Reed & Prince Mfg. Co.
A 5th Generation Family Owned Business
As you might know by now, I like to flip through old periodicals, trade magazines, and books. For an upcoming Preferred Shares episode, I’ve been studying some of the early aviation and defense contracting companies that started up in the 1920s and 1930s. Thus, in the August 1929 issue of Aero Digest magazine, I stumbled upon more than a few companies I had never heard of. One that seemed intriguing enough for me to start googling was Reed & Prince Mfg. Co. Here was their advertisement to the right of an ad for Reliance Tachometers:
Because I’ve followed Fastenal for many years, I have more than a passing interest in screws, bolts, and other fasteners.
I start googling for Reed & Prince. I find the company still exists. That’s one hurdle cleared.
The next hurdle is the most daunting: is it still independent? The odds are extraordinarily low given that 95 years have passed since the above ad in Aero Digest. Odds are the company sold out to a larger business or to private equity since then.
But lo and behold! Reed & Prince is a part of that rare breed of businesses.
It is still private and in its fifth generation of family ownership.
Oh, but after some more digging, there certainly was a bit of elision in the history. It turns out there were one or two moments best left unsaid lest it spoil an apparently perfect story.
The Beginning
According to the Reed & Prince web site:
Reed & Prince was founded by Edgar Reed in 1886 in a small shop on Tainter Street in Worcester, Massachusetts as a manufacturer of tacks, nails and brads. In 130 years, we have evolved into a multi-faceted company designing and engineering precision, custom fasteners. Over those years, we have earned a reputation as an industry leader, developing and manufacturing innovative new products that provide our customers with cost savings, reduced lead times and process enhancements.
And did you know? Reed & Prince fasteners were in 49% of WWII Aircraft!
The company did acquire at least one other business early in its history. From this 1899 issue of Hardware magazine:
Worcester. Mass.—The Reed & Prince Mfg. Co. have purchased the business, machinery and tools of the National Rivet Co., of New Haven, Conn. The newly organized property is being moved to the plant in this city, on Tainter Street. With the machinery of the National Rivet Co. added to the present plant, the output of the shop will be greatly increased.
Reed & Prince would also develop a line of calipers and screw gages in addition to its traditional line-up of rivets, burrs, and bolts. From the January 8, 1914 issue of American Machinist:
Founders Pass Away
Thomas Prince, a co-founder of Reed & Prince alongside Edgar Reed, died on Feb. 5, 1920 at the age of 78. He had retired from the company about 15 years prior.
Edgar Reed would die on May 21, 1930, also at the age of 78. The New York Times reported Reed was a Massachusetts manufacturer known for his generosity. In 1916, he even sent a check for $5,000 to the British Government “as a slight tribute from an American to England in her grand fight for a just cause.”
With the passing of Edgar Reed, its unclear who was running the business, but it was likely Edgar’s son, Alden Reed. After WWII ended, Alden’s son, Edgard Reed, II (1924-2019), would come to work for the company and would eventually become its next President. The second Edgar also had a sister, Joyce Reed Richardson (1929-2017), who in turn had a son, Jim Richardson, who would work for the family business and become its next, and still current, President.
“Undoubtedly the Best”
The company continued to grow and expand in the 1940s and 1950s. It started advertising its wares in trade magazines further afield from its origins in The Iron Age, American Machinist, and Hardware Age. The below ad is from Yachting, November, 1943:
Reed & Prince would continue to press the case that they were “A HEAD of the times” with their screws and drivers. There was undoubted efficiency in being able to use a single driver to tighten or loosen any size screw. Also, when compared to the Phillips screws, there was less chance of camming out with the R&P screws. See this ad from Aviation, May, 1946 (they’d be a regular advertiser for many years in Aviation and Aviation Week):
Five months later in the October 1946 issue of Aviation, Reed & Prince would cite Pullman-Standard as a satisfied user of its products. “Pullman-Standard Builds Better Cars… builds them faster with Reed & Prince Recessed Head screws and power bits!”:
And then a few years later, Reed & Prince had apparently grown so profitable that they were able to pay for a full-page ad in the May 1948 issue of Fortune:
Further Study
"The Frearson screw drive, also known as the Reed and Prince screw drive and specified as ANSI Type II Cross Recess, is similar to a Phillips but the Frearson has a sharp tip and larger angle in the V shape. One advantage over the Phillips drive is that one driver or bit fits all screw sizes. It is often found in marine hardware and requires a Frearson screwdriver or bit to work properly. The tool recess is a perfect, sharp cross, allowing for higher applied torque, unlike the rounded, tapered Phillips head, which can cam out at high torque. It was developed by an English inventor named Frearson in the 19th century and produced from the late 1930s to the mid-1970s."
Wikipedia contributors, "List of screw drives," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://bit.ly/424dr8Z (accessed January 3, 2025).The difference between these two types of recessed head screws was of such importance, that it was the very first article in Vol. 1, No. 13, of the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Service Bulletin on June 15, 1943. Any sized Reed & Prince driver could be used on any Reed & Prince screw, but each different Phillips screw required a specific Phillips driver (consult the manual!):
Antitrust Attention
I was not able to find much material after the 1950s about Reed & Prince. However, I was surprised to find the United States filed a civil antitrust complaint against Reed & Prince and four other manufacturers of standard screws on July 15, 1980. The four others were Amtel, Elco Industries, NL Industries, and Textron.
The complaint alleged “that beginning as early as 1957 and continuing at least until sometime in 1977, the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to restrain interstate commerce by fixing the prices of standard screws sold wholesale through various types of distributors.”
Among many other orders and restrictions, the final judgment entered against this group by Chief Judge Andrew Cafferty prevented any further collusion in the sale of standard screws. The Final Judgment would be in place for ten years from June 1981.
Interestingly, the 1980-81 complaint and judgment was not the first against a group of screw manufacturers. See this article from the Oregon Encyclopedia:
In 1947, the U.S. government filed suit against the Phillips Screw Company and seventeen manufacturers of Phillips screws and drivers alleging anti-competitive practices dating back to 1933. They were charged with patent pooling, cartel practices, price-fixing, and the suppression of competing technologies. The case, United States v. Phillips Screw Co., was tried in the U.S. District Court of Northern Illinois (Chicago). The case was concluded in 1949 with a consent decree that dissolved the patent pool, likely making it difficult to protect the collection of patents that the company relied upon to protect its intellectual property. In any case, unlicensed companies had earlier begun to produce similar competing designs, some of which were convinced to buy into the licensing agreement.
Elco Industries Acquires Reed & Prince
It turns out that in February 1986, Elco Industries of Rockford, IL, acquired “the assets and business of the hardware division of Reed & Prince Manufacturing Co. located in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.”
However, it seems Elco either overpaid for Reed & Prince, or encountered it’s own separate set of difficulties soon after. There’s a news release from December 3, 1990, detailing some of the turmoil that ensued:
Though many felt that Reed & Prince might have been among the fastener manufacturers which have bitten the dust, FIN [Fastener Industry News] has learned that you’ll be hearing a lot more from Reed & Prince.
That’s Reed & Prince Manufacturing Corp., a new entity which has been formed to acquire the assets of the Reed & Prince Manufacturing Co., Worcester, Massachusetts, an old line fastener manufacturer which, you’ll recall, filed for bankruptcy in March 1987.
With his own equity and some help from two local banks, Jim Richardson, president, has acquired the assets of Reed & Prince from the bankruptcy court and has an optimistic outlook for the company’s future. “Since the filing,” Richardson tells FIN, “the company has done a good job maintaining its existing customers. We did business on a COD basis with our vendors, and we were still able to service our client base. We are excited about the opportunity to grow our vendor and client base.”
Reed & Prince, founded 115 years ago, produced standard fasteners for major OEM markets (such as automotive) and in recent times, like many other fastener suppliers, it has had to face major downturns in its traditional markets.
So after the Richardsons bought back the family business out of bankruptcy, what were the significant changes going forward? Specialization, of course. There’s often riches in niches and way too much competition in commodity products (emphasis mine):
What the new Reed & Prince is counting on, says Richardson, is a de-emphasis on standard products and a concentration on serving specialty niches. Producing engineered cold headed specials for Fortune 500 (and some Fortune 50) companies, Reed & Prince supplies the telecommunications, automotive, auto aftermarket, building and construction, and aerospace markets, among others. Sales are direct and through manufacturers’ reps.
Today
Reed & Prince is still in business. They embrace their “smallness”. It gives them “flexibility to make quick decisions.” They have low overhead and make use of Lean manufacturing techniques.
Today, they have 30 different production machines and have developed their own proprietary design software to lower costs further and speed the design and manufacturing process. They’re proud that they actually make what they sell, as opposed to just designing parts in the U.S. farming production out to an overseas manufacturer. This enables them to “maintain rigid control over quality, reliability, and cost.”
For a business started in 1886, to be still in family hands (not withstanding the brief interlude with Elco) defies the odds and is worthy of commendation.
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Further Reading and Listening
Final Judgment of antitrust case U.S. v. Phillips Screw Company, et al. (1949)
“Robertson, Phillips, and the History of the Screwdriver”, The History Guy, Nov 18, 2019.
“Phillips screw and driver”, Oregon Encyclopedia
“Vanished Tool Makes: Reed & Prince/Frearson”, Progress is fine, but it’s gone on for too long, Nov. 2, 2012.
US Patent for Frearson’s screw that was later “perfected” by Reed & Prince
Disclaimers
The content of this publication is for entertainment and educational purposes only and should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any particular security. The opinions expressed herein are those of Douglas Ott in his personal capacity and are subject to change without notice. Consider the investment objectives, risks, and expenses before investing.
Investment strategies managed by Andvari Associates LLC, Doug’s employer, may have a position in the securities or assets discussed in any of its writings. Doug himself may have a position in the securities or assets discussed in any of his writings. Securities mentioned may not be representative of Andvari’s or Doug’s current or future investments. Andvari or Doug may re-evaluate their holdings in any mentioned securities and may buy, sell or cover certain positions without notice.
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Fantastic read--incredible that this obscure company from Worcester, MA (Woo-stah!) made the fasteners that found their way into 49% of WWII aircraft!
(Incidentally, Fastenal has proven that a dominant market position is possible in a seemingly commodity business. And the current management of Reed & Prince may be on to something with its specialization push. Time will tell in the next century...)