Hardinge history

In 1902, they bought the Cataract lathe line from Cataract Tool & Optical Co.

The first catalog of the newly acquired organisation was issued in 1903 and, under a Hardinge heading, showed the Company's first "Cataract" branded bench lathe.

Cataract bench lathes are featured in the September 1917 issue of Boston Blue Bulletin from machinery distributor Hill, Clarke & Co.

Leon Morrison and formed the Morrison Machine Products Company; in 1925 the company was purchased by Mr.

In summary: Hardinge Brothers Inc. of New York did not own the Elgin Tool Works during the 1930's, but Franklin Hardinge did, calling it a division of his own Hardinge Mfg.

The company was reincorporated in New York in March 1931, as Hardinge Brothers Inc., a successor to the previous company.

The new company, Hardinge Machine Tools Ltd., was formed on the 3rd of February, 1937; 85% of the stock was owned by Automotive Engineering and the first six employees worked from the corner of a factory in Twickenham making collets, form-tools and feed-fingers.

To improve efficiency, a new factory and offices were built and, by 1938 (with the company employing over 300 skilled workers), were well positioned to take advantage of the great upturn in production that preceded the United States entry into WW2.

The company established Hardinge Machine Tools Ltd. (HMT) in the United Kingdom in 1939.

In 1943 Automotive Engineering was taken over by Sheepbridge Engineering, who then sold part of the Hardinge UK equity to Hardinge Brothers Inc. - through they still retained enough stock to maintain a controlling interest in the company.

In 1958, the company established a subsidiary called Canadian Hardinge Machine Tools Ltd., located near Toronto, Ontario.

HMT became a wholly owned subsidiary of the company in 1981 when it redeemed the shares previously held by other investors.

According to the United States Census Bureau, in 1982 there were 865 metal cutting machine tool companies in the United States operating 942 manufacturing facilities.

In 1987, the company started implementation of "Total Quality" at its facilities.

The first several years of the 1990s were decent, but not great, for the company, with revenue for 1990 reaching $102.9 million and net income reaching $4.6 million.

In 1992, revenue reached $84.8 million, with a net loss of $1.2 million.

In 1994, revenue and net income reached $117.3 million and $6.7 million, respectively, with the machine tool industry in the United States estimated at $5.2 billion, of which $3.6 billion (69 percent) was in the metal cutting category.

The company's name was changed from Hardinge Brothers Inc. to Hardinge Inc. in May 1995.

During 1996, the company took yet another step to address a new market segment with the introduction of its Cobra 42 CNC Lathe.

In April 1997, the company entered the market for electrical discharge machines (EDM) with its acquisition of privately held, Urbana, Illinois-based Hansvedt Industries Inc., the largest manufacturer of EDMs and related equipment in the United States, via a stock purchase.

2012 – Hardinge Inc. acquired Usach Technologies, a privately owned United States company that develops and manufactures CNC grinding machines and grinding systems.

Thanks to the ever-increasing use of on-line family history guides, it is now possible to trace the Hardinge family history back a little further, with Franklin having (2013) a living daughter and several grandchildren.

2018 – Privet Fund Management LLC completed the acquisition of Hardinge Inc.

2019 – Hardinge Inc. announced L. Kellenberger & Co.