Wyman-Gordon
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| Subsidiary of Precision Castparts Corp. | |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded | 1883 in Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Founder | Horace Wyman Lyman Gordon |
| Headquarters | Houston, Texas, United States |
| Products | Complex metal components |
| Revenue | US$752.9 million (FY 1998) |
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Number of employees
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2,500 |
| Parent | Precision Castparts Corp. |
| Website | www |
Wyman-Gordon is a company that designs and manufactures complex metal components. Founded in 1883 as a manufacturer of crankshafts for looms, it has a long history of making forged metal components, particularly for the aerospace industry. Wyman-Gordon is now a subsidiary of Precision Castparts Corp., and is based in Houston, Texas. It has 13 plants in five countries, and employed about 2,500 people as of 2012.
The Worcester Drop Forge Works was founded in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1883 by Horace Wyman and Lyman Gordon. It was later renamed the Wyman-Gordon Company. The company began with eight people in a small wooden factory building, forging crankshafts for looms. A 50-horsepower steam engine provided power for the drop hammers and other equipment. The fathers of the founders were both managers at the Crompton Loom Works and helped their sons' business win contracts for the crankshafts and for pistol and micrometer components.
The company won contracts from railroads for automatic couplers and from bicycle manufacturers for sprockets, spindles, and pedals, having gained a reputation for the high quality of its early work. From around 1902, it also began filling orders for crankshafts from manufacturers of the recently invented automobile. Horace Wyman died in 1905 and Lyman Gordon in 1914; George F. Fuller (1869–1962) succeeded to the company presidency upon Gordon's death. Fuller had joined the company as an accountant, but had invented several ways to improve the quality of the forged metal components. The company grew steadily under his leadership.
When World War I broke out, the U.S. government contracted with Wyman-Gordon to supply forgings for the 90-horsepower engines of Curtis Jenny biplanes. This was followed by contracts to produce airframe and engine forgings for almost all U.S. military aircraft. Wyman-Gordon maintained a close relationship with manufacturers of commercial and military airplanes after the war, making growing numbers of parts for engines, crankshafts, propellers, airframes, and landing gear. The company expanded the Worcester factory and opened a new plant in Harvey, Illinois.
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Wikipedia