George F. Hutchins Papers

William Crompton was a New England businessman who originated an improved loom, which he began manufacturing and marketing in the town of Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1837. His son, George Crompton founded the Crompton Loom Works which steadily prospered for nearly four decades. In 1862, Lucius J. Knowles, another New England businessman, developed an improved version of the textile loom and established his own company, L. J. Knowles & Brothers, in the town of Warren, Massachusetts, and moved to Worcester in 1866. In 1870, their Worcester factory was the nation’s largest loom factory employing 35 men and producing 15 looms daily. In 1897, in part to settle copyright disputes, Knowles bought out the Crompton interests and the two merged to form the Crompton & Knowles Loom Works. The company became a leading producer of multi-shuttle and specialty looms for diverse styles from ribbons to carpets. During its history, the company produced over 200 models.

Though Crompton & Knowles's roots lie in the weaving industry, by the end of the 20th century, it was a company whose business involved dye making, the manufacture and marketing of extrusion equipment and components (for processing of plastics), and the production of flavors, food colorings, and fragrances for the food processing and pharmaceutical industries. By that point, Crompton & Knowles was one of the largest dye producers in America for the textile and related industries and the sole supplier of 40 percent of the dyes it makes. In 2005, the Crompton Corporation (as it was by then known) merged with Great Lakes Chemical Corporation to become Chemtura