Scovill Manufacturing Company

Manufacturer of brass objects such as buttons and other fasteners, screws, parts for lamps, tools, etc. Located in Waterbury, Connecticut. Incorporated in 1850, but the business extended back at least until 1802. Among firms which became part of Scovill were Matthews and Willard, Schrader, Hamilton-Beach, American Pin, and Morency, Van Buren.

Incorporated in 1850, at Waterbury, CT, the Scovill Manufacturing Company adopted the name Scovill Inc. in 1979.

Founded originally under the name Abel Porter & Co. in 1802, the Scovill Manufacturing Company was officially formed in 1850 when owners James and William H. Scovill consolidated the successful button operation and created a joint stock corporation. Located in Waterbury, Connecticut, the company produced metal plates for daguerreotype photographs, brass lamps, artillery munitions, and coin blanks for the United States Mint, in addition to the brass buttons that they were known for.

By the turn of the 20th century the company began to diversify its productions, looking to gain entrance into the consumer market. In 1923 the company acquired Hamilton Beach, and began producing electrical housewares. In 1924 Scovill bought the Oakville Company and continued to produce the safety pins that the company had been making since 1882. Six years later the company bought out the Schrader Company and began producing pneumatic tire valves for the automobile industry. Through the acquisition of these different companies, the Scovill Manufacturing Company also aquired numerous oversees plants. By the 1960s Scovill operated plants in Canada, England, West Germany, Mexico and Japan, and had become the world leader in the production of snap fasteners.