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Goodell-Pratt Company - Greenfield, MA
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Goodell Brothers - the
Bedrock of Goodell-Pratt Co.
by Wiktor Kuc |
7 of 19
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Apparently the work on building the new factory
advanced swiftly and in November, 1892 Henry E. with help
of his brother Dexter W. began
moving equipment from Shelburne Falls to Greenfield.
In December, installation of machinery from Shelburne Falls and
new equipment began in the new factory.(12)
It took a while, but by July, 1893, all equipment was installed
and production began.(13)
One publication states that the factory,
"... is of brick, two stories high, one
hundred feet by thirty feet, and is situated north of Main
Street, on the Boston & Maine railroad tracks.
They give steady employment
to about twenty hands, turning out some thirty thousand dollars
worth of goods every year; and this product is sold to the
United States and the European trade, articles of their
manufacture having a wide reputation for excellence on two
continents."(14)
Goodell Brothers Company
After a few years of operation, the company attracted
the attention of industry observers and potential investors.
We can assume that Henry E. Goodell realized that further
company growth needed an injection of capital, which he did not
have. The right offer came soon from William M. Pratt.
On July 1, 1895 Henry E. Goodell incorporated the Goodell
Brothers business under the name of Goodell Brothers Company.
The corporate certificate was issued on July 26, 1895.
(15)
 William M. Pratt
joined the company as a treasurer and manager. He also
contributed financially by purchasing fifty percent of the company
stock.(16)
Apparently this change did not
sit well with Dexter W. Goodell. He left the company,
selling his interests back to the corporation.
At the time Pratt, native of Shelburne Falls,
MA, was employed as the secretary with H. H. Mayhew Company at Shelburne Falls.
Born and educated in Shelburne Falls, Pratt was
well acquainted with the local industrial establishments. For
several years he was involved in the banking industry of South
Dakota. After returning to Shelburne Falls in 1890,
Pratt
became involved with H. H. Mayhew Company as the secretary, where he
was responsible not only for company's operation, but also sales
and marketing.(17) One peculiar aspect of
the Mayhew operation was their
exclusive arrangement for the sales of the Goodell Brothers products.
Obviously, William M. Pratt had an inside knowledge and
understanding of the Goodell Brothers operation, since he was the
one involved in sales.
His addition to Goodell Brothers Company
had an immediate positive effect on the whole operation.
Pratt contributed expertise in two areas that the company was
most
lacking - finances and marketing/sales. Under the management of William M. Pratt, the company
received a substantial injections of new energy and money!
From the following events, it is obvious that William M. Pratt
was an excellent manager and a leader. It appears that he
was able to quickly diagnose problems hampering the company and
develop a plan for a new direction.
The execution of this plan was also quite
impressive. Two areas of operation were
immediately strengthened - New Tools Design and Marketing/Sales.
First, new product development received
special attention, funding and personnel. Pratt realized
that he needed to do everything possible to catch up with events
in the industry. Albert D. Goodell, at the time back in
Shelburne Falls, was re-engaged
and together with Henry E. began working on several new tools. We
don't have the details of this arrangement, but considering that
Albert D. was already busy with Goodell Tool Company in Shelburne Falls, it
is likely that the arrangement was based on monetary
compensation. Herbert D. Lanfair, Goodell brothers'
nephew, was lured from Millers Falls Co. and brought onboard to help with
the development of new products
as well.
Second, Pratt changed the approach to the sales of tools.
He initiated a campaign with larger retail houses for placing
the Goodell Brothers' tools in their catalogs. The results
were almost immediate. The listing for Goodell Brothers tools appeared in Hammacher,
Schlemmer & Co. in 1896 catalog and Chas. A. Strelinger & Co., a
large retailer and mail-order from Detroit, MI, placed full page
listings for the Goodell Brothers' hand and breast drills in his
1897 catalogs.
Tools in the Hammacher, Schlemmer & Co. catalog for 1896.
The hand drills shown in the Hammacher, Schlemmer &
Co. catalog were based on the new patent, just
received by Herbert D. Lanfair. The Automatic Drills were based on
patent received previously by the Goodells.
(12) Bureau of Statistics of Labor,
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, The Annual Statistics of
Manufactures for 1892, (Boston, MA: 1893), 450, 468.
(13) Bureau of Statistics of
Labor, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, The Annual Statistics
of Manufactures for 1893, (Boston, MA: 1894), 371;
Jenkins, Paul, The Conservative Rebel, A social History of
Greenfield, Massachusetts, (Town of Greenfield,
Massachusetts, 1982), 172;
Report of the Tax Commissioner
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the year ending
December 31, 1896, (Boston, MA, 1897), 70.
(14)
Biographical Review Publishing Company, Biographical Review - Biographical Sketches of the Leading
Citizens of Franklin County, Massachusetts, (Boston, MA,
1895), 326.
(15)
Bureau of Statistics of Labor,
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, The Annual Statistics of
Manufactures for 1895, (Boston, MA: 1896), 267.
(16) Cope,
Kenneth, Sorting
out the Goodell Companies, Chronicle of the Early American
Industries Association, v. 45, no. 4, (Levittown, NY,
1992), 115.
(17) Cutter, William R.,
Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of
the State of Massachusetts, Vol.3, (New York, 1910), 1549.
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