1、 Diamond Chain Company Founded: 1890 Location: 26 East South Street, Indianapolis (189093); 126224 West Maryland Street (189395); 241 West Georgia Street (18951917); 402 Kentucky Avenue (1917 ) On 24 December 1890 Arthur C. Newby, Edward C. Fletcher, and Glenn G. Howe established the Indianapolis Ch
2、ain four men tended four machines. The company grew quickly with the bicycle craze that swept the nation at the end of the nineteenth century. In the 1880s the “safety” bicycle, with two, equal-sized wheels close to the ground, replaced the dangerous high-wheel bicycle. The market for the new bicycl
3、e boomed, and the sales of the companys trademark Diamond bicycle chains took off. By 1904 two-thirds of the bicycle chains used in America (and one-fourth in the world) were Diamond chains. In 1893 Indianapolis Chain decimals were taught with the aid of time clocks.) By 1925 the employees had acces
4、s to a group life insurance program and a credit union. In 1943 the United Steelworkers of America organized Local 1697 at Diamond Chain. The diversification of the companys product line to include multiple chains and timing devices for trucks, cars, and motorcycles helped it weather the Great Depre
5、ssion. After Lucius Wainwrights death in 1931, his son, Guy Wainwright, became president of the company. In 1946 the name of the company was changed to Diamond Chain Company, and in 1950 it was acquired by American Steel Foundries (later Amsted Industries). In the 1960s Diamond Chain Company was producing chains used in over 130 different industries and purchased interests in overseas roller chain manufacturing plants. By the 1980s the company was importing lower cost chains abroad that it marketed in the United States. In 1993 Diamond Chain had 600 employees.
