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39-594: Beginning in 1902, Henry Leland steered Cadillac to become a popular, high quality luxury automobile brand. Leland sold the company to General Motors in 1908, but continued his association with Cadillac until the mid-1910s, when he resigned because of the company's unwillingness to transition to World War I wartime production needs. In 1917, Leland established the Lincoln Motor Company to build Liberty engines for fighter planes using Ford Motor Company -supplied cylinders. Leland immediately purchased

78-430: A carpenter shop, powerhouse, machine shops, warehouses, grinding shop, and steel storage bins. By the early 1900s, Brown & Sharpe was the world's largest manufacturer of machine tools, operating out of the sprawling Brown and Sharpe Manufacturing Company Complex . Brown & Sharpe was instrumental in the development of machine tools and machining technology (including toolmaking , metrology, production, etc.). It

117-521: A more modern and larger progression to their established micrometers. The company began to lose money as it shifted production away from machine tools and toward advanced metrology equipment, losing $ 14.6 million in 1990. By 1993, employment in North Kingstown had fallen to 700, compared with 2,000 in 1982 and more than 3,500 in 1976. In 1994 Brown & Sharpe acquired DEA of Italy, an established manufacturer of CMMs. In 2001, substantially all of

156-439: A nod to Brown & Sharpe's history of pioneering manufacture of precise measurement tools, contained 700,000 square feet (65,000 m ) of easily adaptable floor space. Unlike the old Providence facility, Precision Park was built as one story. This enabled the efficient horizontal movement of materials preferred in modern manufacturing, an improvement over the vertical circulation system of its former multi-storey plant. While

195-542: A self-starter for the Cadillac, which won its second Dewar Trophy in 1913 as a result. He prodded Kettering to design a workable electric starter after Byron Carter , a Cadillac engineer, was hit in the head by a starting crank when the engine backfired which later resulted in death. He left General Motors in a dispute with company founder William C. Durant over producing materiel during World War I . Cadillac had been asked to build Liberty aircraft engines but Durant

234-549: A slump in the post–World War I recession and depression of 1920–21 . The Roaring Twenties brought renewed sales, but then the Great Depression slashed them. The armament-buildup period of 1936 to 1940 again renewed machine tool activity, and then the World War II material effort exploded demand, pushing it to record heights. Brown and Sharpe machine tools were a mainstay of American metal manufacturing until

273-563: Is buried there in Woodmere Cemetery . Brown %26 Sharpe Brown & Sharpe is a division of Hexagon AB , a Swedish multinational corporation focused mainly on metrological tools and technology. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Brown & Sharpe was one of the best-known and most influential machine tool builders and was a leading manufacturer of instruments for machinists (such as micrometers and indicators ). Its reputation and influence were such that its name

312-526: Is often considered to be inseparably paired with certain industrial standards that it helped establish, including: Since being acquired by Hexagon Metrology in 2001, Brown and Sharpe has concentrated exclusively on metrology equipment. Brown & Sharpe was founded in 1833 on South Main Street in Providence, Rhode Island by David Brown and his son Joseph R. Brown. The elder Brown retired in 1841, and

351-462: The Brown & Sharpe plant at Providence, Rhode Island . He subsequently worked in the firearms industry, including at Colt . These experiences in toolmaking , metrology , and manufacturing steeped him in the 19th-century zeitgeist of interchangeability . He applied this expertise to the nascent motor industry as early as 1870 as a principal in the machine shop Leland & Faulconer, and later

390-411: The former Warren Motor Car Company factory on Detroit's west side. However, he quickly realized the facilities were not sufficient to house the engine production envisioned, so he purchased a 50-acre plot of land at Warren and Livernois. The company immediately broke ground for a factory complex of over 600,000 square feet (56,000 m), hiring architect George D. Mason to design the new buildings and

429-535: The assets of the Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company, including the intellectual property, designs, trademarks, facilities and inventory, were acquired by Hexagon AB, although it did not acquire the Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company. The Brown & Sharpe brand of measurement products is manufactured by the Hexagon Metrology division of Hexagon AB , which retained many of the key individuals from

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468-485: The city, moving instead to suburban North Kingstown, Rhode Island . Such relocations were aided by the federal subsidies for highway construction and the rapid expansion in automobile ownership in the postwar era; Providence's suburbs developed throughout the 1950s. As the company's workers had become more mobile and the majority had moved to suburban areas, Brown & Sharpe decided to build a new facility on land cheaper than downtown. The new plant, dubbed Precision Park as

507-508: The company established its first overseas subsidiary in Plymouth, England, in 1955. Between 1957 and 1961 the company further expanded through the acquisition of related manufacturers, most notably the machine-producing Double A Products Company. In the aftermath of these changes and expansion, the company outgrew its central plant just west of downtown Providence. In 1964, Brown & Sharpe followed other Providence-based manufacturers out of

546-418: The company never again reached its wartime peak employment of 11,000, it still employed 3,394 workers in 1976. Company management had a policy of working to smooth production across the recessions of the 1970s and keep employment steady. During this time, President Sharpe and his successor Don Roach sympathized with the workers, who were concerned about job security at a time of reduction in industrial jobs and

585-419: The company refocused on the mass production of automatic screw machines as it completed a three-year, $ 4 million refitting program for its Providence plant in 1957. In keeping with the latest management theories, Sharpe also reorganized the company into separate divisions, with each one responsible for its own profit and loss. During this era, Brown & Sharpe began to experiment with international expansion, and

624-446: The company's factory and tooling prior to liquidation. Leland completed the appraisal, but he advised Murphy and his partners that they were making a mistake to liquidate, and suggested they instead reorganize, building a new car powered by a single-cylinder engine Leland had originally developed for Oldsmobile . The directors lost no time in renaming the company Cadillac. At Cadillac, Leland applied many modern manufacturing principles to

663-480: The company, believing they would still have full control to run the company as they saw fit. Ford assigned a number of their employees to Lincoln, ostensibly to learn from the latter. However, it soon became clear they were there to streamline their production and stop the loss of money that had bankrupted Lincoln. Relations between the workers of Henry Ford and Leland continued to deteriorate. On June 10, 1922, Ford executive Ernest Liebold arrived at Lincoln to ask for

702-582: The cyclical nature of machine-tool manufacturing. Despite these policies, Brown & Sharpe management made other demands of its workers and union leaders. In 1981, President Don Roach insisted that the company be able to shift machinists between jobs as needed, but many workers worried that they would lose traditional seniority privileges. In response, 1,600 union workers, members of the International Association of Machinists District Lodge 64, walked out on their jobs in what would become

741-715: The facility, but later used it primarily as a storage yard. In recognition of its importance in automotive history, the Lincoln Motor Company Plant was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 2, 1978. However, nearly all of the plant buildings were demolished in December 2002 and January 2003, including the main Buildings A, B, C, and D. A small portion of the Factory G was retained, as well as other scattered support structures; however, because of

780-553: The factory until 1952, when production facilities were moved to Wayne, Michigan The new Wixom plant opened in the fall of 1957. Ford kept some offices in the plant, and leased out portions to other companies after manufacturing operations were relocated to the new Wixom Assembly Plant . In 1955, Detroit Edison bought the complex for $ 4,500,000, renaming it the Detroit Edison Warren Service Center. The company consolidated many of its services into

819-548: The firm of Walbridge-Aldinger to build them. By the end of the war, the plant complex contained the Administration Building and Garage (Building A), the machine shop (Building B), the main Factories (Buildings C and D), a power house, a heat treatment plant, a motor testing building, and other minor structures. In January 1919, after producing 6500 Liberty engines, manufacturing operations were suspended, and

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858-595: The fledgling automotive industry , including the use of interchangeable parts. Alfred P. Sloan , longtime president and chair of General Motors, considered Leland to be "one of those mainly responsible for bringing the technique of interchangeable parts into automobile manufacturing." The Cadillac won the Dewar Trophy for 1908, which was actually presented in 1909. Leland sold Cadillac to General Motors on July 29, 1909, for $ 4.5 million, but remained as an executive until 1917. With Charles Kettering , he developed

897-583: The late 20th Century and could be found in most machine shops and factories which worked with metal. Additionally, Brown and Sharpe made calipers and micrometers which were essential to products built to fine tolerances. Shortly after World War II, Henry D. Sharpe Jr. succeeded his father as president of Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company. He led its development as a modern company designed to last. The firm stopped producing its old stalwarts: sewing machines, hair clippers, and certain categories of machine tools (including its line of milling machines ). Instead

936-526: The legal battle, saying that Brown & Sharpe had not illegally forced the strike. By this point, both Brown & Sharpe and its erstwhile work force were retreating from manufacturing in Rhode Island. During the long legal proceedings, Brown & Sharpe continued to change as a manufacturer and as an employer. During the 1980s and 1990s, the company concentrated on developing coordinate-measuring machines (CMMs), devices for dimensional measuring, as

975-423: The longest-lasting strike in the nation's history. It was also characterized as one of the most antagonistic in recent memory. The strike's hostility transcended the debate over the company's labor policy. It prompted questions among management about the future of the Rhode Island work force. On March 22, 1982, some 800 picketers clashed with members of the state and local police forces, who used tear gas to control

1014-584: The open shop whereby a worker could get a job even if he did not belong to a labor union. Leland was the son of Leander Leland and Zilpha Tifft. He married Ellen Rhoda Hull (April 24, 1846 – January 15, 1914), the daughter of Elias Hull. They had three children: Martha Gertrude (1868–1912), Wilfred Chester (November 7, 1869 – 1958), and Miriam Edith (1872–1894). They were all born in Millbury, Massachusetts . Henry M. Leland died in Detroit on March 26, 1932. He

1053-505: The resignation of Wilfred Leland. When it became clear that Liebold had the full authority of Henry Ford, Henry Leland resigned as well. That afternoon both men were shown out of the factory they had created. The Lincoln continues to be part of the luxury line of Ford to the present. Leland had no connection to the Lincoln Motor Car Works , a marque sold by Sears-Roebuck from 1905 to 1915. Progressivism in Detroit

1092-434: The sale, but the strong-willed Leland and Ford immediately clashed, and Leland resigned after a few months. Ford immediately began refurbishing the plant layout and manufacturing. Ford also added onto the size of the complex, hiring architect Albert Kahn to design some of the many buildings along Livernois, adding over 300,000 square feet (28,000 m) to the plant. The Lincoln Zephyr and Lincoln Continental were made in

1131-504: The strikers. Governor J. Joseph Garrahy publicly apologized for the actions of the police, which appeared unduly severe to many Rhode Island citizens. Although the strike legally continued after the tear-gas incident, the picket line largely disbanded. Many workers decided to move to other companies or work. In 1998, nearly seventeen years after the strike began, the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled on an appeal in

1170-533: The substantial loss of historic integrity the plant's National Historic Landmark designation was withdrawn on April 4, 2005. Building H, located along Warren Ave adjacent to the former Building A, was demolished in 2020. DTE Energy currently uses the Warren Service Center site as the location of its main distribution warehouse, fabrication shops and equipment storage. Henry Leland Henry Martyn Leland (February 16, 1843 – March 26, 1932)

1209-531: The war was soon over. Lincoln considered manufacturing automobile engines for other nameplates in the postwar years, but soon opted to convert to the production of luxury automobiles. However, production delays and the postwar recession of 1920 hurt sales, and the company eventually went into receivership. In 1922, Henry Ford purchased the company for $ 8,000,000, turning the Lincoln into Ford Motor Company 's luxury brand. Leland retained his management post after

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1248-446: The younger Brown formed a partnership with Lucian Sharpe in 1853, giving the company its name. The early years saw many innovations and inventions, including the first automatic machine for graduating rules (1850) and the precision Gear Cutting and Dividing Engine (1855). The company was incorporated in 1868. In 1866 Samuel Darling joined the partnership and the firm changed its name to Darling, Brown and Sharpe until Darling's interest

1287-690: Was a pacifist. Leland formed the Lincoln Motor Company in 1917 with a $ 10,000,000 wartime contract to build the V12 Liberty aircraft engine. After the war, the company was reorganized, and the Lincoln Motor Company Plant was retooled to manufacture luxury automobiles. The V8 engine used in the first Lincoln automobiles is said to be influenced by the Liberty engine's design. In 1922, Lincoln became insolvent and

1326-554: Was a supplier of engines to Ransom E. Olds 's Olds Motor Vehicle Company, later to be known as Oldsmobile . He also invented the electric barber clippers, and for a short time produced a unique toy train, the Leland-Detroit Monorail. Leland created the Cadillac automobile, later bought out by General Motors . In 1902, William Murphy and his partners at the Henry Ford Company hired Leland to appraise

1365-511: Was an American machinist, inventor, engineer, and automotive entrepreneur. He founded the two premier American luxury automotive marques , Cadillac and Lincoln . Henry M. Leland was born to Leander and Zilpha, the youngest of 8, in Vermont in 1843. Sources differ on the town of his birth ( Danville versus Barton ); he grew up in Barton. He learned engineering and precision machining in

1404-437: Was bought out by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company . Ford's bid of $ 8 million was the only bid at a receivers sale. Ford had first offered $ 5 million, but the judge would not accept it for a well-equipped company whose assets were conservatively estimated at $ 16 million. Ford had deliberately low-balled his offer as revenge for Leland's role in the creation of Cadillac. After the sale, Leland and his son Wilfred continued to run

1443-576: Was bought out in 1892. In 1872, the company moved from Main Street to a 33-acre parcel along the Woonasquatucket River in the Smith Hill neighborhood of Providence. The first building was designed in 1872 by Brown & Sharpe employee Thomas McFarlane. It was a huge 66,000 square-foot structure made of brick, cast iron, and concrete, and held space for all the company's functions. Over the years, more buildings were built, including

1482-576: Was energized by upper-middle-class men and women who felt a civic duty to uplift society by freeing it from the tyranny of corrupt politicians who worked hand in hand with unscrupulous saloonkeepers. Leland was an important leader, with his base in the Detroit Citizens League. Supported by Detroit's business, professional, and Protestant religious communities, the League campaigned for a new city charter in 1918, an anti-saloon ordinance, and

1521-482: Was responsible for the improvement and wider dissemination of milling machines , micrometers , turret lathes , screw machines , and other tools. A thorough account of the details is given in a seminal classic of machine tool history, Joseph W. Roe's English and American Tool Builders (1916). Like most machine tool builders , Brown & Sharpe rode a business cycle rollercoaster during these decades. After being kept very busy during World War I, builders suffered

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