S. Lichtenberg & Co., Inc history

1852 – The Shakers cooperated with other mill owners to build a dam and create a seven hundred acre reservoir for the water from the Catacunemaug.

1870 – James P. Tolman began making braided cord

1876 – The trademark “Samson” was first put on solid braided rope being manufactured in a

1878: J.P. Tolman, member of the first graduating class at MIT, founded the J.P. Tolman Company in Massachusetts.

1881 – The mill and associated property was bought by C.W. and J.E. Smith who owned the Fredonian Cotton Mill, a short distance upstream.

1884 – The trademark of Samson and the Lion was registered to illustrate the superior quality

1888 – Samson Cordage Works was incorporated by James P. Tolman, its first President.

Spot Cord® is still sold and used today!1889: American Manufacturing Co. (AMCO) is founded.

1892 – Samson bought Fredonian Mill – It may have been at this time that the Fredonian mill building was used as a power plant for the main Samson factory.

About 1898 a preliminary 6' model of this mill which came to be known as the Samson, was constructed and was placed on a tower at the factory, where it ran "day and night for more than a year, doing heavy pumping" in order for the engineers to evaluate its operation.

Then in 1899, a larger 20' mill was developed, and several prototypes were erected in Texas over 400 and 700 foot wells operating 4" cylinders as a further test.

The first commercially marketed mills were made available in 1900, after which time a large advertising campaign made the general public aware of their availability.

1909: Samson celebrates 25th anniversary with a series of trademark coins—currently displayed at Samson’s headquarters.

Introduced in the late 1920's, the Samson Oil Rite today is the most frequently seen of all the windmills produced by the Stover Manufacturing Company.

The mill was made in two patterns, the Model S and the Model M, the former having been introduced about 1930.

1936 – Icard Cordage MFG CO. of North Carolina was acquired

Both the Model S and the Model M of the Samson Oil Rite windmills remained in production until the Stover Manufacturing and Engine Company went out of business in 1942.

1945 – Until World War II, the rope was made of cotton.

1957: Samson develops the first synthetic double-braided rope -- a major innovation for the rope industry.1957: Samson appeals to the modern housewife with an advertisement in Good Housekeeping.

1959 – The old tenements were knocked down to create parking spaces.

1962: Since the Friendship Space program, Samson double-braided ropes have been used to retrieve all NASA space capsules launched to date.

1970: Samson installs new braider with a 21-inch circumference capacity specifically to produce ropes for the offshore oil and commercial marine industries.

​1972: Samson Nystron double-braid rope becomes the first synthetic fiber rope used to moor an oil tanker to a loading Buoy in the North Sea.

1977: The first flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle uses lightweight, high-strength Samson ropes to operate the shuttle’s cargo bay doors.

1978 – The name was changed to Samson Ocean Systems

1980: ​​Samson continues to pioneer new technologies, introducing the first High Modulus Polyethylene (HMPE) ropes, with strengths 3 to 4 times that of conventional nylon and polyester fiber.

1981: ​Round Plait construction is introduced as RP-12, and the Tuck splice is developed with the help of tug crews using the rope in the Panama Canal.

1984 – The 100th year anniversary of the trademark, the oldest in continuous use in the

1988: Samson headquarters moves coast-to-coast from Shirley, Mass., to Ferndale, Washington.

In 1991 Samson Motorcycle Products was founded by Kenny Price, later to be known as “The Godfather of Pipes”. Kenny’s mission was to build great looking pipes that would not break.

1992: AMCO creates the Ultra Blue product line, 30% stronger than the equivalent polypropylene construction.

1993: Samson Ocean Systems, Herzog Rope, and AMCO merge to form The American Group.

Samson has an extensive experience in the furniture industry which dates back to 1995 with its first manufacturing operation of Lacquer Craft in Dongguan, China.

1996: ​Samson develops flagship brand AmSteel®-Blue leveraging benefits of 100% Dyneema® brand HMPE; it is still the most trusted synthetic rope brand on the market.

December, 1998 – Phoenix Limited Liability Corporation was formed and bought the property.

February, 2000 – They started work on the building to prepare it for modern use.

2001: ​The company returns to its roots and is renamed Samson Rope Technologies.

By 2002 Samson had become the number 1 dealer at Drag Specialties, shipping 2 million dollars a month.

2008: M-8 is developed specifically for use with anchoring system to facilitate ROV connections at extreme depths.

2010: Samson develops Vulcan, an emergency tow-off pendant made from aramid fiber with a proprietary heat-resistant coating applied to the core.

2013: Samson launches the Samson App, giving users mobile access to inspection and retirement criteria and splice instructions.

2014: ​Samson partners with Manitowoc Cranes to launch K-100™, the first synthetic hoist rope designed specifically for mobile cranes.

2015: ​Fusion-12 is developed to bridge the gap between performance and investment for customers needing an alternative to 100% HMPE.