Standard Textile Products Company

The following information is from pages 734-736 of the History of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley by Joseph G. Butler 1921:

"The Standard Textile Products Company, which operates one of its factories between Youngstown and Girard, and whose executive head is H. M. Garlick, of Youngstown, is a corporation with an interesting history. It was established in 1898 as the Ohio Oil Cloth Company, with a capital of $200,000. The enterprise was undertaken by Youngstown capitalists anxious to reinvest in their home town some of the money they had received through the numerous consolidations in the steel industry at that period, but they were without experience and soon found that the business could not be carried on successfully on the original plans. A careful investigation pointed to the enlargement of the business in such a way as to exercise more control over raw materials and markets as essential to success. Accordingly, in 1901 the Standard Table Oil Cloth Company was organized, with a capital of $8,000,000, of which one-half was preferred stock and one-half common stock. With this capital it was possible to acquire a number of other plants located in different parts of the country, the products of which were closely related and could be manufactured and marketed in connection with those of the plant in the Mahoning Valley.

The constituent companies under this arrangement were the Ohio Oil Cloth Company, Atha & Hughes, of Newark, New Jersey, Jos. Wild & Company, of Astoria, New York, Buchanan & Sons, of Peekskill, New York, T. R. Goodlatte & Company, of Passaic, New Jersey, Keystone Oil Cloth Company, of Norristown, Pennsylvania, and the Western Linoleum Company, of Akron, Ohio. In order to promote efficiency and economy of operation, two of these plants were soon afterward combined with others and an entirely new plant erected at Rock Island, Illinois.

In 1907, in order to place the finances of the corporation on a firm foundation, the company was reorganized, the name changed to the Standard Oil Cloth Company of New Jersey, and the capital reduced to $6,000,000. In June, 1914, another reorganization took place, the company being chartered under the laws of Ohio and the name changed to the Standard Oil Cloth Company. At this time the capital was increased to $7,000,000, and in order to supply needed cash for working capital, the stockholders paid in $10 per share. On January 16, 1916, the capital was again increased to $9,000,000, and in May, 1919, another increase was authorized, bringing the capital up to $15,000,000. In order to better indicate the diversity of product the name was changed in December, 1918, to the Standard Textile Products Company.

In the meantime the capacity of the company had been greatly increased and the production diversified until it is at this time the largest manufacturer of light oil cloths and similar materials in this country, if not in the world. In addition to the plants named above, it has since 1909 erected the Meritas mills at Columbus, Georgia, known all over the country as one of the largest of its kind, as well as an important cotton mill at Mobile, Alabama, and from these secures much of the fabric used in its operations. It now makes more than 2,000 different kinds of material and caters to more than fifty different industries. Among its products are a number familiar in every household, and during the war it furnished for the government millions of yards of materials used for forty-five different purposes.

Value of the products during 1918 was $15,290,670.83, this having increased more than five times since 1902. About twenty per cent of these products are exported, going to all parts of the world. The general offices of the company are in New York, but the corporation is largely owned in Youngstown. The present officers and directors are: President and, treasurer, Henry M. Garlick; vice president and general manager, Alvin Hunsicker; secretary, Harold S. Hull; assistant secretaries, W. B. Fenton, Paul H. McElevy; directors, Henry M. Garlick, A. E. Adams, Alvin Hunsicker, Benjamin Atha, Harold S. Hull, Wilford P. Arms, Frank Hitchcock, E. L. Brown, A. Powers Smith, Geo. Allen, J. T. Broadbent, and W. E. Thatcher."

The plant of the Standard Textile Products Company, originally the Standard Oil Cloth Company plant, promoted by Youngstown capital, has come into existence on a site that was the Youngstown baseball park in the 1890s.

I suspect that Jos. Wild & Company, of Astoria was the path that led John Hubert Heinl to the Standard Textile Products Company.



The following article is from the Youngstown Vindicator dated Feb 13, 1925.

No. 116. The Standard Textile Products Co.

By W. S. Hull, Vice President

In 1901 a group of Youngtown business men headed by Henry M. Garlick and the late George McKelvey formed the Standard Table Oil Cloth Co under a New Jersey charter to take over the business of seven light weight oil cloth manufactures which included the Ohio Oil Cloth Co organized in 1896. The local plant is at Mosier, on the way to Girard. Other companies were located at Akron, Newark, N. J., Athenia, N. J., Montrose, N. Y., Astoria, L. I., and Norristown, Pa.

This combination of plants made the new company the largest manufacturer of oil cloth of the world. During the next few years economies in operation made it advisable to dismantle some of the older plants and some of the machinery from these plants was shipped to the Youngstown plant. Since those days the local plant has continually progressed to meet the changes in demand for its production. Starting to manufacture table oil cloth and carriage enamel cloth for the harness and buggy trade, its equipment from time to time has been enlarged and transformed to meet changing needs and it now produces the highest grade of artificial leather that is marketed.

In 1908 the Standard Table Oil Cloth Co. underwent a reorganization and was succeeded by the Standard Oil Cloth Co. of New Jersey. In June, 1914, a new company of the same name was organized but with an Ohio charter and through the exchange of stock the New Jersey Company was liquidated. Shortly after the war, the name of the company was changed to its present title, The Standard Textile Products Co., so that its name would more fully represent the changes in the character and scope of its business.

In 1911 the company erected its first cotton mill at Columbus, Ga., for furnishing the basic fabrics which enter into its finished products. This department has grown apace with the needs of the company and now embraces mills at Mobile, Ala., McComb, Miss., Selma, N.C., and Columbus, Ga.

During the war these cotton mills as well as the local plant of the company, operated at practically 100 per cent of capacity for many weeks furnishing war supplies. In addition to furnishing automotive coverings and trimmings, the local plant manufactures material for pauline and commercial vehicle use, materials for luggage, shoe findings, slicker, furniture upholstery, trimmings and kindred lines.

All but one-third of the Standard Textile Products Company’s production is devoted to the manufacture of leather cloth, table oil cloth, and linenette, a new substitute for table linen and other household purposes. The remaining third is devoted to the manufacture of the fabric wall covering called “Sanitas.”

The company maintains a statutory office in Youngstown at the Dollar Bank Building, and a general office at 320 Broadway, New York City.

Henry M. Garlick was president and treasurer of the company for more than 20 years and still retains the treasurership. He was succeeded in the presidency by Alvin Hunsicker in 1921. Mr. Hunsicker was formerly secretary and later vice president. The following Youngstown men have served on the board of directors for many years: A. E. Adams, Wilford P. Arms, Frank Hitchcock, E. S. Brown. Recently Mr. Charles Booth has joined the directorate.





Some interesting links:

These are cotton mills in Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. Page down about half-way.

A different Standard Textile Co. founded in 1940.