Early years in
Worcester, Massachusetts was the first customer of Wyman and Gordon's new company. The Worcester Drop Forge Works was founded in
Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1883 by Horace Wyman and Lyman Gordon. It was later renamed the Wyman-Gordon Company. His son
Robert Waring Stoddard joined the company in 1929 and succeeded Harry G. Stoddard as president in 1955, holding that position until being elected chairman in 1967. He was one of the founders of the right-wing and anticommunist
John Birch Society. Stoddard was opposed to the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, which would make racial discrimination illegal. In 1964, the company employed black workers only as janitors.
Abbie Hoffman was the press officer for a group of civil-rights agitators who targeted the Worcester plant for picketing. Later, they filed petitions with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and the U.S. Air Force. In July that year the company agreed to change its hiring practices. As late as the 1970s, Wyman-Gordon was a major player in automotive forging. Due to growth of international competition in this market, the company decided to focus on aerospace. Wyman-Gordon India, a joint venture, went public in February 1962. In 1964, Wyman-Gordon India started mass production of forged steel crankshafts and other components for an Indian-made jeep that
Mahindra & Mahindra was manufacturing. This was the first time crankshafts had been produced in India. Later the company changed its name to WG Forge & Allied Industries Limited. In the long run, the company was not successful. It was referred to the
Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction, which tried to revive it, but without success. In 1992, it went into liquidation.
Difficulties and acquisition , Scotland In the late 1980s, the need for military components was reduced as the
Cold War ended, coupled with a decline in demand for commercial aircraft parts. By 1993, the aerospace industry was just 60% of its size in the mid-1980s. Wyman-Gordon had to lay off employees. Despite financial difficulties, in March 1992, the company announced a joint venture with Pratt & Whitney and
Perth, Western Australia-based Western Aerospace to form Western Australian Speciality Alloys. Wyman-Gordon also acquired PFI investment cast facilities (1988), Arwood investment cast facilities (1990), and Cameron Forge (1994). The purchase would have potentially reduced competition in the industry. To gain approval for the deal from the
Federal Trade Commission, PCC was required to divest two of Wyman-Gordon's foundries, one in Albany, Oregon, and the other in Groton, Connecticut. The acquisition was completed on 12 January 2000. At least in the short term, it was planned that Wyman-Gordon would retain a separate identity.
Recent years In April 2000, PCC announced that it was closing Wyman-Gordon's Buffalo, New York, pipe-making plant. The 12,000-ton extrusion press would be moved to the Wyman-Gordon facility in Houston. By consolidating production in one plant, the company would cut costs and speed up the production cycle. Wyman-Gordon purchased the UEF aerospace division of United Engineering Forgings in May 2000 for £22m, calling the new subsidiary Wyman Gordon Lincoln. The division based in
Lincoln, England, makes forged engine discs, engine shafts, and components of airframes and landing-gear. Its main customer is
Rolls-Royce. In 2000, Wyman-Gordon built a manufacturing facility in
Plzeň, Czech Republic. The plant makes titanium, nickel, and steel alloy rotary parts for the power generation and aerospace industries, using immersion ultrasound to test the products. In December 2000, Wyman-Gordon acquired the Drop Dies and Forging Company, which had been founded in 1919 by Joseph F. Rice. In January 2011, it was reported that Wyman-Gordon had expressed interest in a joint venture with
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited to manufacture boiler tubes in India. Wyman-Gordon serves the marine, aerospace, power, fuel, and construction industries. It uses forging and extrusion presses that are among the world's largest, including a 35,000-ton press in Houston and a 30,000-ton press in Livingston, coupled with custom-made dies to produce various complex components. Its plants process steel, titanium, and nickel-based materials, among others. ==See also==