Scott & Williams Company Records

Scott & Williams began as the Fidelity Machine Works, founded in 1865 by Joseph Heginbothom, an Englishman who came to the United States in 1863. The company was located in Philadelphia and specialized in shafting, hangers, couplings, and general machinery parts. The company also built steam hosiery presses and spring beard flat frames for making plain and rib fabrics, welted rib top fabric, and cardigan jackets. Heginbothom designed the first truly efficient circular knitting machine.

By 1882, Fidelity Machine Works was producing 30 to 40 rib underwear machines a month and employed 150 men; in this year, Heginbothom became the first manufacturer in the U.S. to manufacture full-fashioned knitting machinery under what was known as Cotton's patent. Heginbothom hired Robert W. Scott and Louis N. D. Williams to help in the development of the full-fashioned equipment; after Heginbothom's sudden death in 1883, both men assumed chief responsibility for the business.

In 1886, the Heginbothom Machine Company was incorporated, with William Heginbothom, son of Joseph, as president, and Robert W. Scott as treasurer. In 1888, Robert W. Scott and Louis N.D. Williams bought out the Heginbothom family's interest in the business and changed the company name to Scott & Williams. Robert W. Scott proved to be a brilliant inventor and is credited with being the person who did more to advance the art of circular knit seamless hosiery than anyone in its history. By the time of his death in 1925, there were 232 U.S. patents in his name. The business flourished and by 1910, the year of its incorporation, it had outgrown its Philadelphia location. The George D. Mayo Machine Company in Laconia, NH was purchased and the entire manufacturing operation moved to this location. Scott & Williams's success in developing and producing new and improved machinery led to the construction of a series of new buildings in Laconia in the years 1916, 1919, 1930-31, and 1942. The company also purchased several other machinery manufacturers including the Cole Manufacturing Co. in Lakeport, NH, Standard Trump Brothers Machine Company in Wilmington, DE, and the Ordinance Gauge Manufacturing Co. and the H. D. Brinton Co., both in Pennsylvania.

In 1921, a foundry in West Concord, MA, was purchased to produce castings. During World War II, knitting machine manufacturing was brought to a standstill except for spare parts for military knitting, but Scott & Williams was able to retain personnel, with a peak of 2200 employees in 1942, by filling orders for the Eclipse Pioneer Division of Bendix Aviation. The company continued to prosper throughout the 1950s, with machines being produced for quality manufacturers including Hanes Hosiery, Burlington Mills, and Kaiser Roth. In September 1960, Scott & Williams opened a plant in Bruges, Belgium. Sales, service, spare parts, and knitting machine assembly and testing were all part of the Belgium operations.

The 1960s saw the beginning of declining profits for the company and in 1966, the business was sold to White Consolidated. The company continued to do business in half hose and fabric machines. Double-knit fabric machines were produced in 1970-1972, but in 1980 a White Consolidated executive purchased the company and it was liquidated in November of 1981.