Harold Walter
Encyclopedia
Harold J. Walter, born in Colorado 1901, died in 1962 in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, was an American textile manufacturer.
. He grew up in Colorado and graduated from the University of Colorado
in 1923, at the age of 21. He went to work in the textile industry
and rose to become a well known industrialist and entrepreneur, known for research in the manufacturing of textiles. He rose to be the CEO of the Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company, headquartered in the town of Uxbridge, Massachusetts
.
companies in America
. The company had thirteen plants nationwide, with 6000 workers, and in four states, and was written up in Time Magazine in August 1953 in an article entitled "the Pride of Uxbridge". The Bachman Uxbridge Worsted company was a pioneer in blending synthetics with woolen manufacturing. The company boasted 75% percent increases in productivity with a variety of processes including air conditioned plants. Their proprietary processess produced material that led the U.S. in women's wear in the 1950s. The company had a long history of producing military uniforms, and produced the dress uniforms for the U.S. Army and "the first U.S. Air Force Uniform". They developed highly productive processes for making yarn. See also the articles on Colonel John Capron, Bernat Mill
, and Uxbridge, Massachusetts
.
. Research into textiles at Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company produced a range of blended fabrics, including the "wool-nylon serge" used for army uniforms. The original U.S Air Force Uniform produced at the factory was dubbed and patented "Uxbridge Blue" or "Uxbridge 1683", after blue dye color selected at Bachman Uxbridge. This dye was used in the manufacture of uniforms from 1947.
Early life and education
Harold John Walter was born and raised in ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. He grew up in Colorado and graduated from the University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
in 1923, at the age of 21. He went to work in the textile industry
Textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the production of yarn, and cloth and the subsequent design or manufacture of clothing and their distribution. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry....
and rose to become a well known industrialist and entrepreneur, known for research in the manufacturing of textiles. He rose to be the CEO of the Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company, headquartered in the town of Uxbridge, Massachusetts
Uxbridge, Massachusetts
Uxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was first settled in 1662, incorporated in 1727 at Suffolk County, and named for the Earl of Uxbridge. Uxbridge is south-southeast of Worcester, north-northwest of Providence, and southwest of Boston. It is part of...
.
Significance as an industrialist
Walter modestly credited his success in an article in Time Magazine to "marrying the boss's daughter". Charles Arthur Root, a local industrialized who had founded the Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company was his father-in-law. Harold later became the President of the Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company. At its peak it was one of the most successful textileTextile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
companies in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The company had thirteen plants nationwide, with 6000 workers, and in four states, and was written up in Time Magazine in August 1953 in an article entitled "the Pride of Uxbridge". The Bachman Uxbridge Worsted company was a pioneer in blending synthetics with woolen manufacturing. The company boasted 75% percent increases in productivity with a variety of processes including air conditioned plants. Their proprietary processess produced material that led the U.S. in women's wear in the 1950s. The company had a long history of producing military uniforms, and produced the dress uniforms for the U.S. Army and "the first U.S. Air Force Uniform". They developed highly productive processes for making yarn. See also the articles on Colonel John Capron, Bernat Mill
Bernat Mill
The Bernat Mill, also known as Capron Mill, and later "Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company", was a yarn mill in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, USA, that was destroyed by fire on July 21, 2007....
, and Uxbridge, Massachusetts
Uxbridge, Massachusetts
Uxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was first settled in 1662, incorporated in 1727 at Suffolk County, and named for the Earl of Uxbridge. Uxbridge is south-southeast of Worcester, north-northwest of Providence, and southwest of Boston. It is part of...
.
Time Magazine and uniforms
The mill was featured in the August 24, 1953 edition of Time Magazine, in an article entitled, "The Pride of Uxbridge" as the site of the Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company, which was then one of the most successful textile mills in New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. Research into textiles at Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company produced a range of blended fabrics, including the "wool-nylon serge" used for army uniforms. The original U.S Air Force Uniform produced at the factory was dubbed and patented "Uxbridge Blue" or "Uxbridge 1683", after blue dye color selected at Bachman Uxbridge. This dye was used in the manufacture of uniforms from 1947.