-house.

A Hyatt bearing on a GM-EMD locomotive A Hyatt bearing on a EMD locomotive..jpg
A Hyatt bearing on a GM-EMD locomotive

Other suppliers were acquired at this time and assembled in the "United Motors" parts and accessories company with Alfred Sloan as president. They were Hyatt, New Departure Manufacturing (bearings), Westom-Mott Axle, Remy Electric Company, Periman Rim Company, and Dayton Engineering Laboratories. United Motors was merged into General Motors in 1918. Sloan would become president of GM in 1923. [6]

As of 1934 Hyatt Roller Bearings were being used in industrial equipment for mining, oil fields, textiles, steel mills, road building, power transmission, farm machinery and railroad cars as well in automobiles. [11] The New Departure Division and the Hyatt Bearing Division were merged into the New Departure-Hyatt Bearing Division in 1965. In October 1987, General Bearing purchased Hyatt Bearing from General Motors. In 1986 this division stopped making commercial ball bearings but continued to manufacture high-precision bearings for aircraft engines. After further divisional mergers, bearing manufacture ceased in 1993. As of 2013 the Hyatt brand was owned by General Bearing Company of New York [6] - a division of SKF bearing company. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Motors</span> American multinational automotive company

General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing four automobile brands: Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Buick. By total sales, it has continuously been the largest automaker in the United States, and was the largest in the world for 77 years before losing the top spot to Toyota in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SKF</span> Worlds largest bearing manufacturer

AB SKF is a Swedish bearing and seal manufacturing company founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1907. The company manufactures and supplies bearings, seals, lubrication and lubrication systems, maintenance products, mechatronics products, power transmission products, condition monitoring systems and related services globally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred P. Sloan</span> American businessman (1875–1966)

Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr. was an American business executive in the automotive industry. He was a long-time president, chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation. Sloan, first as a senior executive and later as the head of the organization, helped GM grow from the 1920s through the 1950s, decades when concepts such as the annual model change, brand architecture, industrial engineering, automotive design (styling), and planned obsolescence transformed the industry, and when the industry changed lifestyles and the built environment in America and throughout the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bearing (mechanical)</span> Mechanism to constrain relative movement to the desired motion and reduce friction

A bearing is a machine element that constrains relative motion to only the desired motion and reduces friction between moving parts. The design of the bearing may, for example, provide for free linear movement of the moving part or for free rotation around a fixed axis; or, it may prevent a motion by controlling the vectors of normal forces that bear on the moving parts. Most bearings facilitate the desired motion by minimizing friction. Bearings are classified broadly according to the type of operation, the motions allowed, or the directions of the loads (forces) applied to the parts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chalmers Automobile</span> Defunct American car manufacturer from 1908 to 1923

The Chalmers Motor Company was an American automobile manufacturer headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1908 by Hugh Chalmers, the company was known for producing high-end vehicles. Chalmers automobiles gained recognition for their toughness, durability, and engineering receiving particular praise for their performance in touring events. The company reached its peak in 1911, becoming the eighth-largest auto producer in the United States. Despite initial success, the company faced challenges with increasing competition in the auto industry, and sales began to decline in the following years. In 1923, Chalmers Motor Company merged with Maxwell Motor, ultimately forming the basis for the Chrysler Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William C. Durant</span> American automotive businessman (1861–1947)

William Crapo Durant was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry, founder of General Motors and co-founder of Chevrolet. He created a system in which a company held multiple marques – each seemingly independent, with different automobile lines – bound under a unified corporate holding company. Durant founded General Motors and co-founded Chevrolet with Louis Chevrolet. He also founded Frigidaire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry M. Leland</span> American engineer, machinist, and entrepreneur (1843–1932)

Henry Martyn Leland was an American machinist, inventor, engineer, and automotive entrepreneur. He founded the two premier American luxury automotive marques, Cadillac and Lincoln.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolling-element bearing</span> Bearing which carries a load with rolling elements placed between two grooved rings

In mechanical engineering, a rolling-element bearing, also known as a rolling bearing, is a bearing which carries a load by placing rolling elements between two concentric, grooved rings called races. The relative motion of the races causes the rolling elements to roll with very little rolling resistance and with little sliding.

The Timken Company is a global manufacturer of bearings and power transmission products. Timken operates from 42 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrust bearing</span> Family of rotary bearings designed to support axial loads

A thrust bearing is a particular type of rotary bearing. Like other bearings they permanently rotate between parts, but they are designed to support a predominantly axial load.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Wesley Hyatt</span> American inventor of plastic

John Wesley Hyatt was an American inventor. He is mainly known for simplifying the production of celluloid.

Federal-Mogul Corporation is an American developer, manufacturer, and supplier of products for automotive, commercial, aerospace, marine, rail, and off-road vehicles, as well as industrial, agricultural, and power-generation applications. It was acquired in February 2022 by Apollo Global Management.

The Timken Roller Bearing Company was one of the first to introduce roller bearings for railroad cars. Railroad cars owned and operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway were some of the first to use roller bearings rather than "oil waste journal" boxes. Henry Timken, a German immigrant, invented an improved bearing and founded the company in 1899. It was later renamed The Timken Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tapered roller bearing</span> Type of roller bearing which can support axial loads

Tapered roller bearings are rolling element bearings that can support axial forces as well as radial forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Needle roller bearing</span> Type of roller bearing which uses long, thin cylinders as rollers

A needle roller bearing is a special type of roller bearing which uses long, thin cylindrical rollers resembling needles. Ordinary roller bearings' rollers are only slightly longer than their diameter, but needle bearings typically have rollers that are at least four times longer than their diameter. Like all bearings, they are used to reduce the friction of a rotating surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Motors companion make program</span> Automotive marques

In the late 1920s, American automotive company General Motors (GM) launched four companion makes to supplement its existing lineup of five-passenger car brands, or makes. The companion makes were LaSalle, introduced for the 1927 model year to supplement Cadillac; Marquette, introduced in 1929 for 1930 to supplement Buick; Pontiac, introduced for 1926 to supplement Oakland; and Viking, introduced for 1929 to supplement Oldsmobile. GM's fifth existing brand, Chevrolet, did not receive a companion make. With the exception of Viking, each of the companion makes were slotted below their "parent make" in GM's pricing hierarchy.

ACDelco is an American automotive parts brand owned by General Motors (manufactured by GM are consolidated under the ACDelco brand, which also offers aftermarket parts for non-GM vehicles. Over its long history it has been known by various names such as United Motors Corporation, United Motors Service, and United Delco. The brand "ACDelco" should not be confused with GM's former AC Delco Systems, formed in 1994 from the merger of AC Rochester Division and Delco Remy Division. In 1995 Delphi Automotive Systems absorbed AC Delco Systems.

Harrison Radiator Corporation was an early manufacturer of automotive radiators and heat exchangers for crewed spacecraft and guided missiles, as well as various cooling equipment for automotive, marine, industrial, nuclear, and aerospace applications, that became a division of General Motors in 1918. Today its business is a part of General Motors' Automotive Components Group, and is based in Lockport, Niagara County, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NTN Corporation</span> Japanese manufacturer of bearings

NTN Corporation is one of the most prominent manufacturers of bearings in Japan, second domestically only to NSK Ltd. The company is one of the largest exporters worldwide of friction-reducing products, such as constant-velocity joints.

References

  1. ↑ Pound 1934, p. 469.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Pound 1934, p. 470.
  3. ↑ Carey 2009, p. 204.
  4. ↑ Farber 2002, p. 7.
  5. 1 2 Farber 2002, p. 8.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bowman 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 Pelfrey 2006, p. 30.
  8. 1 2 Pelfrey 2006, p. 31.
  9. 1 2 Farber 2002, p. 11.
  10. ↑ Pelfrey 2006, p. 33.
  11. 1 2 Pound 1934, p. 471.
  12. ↑ Farber 2002, p. 14.
  13. ↑ Pound 1934, p. 468.
  14. ↑ Bulletin: Technical series 1924, p. 27.
  15. ↑ Farber 2002, p. 20.
  16. ↑ The James D. Mooney Papers.
  17. ↑ "SKF Group to Acquire General Bearing Corporation". 13 February 2012.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.