Torrington Company
The Torrington Company was a firm that developed in Torrington, Connecticut, emerging as a rename from the Excelsior Needle Company. It used a "cold swaging" technique to create sewing machine needles and other needles from cold metal, and was the largest employer in Torrington. in addition to its main facilities in Torrington, it acquired a division, located in South Bend, Indiana. Later as a leading manufacturer of anti-friction bearings and a Fortune 500 company, The Torrington Company sold its products, which also included an array of metal parts and assemblies, to a variety of major global industries. Company Overview Originally a sewing needle manufacturer, Torrington diversified and grew over the years, becoming a discernibly different company with each passing decade. During the 1930s, the company diversified into anti-friction bearings and from that point forward evolved into the formidable force it represented during the 1990s. In 1968 the management sold the company to Ingersoll Rand. It was later purchased in 2003 by the Timken Company. The Timken company utilized its Heavy Bearing plants and later Needle Bearing plants along with Torrington brand name was sold to JTEKT in 2009. Company History In the nineteenth-century Connecticut was home to several inventive "Nutmeggers,"