Merrow Sewing Machine Company
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| Private | |
| Industry | Textiles |
| Founded | 1838 |
| Headquarters |  Fall River, Massachusetts, USA |
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Key people
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Charlie Merrow, Chairman & CEO Owen Merrow, President |
| Products | Overlock sewing machines; Crochet sewing machines; End-to-end seaming machines; Sewing machine parts; Sewing machine needles |
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Number of employees
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~25 (2010) |
| Slogan | The Stitch Matters |
| Website | http://www.merrow.com |
The Merrow® Sewing Machine Company is a manufacturer of sewing machines, established in 1838 as the Merrow Company by J. Makens Merrow. Originally a gunpowder manufacturer, in 1837 the company built a knitting mill, and in 1887 evolved to design, build and market sewing machines exclusively. Best known for inventing the overlock sewing machine, it was renamed J. B. Merrow & Sons in 1888, then The Merrow Machine Company in 1893. Originally all of its manufacturing was done at facilities in Merrow, Connecticut and then in Hartford, Connecticut. The company is currently based in Fall River, Massachusetts.
History
In the early 19th Century Mr. Joseph Makens Merrow became interested in the manufacture of gunpowder and purchased a powder mill 24 miles from Hartford Connecticut. After the Mill was destroyed by explosion, in 1837 it was decided to build a knitting factory on the same site using water power from an adjacent river.
At first the knitted goods were made largely of native wool which was sorted, scoured and dyed, picked, carded and spun into yarn and knitted into hosiery. The product was sold through commission merchants in New York and delivered to retail stores throughout New England by two-horse wagons. Following the gold rush of 1849 shipments of goods began to sail to San Francisco. As business increased, a small machine shop was started to support the equipment in the factory. [1][2]
