National Grinding Wheel Company, Inc.

National Grinding Wheel - Organized in 1904 in Buffalo, New York, the business was relocated in July 1929 to North Tonawanda where it manufactured grinding wheels in its new plant.  Originally organized by William H. Farnsworth, an undertaker; C. W. Zimmer, a butcher; Adam Zimmer; a butcher; Dr. L. H. Knapp, a dentist; and Emil Gruner, an exporter of hides from South America.  In 1904 grinding wheels were made mostly in a silicate of soda process and had little importance.  The organizers of the company knew little about grinding.  It is possible that they began making grinding wheels initially from Silica Sand or other materials.  The men who were butchers may have had knives to sharpen.  The dentis would have used abrasives in those days for dentistry.  The company went into bankruptcy several times.  In 1923, preparing to go into bankruptcy again, the business was mortgaged and indebtd for at least 150% more than its value.  John J. Russ, who had been with Carborundum for 27 years, reorganized National Grinding Wheel, Inc., in 1923.  There was little capital and it was worse than starting from scratch.  The company operated in Buffalo for about six years under the supervision of John J. Russ.  In 1928 the business had outgrown the Bufalo plant, which had a floor area of approximately 8,000 square feet.  Mr. Russ suggested a move to North Tonawanda and a new factory was constructed on 5-1/2 acres, including several manufacturing buildings containing about 25,000 square feet.  Manufacturing of grinding wheels in the new plant in North Tonawanda began in 1929.  By the 1950's National Grinding Wheel had 170,000 square feet of production space. They manufactured every type of grinding wheel for industrial use, including grinding wheels made by the vitrified process, resinoid process, Shellac bonded process, and rubber bonded process.  Under the management of John J. Russ from 1923, the company grew to a business selling all over the United States.

John J. Russ began his career in 1896 with the Carborundum Company which was at that time manufacturing a furnace product called Silicon Carbide.  They were known by their trade name, Carborundum."  In 1907, Mr. Russ and his family were sent to Dusseldorf, Germany, to establish a factory for Carborundum.  He completed the job in 1909 and returned with five children instead of the three he had left with.  In 1911, Carborundum asked him to go to England.  Refusing because of his children's schooling, he continued with the Niagara Falls plant. In 1922 Carborundum erected a finishing plant at Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, which John Russ set up.  He then resigned from Carborundum in 1923 to take over the management of National Grinding Wheel Co., Inc., in Buffalo, which at that time was not operating.  He was elected President of the National Grinding Wheel Co., Inc., in 1929, a position he held until 1951.  He later took his three sons and a daughter into the business.  Clara M. Russ joined the company in 1928 and John T. Russ in 1932, taking over a part of the ceramic end of the business.

Courtesy of "History of National Grinding Wheel Company, Inc., North Tonawanda, N.Y., dated September 14, 1951, donated to the North Tonawanda History Museum by John T. Russ. 

Ad copy from 1965 Centennial Magazine.