Merrow Sewing Machine Company

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Merrow Sewing Machine Company

Type	Private
Founded	1838
Headquarters	West Wareham, Massachusetts,^[1] USA
Key people	Charlie Merrow, Chairman & CEO Owen Merrow, CFO
Industry	Textiles
Products	Overlock Sewing Machines Crochet Sewing Machines End To End Seaming Machines Sewing Machine Parts Sewing Machine Needles
Employees	~25 (2007)
Website	www.merrow.com

This article is about the sewing machine manufacturer. For the creature of myth, see Merrow.

Merrow Sewing Machine Company, based in West Wareham, Massachusetts, invented the overlock sewing machine, (also known as a serger in the home market), in 1860. In addition to being one of the most recognized brands of textile equipment in the world, it is the oldest manufacturer of sewing machines still made in the United States.

[edit] History

1822: J. Makens Merrow purchases a powder mill in Mansfield, Connecticut for the manufacture of gunpowder. The mill is destroyed shortly thereafter by a gunpowder explosion.

1838: J. Makens Merrow founds the first knitting mill in American in partnership with his son, Joseph M. Merrow, under the name J. M. Merrow and Son. This knitting mill is located on the site of the old gunpowder mill in Mansfield, CT.

1840s: A machine shop is established at the Merrow mill to develop specialized machinery for the knitting operations.

1877: The world’s first crochet machine is invented and patented by Joseph M. Merrow, then-president of the company.

1892: A need for expansion leads Merrow to rebuild its plant in Hartford, Connecticut.

1894 – 1947: Over 100 patents are issued in the Merrow name, most notably for the first shell-stitching machine and the first butt-seaming machine.

1964: Merrow expands operations in the South by opening Franklin Industries, a wholly owned subsidiary, in Lavonia, Georgia.

1972: Merrow acquires the Arrow Tool Company of Wethersfield, Connecticut, a machining subcontractor.

1982: Merrow moves its location from Hartford to Newington, Connecticut.

2004: Charlie Merrow and Owen Merrow great grandsons of Lane Bryant and great nephews to Joseph B. Merrow organize a buyout of the Merrow Machine Company and move its headquarters to Wareham, Massachusetts, changing its name to The Merrow Sewing Machine Company.