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Wilson-Hurd Manufacturing Celebrates 100th Anniversary
April 29, 2004 |Estimated reading time: 1 minute
Wausau, Wis. — Wilson-Hurd is celebrating a century of production and service.On August 7, 1900, inventor Arthur J. Hurd was granted a patent on his bag holder invention, designed for use in agriculture and industry. Four years later in 1904, Arthur J. Hurd formed a partnership with businessman George W. Wilson, establishing Wilson-Hurd Manufacturing. The two began producing the patented bag holder in a small factory on the corner of Scott and Second Streets in Wausau, Wis.
In the early 1920s, Wilson-Hurd was manufacturing and printing remembrance-advertising products such as flyswatters, aluminum-backed calendars, blotter covers, thermometers, whiskbroom holders and handheld fans. In 1928, a Wilson-Hurd salesman called on a growing manufacturer of electronic controls on the West Coast, the Square D Co. The buyer was not interested in remembrance advertising; however, he was so impressed with the printing quality of the sales samples presented to him that he inquired if Wilson-Hurd would be interested in producing a printed aluminum nameplate. Although Wilson-Hurd had not printed nameplates before, the Wausau office quoted the job and received the order. Seventy-five years later, Square D is still a customer of Wilson-Hurd.
As demand for products increased, capacity was quickly reached at the Wausau factory. As a result, in 1961 a second factory specializing in high-volume orders was built in Berlin, Wis. The Wausau plant was subsequently replaced by a larger and more advanced facility in 1967.
Screen-printing and plastic printed product were added to the manufacturing capabilities in 1979. In 1992, Wilson-Hurd introduced the Electronic Control Product Division (ECP), and in 1996 became an optical film contract converter. A year later in 1997, Wilson-Hurd incorporated formed In-Mold Decorated (IMD) inserts into its manufacturing capabilities. Work with an overseas manufacturer began in 1998, further expanding the services offered by Wilson-Hurd.
Today, Wilson-Hurd serves customers worldwide by offering the latest technologies and customized engineering solutions for data input devices; custom decorated and fabricated nameplates, point-of-purchase display and cosmetic components, formed in-mold decorated (IMD) inserts, and electronic control products.