1844
1868
1875
1883
1920
1929
1931
1933
1934
1963
1971
1984
1998
| 1844 |
Linus Yale, Jr. of Newport, Connecticut, son of one of the most
respected families in New England, sketched out in 1844 the first
diagram of an invention that was to make his name famous beyond all
imagination. Yale's idea, refined over and over in subsequent years,
led to patents issued between 1860 and 1864 for a new type of lock-and-key
system. It drew on basic principles first employed by the ancient Egyptians
some 4,000 years before.
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| 1868 |
In 1868, Linus Yale was introduced to Henry R. Towne, a promising young
engineer/businessman from Philadelphia. Together the two formed a partnership
and built a factory in Stamford, Connecticut known as the Yale Lock
Manufacturing Company.
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| 1875 |
Linus Yale died in the company's first year of existence, but the firm continued to prosper under Towne's management. In 1875, it broadened its scope from lock manufacturing to materials handling with the acquisition of patents on the Weston differential pulley block and the introduction of the first Yale® hand-powered chain hoist.
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| 1883 |
Within a few years the company (renamed Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co.) was not only the country's foremost lock producer, but also its leading hoist manufacturer, adding a wide variety of geared and electric powered hoists to its original hand powered model.
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| 1920 |
In 1920, Yale & Towne expanded its materials handling involvement once again with the purchase of the C.W. Hunt Co. of Staten Island, New York, which only the year before had introduced a new battery powered low-lift platform truck.
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| 1929 |
After several years of building Hunt-designed trucks under the Yale® name, the company introduced a completely new family of battery powered industrial trucks. These included both low and high lift platform models, a low slung, non-tippable tow tractor, and one of the first fork lift trucks to have a clamp attachment.
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| 1931 |
In 1931, Yale & Towne moved its headquarters to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where at its Tacony Street plant, all production of electric trucks, hand trucks and hoists was brought together under one roof. In Philadelphia, Yale® had introduced the tilting fork concept and with the acquisition of the Steubing Cowan Co., Yale® had expanded into hand truck manufacturing as well.
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| 1933 |
In 1933, Yale & Towne committed itself to another major expansion with the acquisition of two competitors, the Walker Vehicle Co. and the Automatic Transportation Co., both of Chicago. Automatic, in particular, was highly regarded as a pioneer manufacturer of electric-powered materials handling trucks.
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| 1934 |
In 1934, Yale & Towne opened manufacturing facilities in Wednesfield, England. That very same year Yale® lift trucks were sold for the first time in Japan by the Kiichi Harada Company. Meanwhile, World War II intervened, and gave the materials handling industry tremendous impetus. The innovation of putting forks on the front of a lift truck began to change the industry's entire concept of moving goods and materials.
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| 1963 |
In 1963, the company merged with the multinational Eaton Manufacturing Co. As the Industrial Truck Division of Eaton, Yale & Towne, Inc. (later renamed simply Eaton Corp.), the company continued to grow and prosper.
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| 1971 |
By 1971, it became apparent that Yale® could successfully market its Japanese-made trucks in both Europe and North America, leading to the establishment of a joint venture manufacturing company named Sumitomo-Yale Co., Ltd. owned equally by the two companies.
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| 1984 |
In 1984, the Yale Materials Handling Corporation was formed as a completely restructured company. Its international headquarters was moved to Flemington, NJ. The Yale trademark is registered in every country in the world of any importance. The trade name "Yale" has been continuously carried on a wide line of products, some of the earlier ones being Post Office Cabinets, Lock Boxes, Stamping Tables and Inking Pads for the Postal Service, Anodes, Drill Presses, Transom Lifts, Door Checks, Carburetors, and Locks for every use.
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| 1998 |
In 1998, the Yale® Marketing organization was moved from Flemington, New Jersey to
Greenville, North Carolina.
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