| COMPANY HISTORY: Fay Manufacturing Company was founded in
the Cleveland suburb of Elyria by Winslow Lamartine Fay and began
making tricycles. Competition from the newly introduced two-wheeled
"safety" bicycle reduced demand for tricycles, leading Fay to
transform his tricycle design into a line of mobility devices for
persons with disabilities. The new products featured hand levers and
treadles for steering and pedaling. The products proved successful,
in part because they filled an existing need--the Civil War had left
thousands of veterans with amputated limbs who needed help getting
around. Following on this success, Fay developed specialized carts
that were precursors to the modern wheelchair.
Looking to pursue other business opportunities, Fay sold his company
to Arthur L. Garford in 1891. Soon after, Garford hired George
Cushing Worthington to manage the firm's plant operations.
Worthington became a key employee at the company, designing a line
of bicycle-wheeled rolling chairs. His influence was great enough
that when Garford elected to rename the company in 1899, he chose
the moniker the Worthington Manufacturing Company. Worthington was
named president in 1902, and five years later the firm was renamed
the Worthington Company.
In 1917, Fred W. Colson, a Worthington vice-president, engineered
the merger of Worthington with the Machine Parts Company to form the
Colson Company, majority owned by Colson, who also served as company
president. Source: International
Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 47. St. James Press, 2002. |
