In the meantime, Fairbanks’ scales were also being sold throughout Europe. The modest one-building operation would eventually grow to 40 buildings with more than 20 acres of floor space within the next 50 years.Į & T Fairbanks & Company offices were soon opened in the cities of Boston and New York. The workforce now included salesmen and agents who combed the marketplace with drawings and watercolors of the scales. In less than 30 years, the three Fairbanks brothers had hired more than 1,000 workers to supply the demand for Fairbanks products. With just $4,000 and 10 employees, the company was making scales, plows and stoves.ġ860 Marks Major World-Wide Expansion for Fairbanks Erastus and Thaddeus were now joined by their younger brother,Joseph. By the time of the Civil War, Fairbanks' scales were the best known American product in the world. The E & T Fairbanks Company played an integral role in the emerging world giant.
While the Fairbanks brothers were building the foundations of Fairbanks Scales, the United States was stepping into the Industrial Age and on its way to becoming the strongest industrial nation in the world. It looked like the opportune time for the business to expand.įairbanks Plays Major Role in Industrialization Before the design was finalized, customers were already placing orders. In 1830, Thaddeus built his first real scale and applied for a patent. Now his scale was not only accurate, but very stable. By adding two short levers to his long ones, he established support points at all four corners of the platform. Johnsbury for the test marketing of the scale, he discovered a solution to his dilemma. Although achieving accurate weighing results, Thaddeus was troubled by the instability of the design. In his first design, Thaddeus rested a platform on two long levers which were connected to a steelyard, upon which the counterbalance was placed.
This modification ended the task of having to hoist the entire load. He dug a pit for the levers, placing the platform level with the ground. Not completely satisfied with his invention, he took it a step further. Through an arrangement of levers, Thaddeus Fairbanks was able to tremendously reduce the amount of weight needed to counter-balance a load. So, Thaddeus decided to invent a new, more dependable weighing machine. Once in business together, the two brothers realized that the current weighing system yielded inaccurate results. The two brothers formed the E & T Fairbanks Company in St.
In 1824, Erastus joined Thaddeus' lucrative business.
Full of new ideas for inventions, he built a foundry in 1823 to manufacture two of his inventions-the cast iron plow and a stove.
Thaddeus, a mechanic and builder, was a wagonmaker by trade. It all began with two brothers, Thaddeus and Erastus Fairbanks. Fairbanks continues to break new ground in scale design, setting the new standard in weighing equipment and systems engineering while meeting the special needs of our customersĪs one of the nation's oldest industrial manufacturing companies, Fairbanks Scales has consistently maintained a solid reputation of providing top quality products and service since 1830. For more than 180 years, Fairbanks has provided top quality industrial weighing equipment and dependable service through a network of Fairbanks sales and service representatives and authorized distributors.