The Acme-Cleveland Corporation was formed In Cleveland, Ohio, by the merger in 1968 of 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 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 Company 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 Manufacturing Company, which purchased the Windsor Machine Company to become National Acme Company in 1916. The collection consists of histories, correspondence, writings by company executives, especially J.D. Cox, Jr., articles of incorporation, annual reports, ledger books, publications, such as catalogs, brochures and company newsletters, records of acquisitions and subsidiary firms, and newspaper clippings, pertaining to the Cleveland Twist Drill Co., National Acme Co., and Acme-Cleveland Corp., and to their predecessor firms. The collection traces the development of a major Cleveland machine-tool corporation, as well as developments within the metal-cutting and machine-tool industries in Cleveland and the U.S. during their formative years, and, in particular, to the very important decade of 1942-52. The collection also details the lives of Jacob D. Cox II and his son Jacob D. Cox, Jr., particularly his economic and political views.
