Ames True Temper

Ames True Temper, Inc
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryLandscaping tools
Predecessor
  • American Fork and Hoe Co.
  • Ames, Baldwin, Wyoming Co.
  • Ames Shovel and Tool Co.
  • Baldwin Tool Works
  • Hubbard & Co
  • O. Ames Company
  • The Old Stone Forge
  • Pittsburgh Shovel Co.
  • True Temper Co.
  • Wyoming Shovel Works
Founded1774 (1774)
FounderCaptain John Ames
Headquarters
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
,
USA
Area served
Worldwide
ParentGriffon Corporation
WebsiteAmes.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2][3]

Ames True Temper is a multinational corporation headquartered in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, USA. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Griffon Corporation.[4] Ames True Temper specializes in the manufacture of non-powered lawn and garden products.[1] Their manufacturing plant is located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and produces 85% of the wheelbarrows in the United States and Canada producing 1.7 million wheelbarrows each year. The Harrisburg plant has been in continual operation since 1876.[5]

Ames , which celebrated its 200th anniversary in 1974, is among the oldest extant business corporations in the United States.[6]

History

Formation

Blacksmith and pioneer Captain John Ames began making metal shovels in America in 1774.[7] Ames underwent a merger in 1931 including Baldwin Tool Works of Parkersburg, West Virginia, the Ames Shovel and Tool Company of North Easton, Massachusetts; the Wyoming Shovel Works of Wyoming, Pennsylvania; Hubbard & Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and the Pittsburgh Shovel Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It later absorbed the Skelton Shovel Co. Inc. of Dunkirk, New York. The result of the merger was called the Ames Shovel and Tool Company. The company was renamed the Ames, Baldwin, Wyoming Company in 1933. In 1952, it became known as the O. Ames Company.[3]

The Old Stone Forge of Wallingford, Vermont, founded in 1808, became the American Fork and Hoe Co. In 1949, the name was changed to True Temper. Ames purchased True Temper from the Huffy Corporation in 1999 to become Ames True Temper.[3]

In 2002 Ames, then based in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania closed one of its two plants manufacturing lawn and garden tools in Wood County, West Virginia.[8][9]

Problems and controversies

Ames True Temper Company closed its facility in West Virginia in September 2005, unable to reach a contract agreement with the United Steelworkers Union.[3]

Brands

Ames True Temper currently [when?] owns the following brands:[4][10]

  • Ames
  • ClosetMaid
  • Dynamic Design
  • Garant
  • Harper
  • Hound Dog
  • Jackson
  • Razor-Back
  • Southern Patio
  • True Temper
  • Union Tools
  • Westmix

Ames Australasia

Currently[when?] owns the following brands:[11]

  • Cyclone Tools[12]
  • Hills
  • Nylex
  • Kelso[13]
  • Northcote Pottery[14]
  • Tuscan Path
  • Trojan Tools[15]
  • Supercraft
  • Gardenmaster
  • Westmix
  • La Hacienda

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Ames True Temper, Inc.: Private Company Information". Businessweek. Bloomberg. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  2. ^ "About Us". Ames True Temper.
  3. ^ a b c d "Ames True Temper Collection". Stonehill College. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Griffon Corpopration -- Ames True Temper". Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  5. ^ Vendel, Christine. "Where are 85 percent of the country's wheelbarrows made?". PennLive. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  6. ^ Sloane, Leonard (April 30, 1974). "Ames Prospers as It Marks 200 Years". New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  7. ^ "Ames - Our History". Ames True Temper. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  8. ^ "Ames True Temper plant closing". The Charleston Gazette. AP. May 4, 2002.
  9. ^ Harris, Linda (June 10, 2002). "Ames True Temper closes plant in Parkersburg". The State Journal. Vol. 18, no. 23. p. 25.
  10. ^ "Our Brands". Ames True Temper. Archived from the original on November 15, 2011. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  11. ^ "About Ames".
  12. ^ "Home". Cyclone. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  13. ^ "HOME - Kelso - Built Stronger to Last Longer". Kelsotools.com.au. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  14. ^ "Northcote Pottery | The container gardening experts". northcotepottery. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  15. ^ "Home". Trojan Tools. June 7, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2022.