Acme-Cleveland Corporation

Formed by the merger in 1968 of Cleveland Twist Drill Co., 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 was founded in 1876 by Jacob D. Cox II, son of a Civil War general and former governor of Ohio. The company became a leader in the manufacture of superior-grade high-speed twist drills and pioneered the development of steels made of molybdenum as a substitute for tungsten. By 1936 it was the world's largest maker of high-speed drills and reamers, flourishing under Jacob D. Cox, Jr., who pioneered profit-sharing and authored two books on wage theory. National Acme originated as the Acme Screw Machine Co. in 1895, makers of the first commercially successful automatic multiple-spindle screw manufacturing machine. Acme Screw merged with National Manufacturing Co. in 1901 to become National Acme Mfg. Co., which purchased the Windsor Machine Co. to become National Acme Co. in 1916.

From the description of Records, 1869-1982. (Rhinelander District Library). WorldCat record id: 23103035

The Acme-Cleveland Corporation (f. 1876) was formed from the merger in 1968 of the Cleveland Twist Drill Company (f. 1876), a manufacturer of high-speed drills and metal cutting tools, and the National Acme Company (f. 1895), 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.) 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. The firm of Cox and Prentiss moved to West Street in 1882 and then to its present location at East 49th Street 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. F. 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 it maintained stockrooms in New York and Chicago through which it conducted a highly competent distribution and sales network.

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 Company by mechanics Edward C. Henn and Reinhold Hakewessell. 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. In 1956 the company reached a sales level of $36 million, and by 1961 it was expanding into foreign markets.

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

From the guide to the Acme-Cleveland Corporation Records, 1869-1982, (Western Reserve Historical Society)