In 1903, the Clark Equipment Co. existed as George R. Rich Manufacturing Co., a side business owned by executives of the Illinois Steel Co. The company was named after a mechanic who designed the Celfor Drill, used for drilling holes in steel railroad rails. The company was in need of a larger facility to increase its client base, and in 1904 relocated to Buchanan, Michigan. Troubled financial times resulted in the company hiring Eugene Clark, a 33-year-old Illinois Steel employee and mechanical engineer, as a product consultant. Clark determined that the metallurgy of the drill was faulty. Rich Manufacturing was eventually renamed Celfor Tool Co. Under Clark’s management, sales steadily inclined with the company manufacturing new drills of tungsten steel. By 1909, the company had paid its first dividends to investors. The same year, Clark also traveled to Europe and learned that using electric furnaces was producing steel castings of a higher quality. Convinced that such a process would take off in the U.S., Clark and executives at Celfor Tools constructed a second plant, Buchanan Electric Steel Co. The plant would be used to produce high-quality, high-grade steel castings and new technologies. Eventually, Buchanan Electric Steel Co. was one of two companies in the U.S. producing steel disc wheels for the automotive industry. Wikipedia [ - ]

In 1903, the Clark Equipment Co. existed as George R. Rich Manufacturing Co., a side business... [ + ]