1904 – 1924: W. H. Nichols Builds his Reputation as “Accurate Nichols

Much of the early history of American business was written in the lives of strong individuals who used skill and ingenuity to realize a dream. The story of the W. H. Nichols Company is no exception, and its development from a young boy’s romance with machines in Hamilton, Ontario to a modern, multi-divisional corporation with sales of over $50 million can be told in that wonderful blend of myth and fact that always surrounds colorful people and events.

It all began when “WH” Nichols decided to defy his strong-willed father’s wishes that his son become a minister. Under the baleful eye of a Victorian gentleman who had left his vocation as a ship’s carpenter in Plymouth, England, to run a butcher shop in Canada. “WH” determinedly opened a bicycle shop at the age of sixteen, having completed the eighth grade of formal education. Applying painstaking accuracy to his tinkering, “WH” built several bicycles, including one on which he set the world’s record in 1893 for the quarter-mile sprint.

Family conflict finally forced “WH “ to move to the United States (traveling by bicycle , or so the legend says), and he headed for the home of great machine shops – Hartford, Connecticut – where he joined Pratt and Whitney as an apprentice in 1894. After marrying Louise Bell Stoddard of Newington, Connecticut, “WH” arrived in Waltham, Massachusetts in 1902, and by 1904 had opened a shop in his cellar, beginning the long and harmonious relationship between the W. H. Nichols Company and the “Watch City” by the Charles. “WH” moved his growing business from one location to another as he built watch making tools for the Waltham watch industry. By the time he constructed the first building on the present Woerd Avenue site, “WH” had acquired the nickname of “Accurate Nichols” because of the inordinate skill he displayed in holding close tolerances. International Time Recorder, the forerunner of IBM, was one of those customers who stood in awe of “WH”’s ability to cut accurately space slots in an early tabulator (to be used to take the Russian census) – a task that had completely stumped others.

Times were not easy for the young Nichols family in the early years of the century. The panic of 1907 almost broke “WH” – that winter he, Louise and the children subsisted on potatoes and codfish trimmings – but he survived and watched his dream begin to take shape. As his reputation grew for tackling and solving “impossible” problems involving high degrees of mechanical accuracy, five children – four of whom would live to adulthood – began to fill the neat, clapboard home next to the shop. Mrs. Nichols, a strong lady with Yankee determination, cut off her husband’s shirtsleeves so that he could wander more safely around his machines as his first trusted employees made parts for the famous Liberty airplane engine. During and after World War I, “WH” steadily increased his business and added another building to the complex that would continue to be known simply as “the shop,” no matter how large the company grew.

Coatless, hatless, walking or bicycling, “WH” accumulated him a body of legend concerning his intolerantly high standards and his correspondingly volatile temper. Long-time employees of the shop, which was then known simply as “W. H. Nichols”, did not consider themselves to be “one of the boys” until they had been on the receiving end of one of “WH”’s tirades.

Stories were told of how “WH” would fire a man for carelessness, supposed or actual, only to follow the offender to the local bar where he had gone to nurse his wounds. “WH” would then, the tale goes, offer his version of an apology, which was generally a story about something entirely unrelated to the matter at hand, after which the worker would return to his job and “WH” would continue his prowl around the shop in dedicated search for ineptitude.

One of the favorite anecdotes about “WH” is of the day that he came upon a new employee standing knee deep in chips at his lathe. “WH” asked him in an ominously quiet tone if he wouldn’t feel safer and be able to work better in he cleaned up his chips. 

“I ain’t a janitor” the man snarled. Silently, “WH” got a broom and swept the floor.
“Now, isn’t it easier to work?” “WH” asked the surprised employee. 
“Yes, I guess it is,” was the man’s answer.
“Good. You’re fired.”

Demands for perfection were very common in the early years of “Accurate” Nichols. It was not unusual for “WH” to reach into a bin full of parts and to select one which had a microscopic irregularity. Furious, “WH” would hurl the offending piece at the wall and would blister the ears of the miserable machinist with a lecture that was heard by all. Leaving a path of shaken workers in his wake, “WH” would continue through the shop, an endearing, irascible man who read voraciously, taught himself the fine points of calculus, and was often heard to mutter towards the end of his life, “There’ll never be enough time!”

Part of the mystique surrounding “WH” grew from his total disregard for outward appearance. He hated pretensions, choosing to sit on the corner of the receptionist’s desk to open his mail, the contents of which inevitably bored him. Wastebaskets throughout the shop were worn paintless around the rim where “WH” had perched, shunning chairs and offices.

1925 – 1940: Applying “Mass Precision” to Mass Production

In the middle of the 1920’s, the innovation of another unique individual, Frederick McIntyre, coincided with “WH”’s skill for holding extremely close tolerances. McIntyre who had an idea for a new kind of pump to make rayon fiber of uniform thickness, visited Waltham in 1925 on the advice of Brown and Sharpe, the famous New England tool builders.”If anyone can make that thing of yours,” McIntyre was told, “Nichols can.”

“WH”, it turned out could and did. The concept for the first pump presented by Mr. McIntyre was improved and modified by “WH” to make manufacturing of the unit practical on a volume basis. Mr. McIntyre set up Zenith Pumps to sell the pump and Nichols produced the first cast iron, later stainless steel devices which were small enough to fit in one’s hand. At that time, “WH” entered into an oral agreement with Zenith, an agreement which still exists, whereby “WH” gladly abandoned the marketing and selling of the pumps to McIntyre in order to concentrate his efforts on manufacturing.

Because of his association with McIntyre, “WH” was introduced to the May Oil Burner Company of Baltimore, Maryland, which had acquired rights to a product called a “gerotor.”  May was unable to mass produce the new item for successful incorporation into their burners, so they turned to “WH” for help. In spite of solemn warnings from MIT authorities that mass production of the gerotor was impossible, “WH” did solve the manufacturing dilemma, and in the process patented the machine for grinding the inner gerotor gear contour. The shape of the outer gear had to be broached, as it was impossible to get a grinder head inside the outer gear ring. W. H. Nichols was on the road towards another one of its successful product lines.

Even in the matter of a million dollar business. “WH” took little more than $6000 a year for himself.  His extravagances were on more sophisticated and more delicate machinery, in which he continued to take unbridled joy. He had, for instance, one of the big SIP optical jig borers, and he watched with glee as customer engineer engineers were stopped cold by the impressive machine. There is even speculation that “WH”’s fascination with large machine tools may have been a key motivation for his entrance into another product line.

About 1934, “WH” purchased the rights to manufacture the Whitney Milling Machine, which had been developed to sink woodruff key seats in counter shafts. Up to this point, both the metering and gerotor pumps required relatively small machine tools, but the production of a milling machine would call for boring mills and planers of significant size. Beginning with four machines in the first year of production, the company increased its manufacture of milling machines to around 70 a month by the onset of World War II. At this point, Bob Morris, who was just setting up business for himself, came along and offered to take on the project of selling Nichols mills. He and Max Bloch set up Nichols-Morris Corporation which became the distributor of the well-received machine tools into the 1950’s, when REM sales took over and carried on until 1974.

Evidence of “WH”’s love affair with machines of all kinds filled the Nichols museum, which stood on the site formerly occupied by “WH”’s and Louise’s home, torn down following their passing in the 1950’s. Watches, clocks, machine tools, and handmade bicycles stood beside Waltham’s #1 Steam Pumper (now residing in the CRMII) and miniature locomotives as reminders of a man whose vocation and avocations were closely entwined.

WH”’s payroll record shows that the going wage in 1905 was 3 cents an hour in some cases. “WH” prided himself on knowing each of his men, and he felt strongly that he wanted no larger than a 100 man shop. But as the business succeeded, conditions became more complicated, and “WH” was delighted to welcome his sons, Hart and Arthur, into the company in the early 1930’s Both boys had graduated from MIT in the late 1920’s, and they returned from brief employment elsewhere to participate in the management of the company, while WH” concentrated more and more on solving mechanical problems in his workshop next door. In 1939 W. H. Nichols became “W. H. Nichols and Sons”, both in name and in fact.

1941 – 1950: W. H. Nichols and Co. War Service

The onset of World War II brought enormous expansion to the company – in facilities, in employee count, and in revenues. Buildings #4 and 5 were erected during the war years, with building # 12 put up a few years after the war in 1948. Employment grew from roughly 100 men in 1941 to 834 by 1944, many of the new employees being (for the first time) women. Having never grossed more than $1 million before 1941, the company earned $2 million that year, $4 million in 1942 and $5 million in 1943. Profits ran about $250,000 a year. But all this growth not make “WH” a rich man. To keep up with military orders, he borrowed heavily to erect new production facilities. After the war when he tried to write off more than half a million dollars of expansion costs, the IRS ruled against him.

All this growth was the result of new, wartime applications for pre-war product lines. The rayon pump was adapted to supply de-icing fluid to airplane propellers. Production of these pumps soared to 6000 a month by 1944. A similar pump design for nylon producer DuPont enabled that company to meet wartime demands for parachutes, reinforcement cording in heavy duty tires and more.

The May Oil Company oil pump was modified to be a high reliability aircraft engine lubricating pump, operating flawlessly under the extremes of temperature and altitude wartime fighters, bombers and transports encountered. Late in the war, these pumps were critical components of the first Allied jet airplane engines.

Besides the lubricating pump applications, operation of gerotor pumps could be “inverted”, to act as reliable hydraulically driven motors with many wartime applications, including ammunition hoists in warship and tank gun turrets. And in the category of “Secret” wartime production, Nichols set up a Division in Lexington (headquarters of Raytheon Co.) to manufacture precision components for radar antenna systems.

To ease the stress of meeting challenging production quotas and triple shift operations, “WH” and his son took a note from the Family’s enthusiasm for outdoor recreation and applied it to his workers.  At lunch hour, break times and days off, employees could enjoy sitting by and both rowing and sailing on the Charles River at the shop’s doorstep. Quoting Bill Nichols Jt. At the company’s 75th anniversary in 1979: “Gasoline was short in those days, and the company developed rowing crews for recreation. We even had a training launch, the “White Swan”, named after a paddle wheel steamer that used to go up and down the river.”

And there was more – the Nichols Orchestra that played in the company “Canteen”, baseball and hockey teams and tournaments, a blood donor program, with shop employees regularly giving more than any more Waltham business. There was the “Sea Scouts”, a water borne version of the Boy Scouts for employees’ children. There were the Christmas parties, with “WH” sitting on the edge of the stage chatting with his employees’ children and handing out toys. There were talent contests, with employee demonstrating their musical skills.

And finally, Nichols instituted the novel concept of profit sharing for his employees, in which 10% of the company’s profits were distributed twice a year in the form of cash bonuses.

At the end of the War, “WH” didn’t let the wartime boom and successes lull his drive. He is quoted as saying: “Take it from an old bicycle racer – This is no time to coast.”

1951 – 1984: W. H. Nichols Co, after “WH”

W. H. Nichols died in 1951. He was an original, and while his death marked the end of an era, his influence is all round us, even today. He insisted on a quality product, he had a keen sense of fairness, and he genuinely respected the people who worked for him.

Even though “WH” was gone, there were plenty of memorable characters around the shop in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Bob Adler, Vice-President and General Manager of the Portland Division in the 70’s, recalled some of the colorful figures he met when he joined the company as a carpenter in 1955. “Of course, Harold Lundstrom is the first one to come to mind. He had been with the company for over 60 years when he retired, he was the ‘father of the Twin Mill, and he was as fine an engineer as he was a gentleman! Then, with Harold there were men like Ralph Bomengen, Norm Smith, Ronny Lamont, Norm Stevens, Al Aldrich, Dick Garland, Keith Douglas, and many more, Each of these men was skilled and proud of his craft.”

During the years 1951 to 1966, Hart and Arthur moved the company ahead steadily and profitably.  Bill Nichols Jr. (Hart’s son) and Latham Nichols (Arthur’s son) joined the shop in 1953 and 1962 respectively. The Twin Mill was introduced, three additions were made to the Waltham plant, a sales company to sell gerotor products was formed by Secor Brown and John Shaw, and the association with Char-Lynn and Ross Gear began.

But in 1966 another important chapter in the company’s history ended. Hart Nichols died suddenly in Florida. Controller Alex McKenzie passed away later in that year, and Arthur Nichols began a two year bout with terminal cancer. It was a hard year for everyone in the company.

When Arthur died in 1968, Bill Nichols Jr. became President and a new team stepped into a period of growth and acquisition.  Matt Murtha offered years of valuable experience to the company as Vice-President and Treasurer, and Henry Thomas, Bob Sylvestre, Al Martin, and Charles Schock were among those who joined the company to help it change shape to meet the demands of the time.

The appearance of competition in machine tool technology had allowed others, by the middle of the 1960’s, to achieve tolerances close to those held by Nichols in all product areas – abroad in metering pumps and domestically in aircraft lubricating pumps. Nichols Milling Machines were challenged by alternative manufacturing processes like powder metal, and at the same were finding foreign machine tool manufacturers growing steadily stronger. The company embarked on two different directions to strengthen itself for the future – one towards engineering, and the other towards sales and marketing. Roger Coffey, as Chief Engineer, organized and directed his department in the newly constructed Engineering Building, and Al Martin began to form Nichols’ own sales group with personnel acquired from Brown and Shaw. Another important development of the time was the growth of the orbit gerotor business which had led first to the establishment of the Bear Hill Annex, under John Marrazzo, and ultimately to the building of the Portland Division which today continues to manufacture all Nichols Gerotors and Gerolers. 

Latham Nichols inherited his grandfather’s love for and skill with all things mechanical. He stepped into the position of Vice-President and General Manager of the Nichols Tooling Division in New Hampshire. Latham recalled some of the philosophies for which “WH” was famous, both in and out of the shop. “He was a nut for cleanliness, and he respected the tools of his trade so completely that he constantly reminded everyone to “not abuse that which gives you a living.” That and other of “WH”’s saying were painted on signs during World War II and hung in various locations around the shop.

Although the company had definitely redefined the role of Sales within the organization during this period, most of the principles which governed “WH”’s attitude toward business were still very relevant and important in the overall philosophy.  Jack Chappell, who joined Nichols in 1975 and became President in the late 70’s, stated firmly that “excellence, pride, precision, and uncompromising quality are threads which will always run through the fabric of the W. H. Nichols Company.”

Jack went on to say “We’ve made the necessary changes in the shape of the company towards decentralization and individual division responsibility, and we are constantly searching for appropriate new products and markets. One of our most immediate goals is to make ourselves sufficiently flexible and strong so that we can take advantage of opportunities when they arise. The establishment of HPI and DeHoff as permanent divisions, and the legacy of powder metal expertise which we received from our association with Sinterbond have given us a depth of personnel and skills. We also had valuable experiences with the Tool and Die Division and Jodice Controls.  We’re trying to emphasize market planning and control …”

CEO Bill Nichols Jr. knew that he had to grow the company in order for it to be large enough to become a public corporation – the issue of delayed inheritance taxes for two generations of “WH”’s descendants had become pressing and could be resolved only through sale of shares of publicly held stock, or outright sale of the business. Bill did an admirable job of growing the company from annual revenues of $13 million to $64 million during his tenure – despite increasing competitive pressures in both domestic and foreign markets. But by the mid-1980’s it had become clear that the company was not going to grow large enough to support an IPO, and the company leadership, working with Paine Webber, began a 6-month search for a suitable buyer. 

A list of 24 potential partners was identified and then narrowed to just six. Parker-Hannifin, a worldwide provider of fluid power products and systems for automotive, industrial, aviation, space and marine markets, was finally selected as a merger partner. Under the merger agreement, W. H. Nichols and Co. became the Nichols Group – consisting of the already operating Nichols Zenith Division in Waltham, Nichols Portland/Maine Division and Nichols Fluid Power Division in Gray/Maine and Sturtevant/Wisconsin. Parker-Hannifin initially kept all three divisions in the Nichols Group operating autonomously, but in the early 2000’s, took over the Waltham division and moved its facilities to Fort Devens, Massachusetts – unfortunately with the layoff of several long time Nichols employees and the shutdown of the historic operation at 48 

TIMELINE

1904
W.H. starts cellar workshop on Spruce Street, later Lawrence Street and Gifford Avenue.

1913
Moves to 48 Woerd Avenue, Company known simply as W. H. Nichols.

WW I
War production, including tooling for the famous Liberty airplane engine.

1918
Building #2 built in Waltham.

1925
Formal association begins with Fred McIntyre and Zenith Products. Development of metering pump for rayon thread extrusion begins.

1928
Production of rayon pumps begins, all sold through the Zenith outlet. Up to WWII, WHN Co. was the sole source of Rayon metering pumps worldwide, enabling the development of the synthetic textile industry.

1930
Licensed by May Oil Burner Co. to produce gerotors. WHN & Sons made gears and May produced and sold completed pumps. Up to the 1960’s, WHN Co. was the only source of gerotor pumps in the world which were accurate and strong enough to be used in both high-altitude aircraft engine lubricating   systems  (even those of  the U2 spy plane) as well as a whole new type of slow speed, hydraulic motor manufactured worldwide.

1931
Arthur Nichols joins W. H. Nichols firm.

1932
Hart Nichols joins W. H. Nichols firm.

1934
Nichols purchases rights to Whitney milling machine.

1935
Production of the “Nichols Hand Miller” begins, based on a re-design of the Whitney milling machine.

1936
Building #6 built in Waltham.

1939
Partnership formed, January 3, 1939, between WHN and his sons Hart and Arthur. “W. H. Nichols & Sons.”

WW II
W.H. Nichols sold 70 milling machines per month and, in 1944, 6000 airplane prop de-icing pumps per month.Employment grew from 100 in 1941, to 834 by 1944. 

1942
Building #4 built in Waltham.

1944
Building #5 built in Waltham.

1946
W.H. Nichols incorporated, July 1, 1946, as W. H. Nichols Co.

1948
Building #12 built in Waltham.

1951
W.H. dies. Arthur A. Nichols assumes presidency. 

1952
Building #15 built in Waltham (Tool Room).

1953
Bill Nichols Jr. joins WHN Co.

1956
Building #6 built in Waltham (for Miller production).

1962
Built Building #44 built in Waltham (Offices). A. Latham Nichols joins WHN Co. There were 438 employees.

1963
Construction begins on Bear Hill Annex for Gerotor production.

Mid - 1960s
WHN Co. provides gerotors to the Char-Lynn  company for use as speed reduction gearing for farm equipment. 

1966
Hart Nichols dies. Building #10 built is in Waltham (Precision Center). There are 580 employees.

1968
Arthur Nichols dies. Bill Nichols Jr. assumes the company presidency. Bear Hill Annex closed. Portland Division in Maine started for gerotor production.

1969
Hydraulics Inc., Sturtevant, Wisconsin is purchased and set up as a subsidiary.

1970
North East Mica property is purchased. Engineering Building in Waltham built.

1971
35% interest in Sinterbond Corporation in Gloucester, Mass. purchased.

1972
Sinterbond Building built.

1973
Control of Sinterbond is purchased and Jodice Controls, Inc. formed as a subsidiaries. Addition to the Portland Division built, to make low cost gerotors.

1974
Dehoff in Cranston, Rhode Island purchased and set up as a division. There are 977 employees.

1975
DeHoff addition is built and Sinterbond becomes a division.

1977
High Standard Product Line is established. Metri/Mic Product Line purchased. Machine Tool Group set up.

1978
Bill Nichols Jr. becomes Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Hydraulic Products Inc. (HPI) becomes a division. Jodice Controls is sold to Doble Engineering. The Tooling Division established in Rochester, New Hampshire, with A. Latham Nichols named Vice President and General Manager of the division. Sinterbond sold to Sintered Metals Inc. Addition at Portland to house powder metal operation is built.

1979
High Energy Systems Division is created. An addition to DeHoff is started. An addition to Portland is begun. There are 1007 employees.

1984
Nichols Co. annual sales are $50 million. Prime customers are General Electric and Pratt & Whitney for aircraft lubricating pumps. WHN Co. has sold 400,000 rayon pumps since 1928. Half of WHN Co. pump and hydraulic motor production is sold to Pentagon. Producing 30 hand milling machines a month. 

W. H. Nichols Co. is sold to Parker Hannifin. Nichols Co. to become Nichols Group with Nichols/Zenith Division in Waltham, Nichols Portland/Maine Division, and Nichols Fluid Power Division in Gray/Maine and Sturtevant/Wisconsin.