The History of the Anchor Hocking Glass Company
Posted: Monday, October 04, 2010
by Teresa Davis
Times Treasures
Anchor Hocking is the second largest glassware supplier in the United States . The company manufactures glass beverage ware, candle holders, serving ware, ovenware, storage ware and lighting components. They make glass items for retail, specialty businesses and hospital needs. Almost all of Anchor Hocking's products are made in the United States although the company does market its products internationally.
$8000.00 was enough to purchase Lancaster Carbon Company, but was not enough to help operate the company. Isaac asked for help from Mr. E. B. Good. Mr. Good gave Isaac $17,000.00 to help get the company's operations started. Isaac named the company Hocking Glass Company because the plant was located near the Hocking River . The company started with one building and fifty employees.
$20,000 worth of glassware was made and sold during the Hocking Glass Company's first year. The company started with two day-tanks and with increasing demands in production, Isaac soon realized that he would need another day-tank. A day-tank was used to melt glass in. The tank was filled with a batch each day and the melting was done through the night to provide glass for production the next day. In order to gain the money to purchase the extra day-tank, $5,000.00 worth of stock was sold to Thomas Fulton. Thomas would become the Secretary-Treasurer for the Hocking Glass Company.
The business was continuing to do better each year hiring more than 1550 employees. Unfortunately, in 1924 the Hocking Glass Company was destroyed by fire. Even though this was a huge loss, Isaac and his partners were not ready to give up. They came together and found ways to raise enough money to rebuild. The building known as Plant 1 was built where the building that burned down once stood. Plant 1 was designed specifically to produce glassware.
In 1924 after building the new plant, the Hocking Glass Company purchased controlling interest in the Lancaster Glass Company. The location of this company would become known as Plant 2. That same year, they also purchased the Standard Glass Manufacturing Company which had plants in Bremen and Canal Winchester, Ohio.
Right before the Great Depression, the pressed glass machine was developed. This machine gave huge advantages in glass production. A glass product that used to be produced 1 time per minute could now be produced 30 times per minute.
In 1929, the stock market crashed causing panic across the nation. The Hocking Glass Company owned a pressed glass machine that had 15 molds. They could produce 90 glass items per minute. With high production rates, the company could sell tumblers two for a nickel which was half of what they originally sold for. This would help the Hocking Glass Company survive the depression when most other companies were not able to.
In 1931, the Hocking Glass Company purchased 50% of a company called General Glass Company. The General Glass Company then purchased the Turner Glass Company which was located in Winchester , Indiana . In 1934, the Hocking Glass Company along with the General Glass Company developed the first one-way beer bottle.
The Hocking Glass Company merged with the Anchor Cap and Closure Corporation on December 31, 1937. The Anchor Cap and Closure Corporation had a total of 6,000 employees before the merger. The name of the merged company became the Anchor Hocking Glass Corporation.
The Anchor Cap and Closure Corporation was known for the inventions and patents of different types of bottle caps, closures and sealing machinery. They had closure plants located in Long Island City , New York and Toronto , Canada . The Anchor Cap and Closure Corporation also produced a wide range of glassware including different types of glass containers. Their glass container plants were located in Salem , New Jersey and Connellsville , Pennsylvania .
After the merger, the Anchor Hocking Glass Corporation developed a new mixture of glass that would not crack or break in a high temperature oven. The company continued to grow and expand existing facilities in order to produce a larger variation of products. Part of their growth was due to the purchase of the Carr-Lowry Glass Company in Baltimore , Maryland and Maywood Glass that was located on the West Coast.
In 1950, the Anchor Hocking Glass Corporation established a research and development department. Also in the 1950s, they purchased the Tropical Glass and Container Company that was located in Jacksonville , Florida . In 1959, they built a new plant in San Leandro , California .
A new facility that produced glass container products was built in Houston , Texas in 1962. That same year, a second part was added to the Research and Development Center and would become known as the General Development Laboratory. In 1963, Anchor Hocking Glass Company gained the Zanesville Mold Company located in Ohio as a subsidiary. The Anchor Hocking Glass Company would use the Zanesville Mold Company to design and manufacture their mold equipment.
In 1968, the Anchor Hocking Glass Company acquired Plastics Incorporated in St. Paul , Minnesota . Because of the diverse product line with an international customer base, the company dropped "Glass" from their name in 1969 and became the Anchor Hocking Corporation. They built a plant in Springdale , Ohio to expand their plastic container line.
The Anchor Hocking Corporation purchased the Phoenix Glass Company located in Monaca , Pennsylvania in September 1970. With this purchase, the company started manufacturing lighting products. During this same time, they purchased the Taylor, Smith & Taylor Company in Chester , West Virginia . This purchase gave the Anchor Hocking Corporation the ability to manufacture earthenware, fine stoneware, institutional china dinnerware and commemorative collector plates.
In the years to come, the Anchor Hocking Corporation experienced many changes. The Phoenix Glass Company location was destroyed by fire on July 15, 1978. They purchased Shenango China that was located in New Castle , Pennsylvania on March 28, 1979. On September 30, 1981, they sold the Taylor, Smith & Taylor Company.
On April 1, 1983, the Anchor Hocking Corporation divested its part in the Glass Container Division to an affiliate of the Wesray Corporation. This division became known as the Anchor Glass Container Corporation and had seven manufacturing plants with its main office being located in Lancaster , Ohio .
On July 2, 1987, the Anchor Hocking Corporation was acquired by the Newell Corporation. The Newell Corporation brought in more capital. Several of their locations were updated and several of the less profitable locations were either closed or sold. In November 1987, they closed the plant that was located in Clarksburg , West Virginia . In January 1988 the Anchor Hocking Corporation sold Shenango China and in October 1989 they sold Carr-Lowry Glass.
Today, with the financial support of Newell, Anchor Hocking manufactures and markets products in four basic categories: house wares, hardware, home furnishings and office products. In early 2001, the Newell Corporation was in negotiations to sell the Anchor Hocking Corporation to Libbey Glass. The federal government objected to the purchase so Libbey withdrew their offer to purchase.
Newell eventually sold the Anchor Hocking Corporation to Global Home Products (GHP). GHP was owned by Cerberus Capital Management who was known helping brands who were performing badly to improve. After all the efforts put forth by GHP to save the Anchor Hocking Corporation failed. GHP and Anchor Hocking applied field for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2006. The assets from Anchor Hocking were sold to a private equity firm in New York called Montgomery Capital Products.
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