Page 9 - Demo

Lynchburg Glass
Corporation
BY JUSTIN STOUDT
When it was erected in 1918, the Lynchburg Glass Works was considered a state-of-the-art facility. It was built with the intention of producing various types of bottles and windowpanes; however, a changing market soon allowed the company
to expand its line of wares. The Lynchburg manufacturer’s markings can be found on a variety of collectable glassware, including electrical insulators, fruit jars, medicine bottles, and soda-pop bottles such as Coca Cola and Chero Cola.
Though the plant was well equipped and ideally located for rapid rail service, financial success eluded the company during its first five years of operation. To what extent mismanagement, competition, or quality issues hurt the bottom line during that period is unknown. This story begins in 1922–1923, when the glass works was making an attempt to add to its capabilities and attract new customers.
A New Niche
Early in 1923, the Lynchburg Glass Works fell on hard times. President N. D. Eller felt that the company could do much better and sought to improve its financial status. The 1922 closure of the Brookfield Glass Company in New York presented Lynchburg with an opportunity to fill a major market niche. Eller began exploring the possibility
of manufacturing glass telephone, telegraph, and power insulators.
Eller looked to one of his competitors, the Gayner Glass Works in Salem, New Jersey, for expertise. Shortly thereafter, Gayner Glass Works insulator production supervisor,
J. William Gayner, was hired to come to Lynchburg
and resurrect the Lynchburg plant. On July 16, 1923,
the company was incorporated as the Lynchburg Glass Corporation, with J. William Gayner as the vice president of operations. Mr. Gayner promptly moved the entire Gayner insulator operation to Lynchburg.
Along with his business and glass-production experience, Mr. Gayner brought glass-making equipment and insulator molds that were originally used at Gayner Glass Works. Some of the other equipment included four hand-operated insulator presses and a Gayner-built automatic insulator machine. In
addition, the Lynchburg
Glass Corporation purchased
some assets of the Brookfield
Glass Company during
its liquidation due to
bankruptcy. One such
piece of equipment was a
Brookfield-Kribbs insulator
press, which Lynchburg
paid royalties to use. Some
Brookfield insulator molds
were also obtained, but the
extent of this acquisition is
not known. It is known, however, that many of the Brookfield and Gayner molds would eventually be placed into insulator production at Lynchburg, after being retooled with the Lynchburg name.
Aggressive Marketing
The production of insulators began in November of 1923. The company’s marketing slogan, “Supreme Where Quality Counts,” was a direct reflection of Gayner’s participation. Lynchburg marketed its insulators aggressively, and by the following year, many large shipments were being sent abroad. Lynchburg insulators have been found in such faraway places as Newfoundland, Canada, South America, the Caribbean islands, Mexico, the Philippines, and Australia.
Domestic shipments were aided by the company’s close proximity to the railroad. Direct rail access to the glass plant was provided with a spur to the Southern Railway Company, which moved supplies in and goods out of the glass works
at a rapid pace. The Norfolk and Western Railway and
the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway also provided service
to the plant, further ensuring competitive shipping rates
to customers. These benefits were outlined in advertising campaigns, which highlighted the centrality of the plant to all parts of the United States.
Another advertising gimmick employed by Lynchburg involved adopting or closely mimicking the style numbers of their competitors’ insulator product line. The company claimed that by offering these somewhat standard style
SPRING/SUMMER 2011 29
A vacant lot in the vicinity of Ann and Hudson streets, near US 29 in Lynchburg, Virginia, was once the site of a bustling glass works that covered slightly more than five acres. In
its heyday, the plant produced everything from insulators to
pop bottles. But the modern manufacturer who boasted “Supreme Where Quality Counts” could not live up to this slogan. By 1926, only seven years after it started, the company was officially bankrupt. What happened?