Giddings & Lewis history

In 1866, having successfully run his shop for six years, Bonnell sold it to George and Horace Trowbridge.

In 1874, the Trowbridge brothers sold the business to Colonel C. H. DeGroat, A. E. Bosworth, and Walter Bigelow.

When Bigelow died in 1877, his share of the investment was placed with his estate, and Bonnell sold his interest in the company to David Giddings, who in turn sold it to a relative, George Giddings.

Founded in 1895 as the Giddings & Lewis Manufacturing Co., makers of woodworking machinery.

In 1910, a controlling interest in Giddings & Lewis was acquired by the Rueping family.

By 1921 the focus of the company had changed to machine tools, especially large horizontal boring and drilling machines, and the name had changed to the Giddings & Lewis Machine Tool Co.

In 1934, to continue its program of expansion and modernization, Giddings & Lewis initiated their first public stock offering.

In 1955 Giddings & Lewis acquired Cincinnati Bickford Tool Co. and Kaukauna Machine Corp.

Relocated to Fond du Lac from St Louis in 1957, the Davis Tool plant underwent a major expansion to meet the ever-growing demands of machine tool manufacturing.

In 1966, the firm acquired Gisholt Machine Company, located in Madison, Wisconsin.

With a net loss of $3.3 million, 1970 saw the worst annual financial performance in the company's history.

Attempting to diversify in 1978 with the acquisition of Basic Electronics Manufacturing Company, Giddings & Lewis still struggled to survive.

In 1982, with increasing debt and antiquated machinery, Giddings & Lewis was acquired by AMCA International, Ltd., a Canadian manufacturing firm.

With its concentration on custom-designed, high-value machines, and its focus on developing into a "total service" automation company, sales for Giddings & Lewis grew to over $500 million in 1992.

In April 1993, due to a disagreement with the board of directors over his financial decision-making, Fife unexpectedly resigned from his position as chair and chief executive officer and was replaced by Joseph R. Coppola.