Large sizes of chain require powerful forming machines


(left) Harry Weed’s 1904 Tire Chain Patent.


for American military and naval equipment fueled the industry’s growth, and many of the smaller companies united to create larger, more diverse consolidations.


CRISIS CREATES CHANGE


As T e Great Depression descended in October 1929, the U.S. economy collapsed and continued to disintegrate for three more years. During this time, the chain industry experienced intense competition, and the notion of cooperative action off ered a practicable solution. In 1932, the federal administration introduced sweeping changes to American business practices. Newly elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt encouraged private companies to form industry coalitions under a stimulus law called the National Industrial Recovery Act. Responding to the call for a coalition, 40 chain companies—then producing 90% of the nation’s welded and weldless chain—attended a series of meetings in Pittsburgh, Buff alo, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., during the summer and fall of 1933. T ese meetings resulted in the formation of a new cooperative chain organization in Washington, D.C. T e group was subdivided into product-related committees, such as a welded chain committee, a tire chain committee, and a committee for producers of small chains, including sash chains, register chains, and jack chains. During this brief stimulus period, almost every major metal fabricating industry in the country had formed a trade association. T ey’d established commercial codes and agreed to fi xed limits on


26 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2012 WIRE ROPE EXCHANGE


prices, wages, and employment. Vast amounts of statistical information, covering such things as costs and distribution systems, had been shared among chainmakers. Contacts with other trade associations, including the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) had also been initiated. Seeking the simplifi cation and standardization of chains, the industry continued its vigorous cooperation with the Federal Government into the 1940s. A few days before the Attack on Pearl Harbor, in 1941, Robert Martino of the Bureau of Standards noted the association’s progress. For example: “T rough its Committee on Tire Chain Specifi cations, the [association] has prepared, and keeps constantly under revision, specifi cations for several types of tire chains…” However, the Federal Trade Commission soon halted such progress. In the hope of eliminating what it considered to be anticompetitive business practices, the FTC issued cease and desist orders against a large number of trade associations, including the one formed by the chain industry.


REORGANIZING THE ORGANIZATION


Ultimately, the chain industry modifi ed its practices to eradicate all of the activities considered objectionable by the FTC. Meetings were conducted according to antitrust laws, and cooperative eff orts focused on programs of benefi t to the general public, such as an educational campaign for safe winter driving. In 1956, in recognition of its revised mission, the organization changed its name to T e National Association of Chain Manufacturers and relocated to Chicago, Illinois, which continues to be the nonprofi t’s corporate base. T e NACM business offi ce has moved


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84