Elmira history: How Hardinge came to be

Jun 12, 2023

On Nov. 28, 1962, Douglas G. Anderson, president of Hardinge Brothers Inc., was presented the City of Elmira's Distinguished Citizen Award.

In his remarks honoring Anderson, Mayor Edward T. Lagonegro brought to the audience's attention "the long secret smuggling chapter of his past ... ."

The mayor went on to say:

"Let's go back to an incident in 1940, when Great Britain's Churchill was pleading, give us the tools, and we’ll win the war. Some of the finest tools in the world were made in Elmira by Hardinge Brothers — they still are. But in 1940, tremendous demand developed for metal working machines such as turret lathes. The Hardinge plant hummed day and night to turn out the machines. The precious cargoes were shipped in armed convoys to the beleaguered British. When the crates of machinery arrived in Britain, they were found to have been padded with some high-quality wrapping. Hidden in the corners of the Hardinge crates were such wondrous American items as cheese, chocolate, powdered milk, canned meat and other foods, so scarce in England at the time."

According to the mayor, such actions exemplified the character of Douglas Anderson, and indeed the company itself.

Anderson and Leigh R. Evans played a primary role in bringing Hardinge Brothers Inc. to Elmira in 1931. But the Hardinge story dates back to 1890, and the relationship of Anderson and Evans to 1915.

Franklin (1867-1945) and Henry (1863-1947) Hardinge were natives of Canada. As young men, they worked as apprentices, with Franklin particularly interested in watchmaking. For a number of years, they went their separate ways but reunited in the city of Chicago.

On July 23, 1890, they organized the firm of Hardinge Brothers to manufacture several watchmaker tools that Franklin, at age 22, had invented. Cold weather drove them out of their first factory. Securing financing from Steven A. Dale, they continued business in a room over a horse stable. The company was renamed the Horological Tool Co., manufacturing fine tools and machinery for watchmakers and jewelers.

In 1895, Dale and Henry Hardinge left the firm, and its original name of Hardinge Brothers was restored. Franklin Hardinge held many patents. The "Cataract Line" of bench lathes and attachments would eventually stimulate the growth of the company.

While Franklin Hardinge was building his firm, Evans, a native of Easton, Pennsylvania, accepted a position as chief engineer with the Russell Motor Car Co., of Toronto, Canada, in 1911. While there, he designed the first Knight Engine car to be introduced in Canada, and he became associated with Anderson.

Anderson was born in Brampton, Ontario, and served as a cost accountant at the Russell firm. His interest in the newborn motor companies led to his friendship with Evans.

In 1915, Anderson and Evans moved to Rochester, becoming associated with the Morrison Machine Products Co. In 1925, they purchased the company.

With a need for more space, they accepted an offer to assist with relocation from the Elmira Association of Commerce on Sept. 1, 1925. On Labor Day that year, they set up operation in what had been the Westside Car Barn (for trolleys) on upper College Avenue. Continuing to operate under the same name, they manufactured collets and feed fingers (clamping devices used by machinists). They employed 15 people.

In 1927, they purchased the Keybolt Appliance Co., of Orchard Park, near Buffalo, and relocated it to Elmira.

Morrison Machine Products Co. grew in Elmira and built a new addition to expand its plant. In Chicago, Franklin Hardinge had begun building oil furnaces in 1920, securing several patents.

With the onset of the Depression, it seems Hardinge Brothers Inc. was troubled by financial concerns. On June 25, 1931, the Star-Gazette reported that "Hardinge Brothers Inc. Chicago Manufacturing Company, Will Bring 60 Expert Workmen and Families — Is Controlled By Morrison Machine Company Of Elmira — $100,000 Payroll — Work Starts At Once." The company would be housed in the new addition built by Morrison.

It is not clear what the exact deal was, but the Hardinge Brothers lathe business, including the company name and the Cataract trademark, was moved to Elmira. Franklin Hardinge continued to build oil furnaces in Chicago, changing his company's name to Hardinge Manufacturing Co.

The Elmira Association of Commerce had been interested in the purchase, and the Star-Gazette reported they were "largely instrumental in bringing it to this city." The association undertook the sale of stock and aided the project in "various ways."

Morrison and Hardinge Brothers worked alongside each other under the same management for a number of years. On Jan. 1, 1938, the entire business of collets, feed fingers and form tools manufactured by Morrison Machine Products was incorporated under the name of Hardinge Brothers Inc. By that time, total employment had grown to almost 300 people.

In 1991, it was announced that Hardinge Brothers Inc. would move its entire operation into its facility on Oakwood Avenue. By that time, the company employed nearly1,000 people. In 1995, the name was changed to Hardinge Inc.

In 1941, in a presentation given on defense work, Douglas Anderson noted: "Until the year 1900, most fitting of mechanical movements was by hand … after 1900, the automobile began to develop a market, and the need for higher speed and greater efficiency brought the necessity for greater accuracy and some measure of interchangeability in the manufacture of parts … Each step up required better machinery capable of the greater accuracy required. The result is that because of our world leadership in the manufacture of interchangeable parts in large quantities, American machine tools are recognized as the best in the world."

In 2017, Tom Mitchell, the director of Elmira Manufacturing Operations, recently pointed out that Hardinge Inc. "today sells … products in most of the industrialized countries of the world. … Our machines and accessories … are produced by Hardinge subsidiaries around the world."

Jim Hare is a former history teacher and mayor of the City of Elmira. His column appears monthly in the Star-Gazette.