Plant Closings
Between 1950 and 1992, many Worcester companies closed their doors, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs. The number included old mainstays of the local economy like American Steel & Wire, Crompton & Knowles, the Royal Worcester Corset Company, Heywood Boot & Shoe, Pullman Standard (formerly Osgood Bradley Car Company), Reed & Prince, and Heald Machine. As ex-metal worker and union president Eli Mitchell commented ruefully in 1985, "It's a devastating thing to find out you're going to be shut down."

Loss of Select Manufacturing Firms, 1950-1992
Year	Closes or Moves	Product
1950	Royal Worcester Corset Co. Whittall Carpet Company	corsets carpets
1953	Heywood Boot & Shoe	men's shoes
1955	Bell Company	woolens & worsteds
1958	Reed-Prentice Corporation American Steel & Wire	machine tools steel
1960	Pullman Standard	railroad passenger cars
1962	Graton & Knight	industrial belting
1969	Worcester Stamped Metals	metal machine parts
1971	American Steel & Wire	wire
1973	Harrington & Richardson	firearms
1974	U.S. Envelope	envelopes
1977	American Steel & Wire	electrical cable
1978	Worcester Molded Plastics	plastic household goods
1980	Crompton & Knowles	looms
1983	Curtis & Marble	textile machines
1984	Rexnord (Baldwin Chain)	industrial chainbelts
1986	Johnson Steel & Wire	wire
1987	Reed & Prince	screws and fasteners
1991	Coes Knife	industrial knife blades
1992	Heald Machine	grinding machines

 

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