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What's new

LQQK> A new FB group has recently been formed for Warner & Swasey Alumni.

4GSR

Diamond
Joined
Jan 25, 2005
Location
Victoria, Texas, USA
Have to ask, Who is still alive that worked for W & S today???
I figured by now most all that had anything to do with W & S are dead and gone.
What do I know....
 
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RC Mech

Stainless
Joined
Jul 21, 2014
Location
Ontario, Canada
Legitimate question from an ignorant soul on the topic: why does W&S have an alumni section on PM?

Was W&S that large of a company compared to other American MTB’s, or what special place do they hold? If there’s some sort of colossal union busting that happened or corporate buy-out drama, I myself sure am curious.
 

4GSR

Diamond
Joined
Jan 25, 2005
Location
Victoria, Texas, USA
W & S was big at one time. They built some fine turning centers back in the 1970's early 1980's until their death. Competition killed them. Mori Seki was their biggest competitor back then. Like most machine tool builders in USA, union labor and corporate greed contributed to its death.
 

TOM RICHARDSON

Plastic
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Location
SC USA
W & S was big at one time. They built some fine turning centers back in the 1970's early 1980's until their death. Competition killed them. Mori Seki was their biggest competitor back then. Like most machine tool builders in USA, union labor and corporate greed contributed to its death.
W&S had over 8000 employees when they were purchased and the devils sold them out after buying their stock on the New York market exchange. They then started selling some of the Div. and sold the equipment. W&S had a bunch of cash in the bank; as they were one of the first company's to start leasing equipment and the devils found out about the cash in the bank. They had the main plant in Cleveland Ohio, a research center in Solon Ohio, a Gradall construction equipment plant in New Phil. Ohio; another construction equipment plant in Mn.; a Textile equipment plant in Gastonia,NC and a Machine tool mfg. plant in England. May have been more but that is all I remember. Yes some of us are still alive! They were still going strong when greed in the USA took over.
 

Alphonse

Aluminum
Joined
Mar 18, 2007
Location
Cleveland, OH USA
W&S had over 8000 employees when they were purchased and the devils sold them out after buying their stock on the New York market exchange. They then started selling some of the Div. and sold the equipment. W&S had a bunch of cash in the bank; as they were one of the first company's to start leasing equipment and the devils found out about the cash in the bank. They had the main plant in Cleveland Ohio, a research center in Solon Ohio, a Gradall construction equipment plant in New Phil. Ohio; another construction equipment plant in Mn.; a Textile equipment plant in Gastonia,NC and a Machine tool mfg. plant in England. May have been more but that is all I remember. Yes some of us are still alive! They were still going strong when greed in the USA took over.
Yes sir Tom, great sumary on W&S, and yes some of us are still allive lol. In fact, this new facebook page has twelve of us and counting. It was started by Cleveland Historian Lauren Pacini, who also worked there in the early 1960's. I believe many W&S living alumni are not to keen with the use and history of Facebook. Cheers.
 

DDoug

Diamond
Joined
Oct 18, 2005
Location
NW Pa
Yes sir Tom, great sumary on W&S, and yes some of us are still allive lol. In fact, this new facebook page has twelve of us and counting. It was started by Cleveland Historian Lauren Pacini, who also worked there in the early 1960's. I believe many W&S living alumni are not to keen with the use and history of Facebook. Cheers.
It's still unable to be seen by anyone other than "the twelve".....
 

Alphonse

Aluminum
Joined
Mar 18, 2007
Location
Cleveland, OH USA
It's still unable to be seen by anyone other than "the twelve".....
Yes Doug...That is because it is a private group. The person who founded this group wants it that way for his reasons. There are 14 members now, we have no problem with joining the goup.
 
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DDoug

Diamond
Joined
Oct 18, 2005
Location
NW Pa
Yes Doug...That is because it is a privage group. The person who founded this group wants it that way for his reasons. There are 14 members now, we have no problem with joining the goup.
So why post about it here if WE can't join ?
Maybe this forum should get deleted, and you "Band of 14" can go pound sand on facebook.
 

apoet

Plastic
Joined
Dec 10, 2021
Can you imagine someone posting about their university alumni Facebook page or something similar, and you getting MAD about not being able to join because you didn't go to that university? Such an odd thing to get salty about. But that's PM for you :)
So why post about it here if WE can't join ?
Maybe this forum should get deleted, and you "Band of 14" can go pound sand on facebook.
 

Alphonse

Aluminum
Joined
Mar 18, 2007
Location
Cleveland, OH USA
Can you imagine someone posting about their university alumni Facebook page or something similar, and you getting MAD about not being able to join because you didn't go to that university? Such an odd thing to get salty about. But that's PM for you :)
The founder of the FB group states on its page: This Group is for Alumni and Friends of the Warner & Swasey Company. I can understand if a person does not wan't to be questioned, screened or accepted in anyway to join a private FB group. It kinda goes against the grain of us strong willed, hard working machinists.
 
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FJsapper

Aluminum
Joined
Nov 18, 2020
Location
Sterling Heights, MI
Somebody needs to do a Smithsonian type interview series with you guys. I’ve read through a ton of old literature and the prevalence of periodicals such as “my buddy” is an indicator of a positive leadership climate.
 








 
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