Wright Machinery Company records, 1943-1989

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Summary

Creator:
Wright Machinery Company (Durham, NC) and Wright, Richard Harvey
Abstract:
Manufacturing firm founded in 1893 in Durham, N.C. that produced machinery for the packaging industry. Collection includes articles, brochures, clippings, correspondence, memorabilia, newsletters, photographs and other materials. Materials touch on business acquisition, company events, employee policies, retirements, staff promotions, stock and other issues. Individuals and companies represented in the collection include ACMA, Emhart, John Thomas Dalton, John L. Moorhead, Rexham, Richard Harvey Wright, Richard Harvey Wright II, and Sperry Rand.
Extent:
3.0 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.12028

Background

Scope and content:

Collection includes articles, brochures, clippings, correspondence, memorabilia, newsletters, photographs and other materials. Materials touch on business acquisition, company events, employee policies, retirements, staff promotions, stock and other issues. Individuals and companies represented in the collection include ACMA, Emhart, John Thomas Dalton, John L. Moorhead, Rexham, Richard Harvey Wright, Richard Harvey Wright II, and Sperry Rand.

Biographical / historical:

Manufacturing firm founded in 1893 in Durham, N.C. that produced machinery for the packaging industry.

Wright Machinery was founded by Richard Harvey Wright, a former partner in W. Duke and Sons tobacco enterprise. Wright left the Duke firm in 1885 to promote and sell automated tobacco packaging machinery. Wright's Automatic Tobacco Packing Machine Company began in 1893; around 1912 Wright formed a partnership with engineer and inventor John Thomas Dalton and together they formed the Wright-Dalton Machinery Company. Dalton left the firm in 1937; Wright renamed the company the Wright Automatic Machinery Company. During World War II Wright manufactured precision instrumentation for the U.S. Navy; during this time the Sperry Rand Corporation acquired a partial interest, and eventuallyj gained full control of the company in 1949. In 1967 a group of Durham area investors bought the company back from Sperry and renamed it the Wright Machinery Company. Wright merged with the Rexham Corporation in 1978 and became a subsidiary of the larger company. Wright was subsequently acquired by the Emhart Packing Group in 1985, then sold to Italian firm ACMA Group in 1987, which closed the Durham factory in 1989. In 2012 the Wright building at 915 Holloway Street in Durham was nominated for the National Register of Historic Places as an example of Modern Movement industrial architecture.

Acquisition information:
The Wright Machinery Company records were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 1997 and 2001.
Processing information:

Processed by Richard Collier, Oct. 2022;

Accessions described in this collection guide: 1997-0105, 2001-0054, 2001-0217.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Subjects

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Format:
Packaging

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Wright Machinery Company records, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.