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Updated: October 1, 2023 @ 8:00 am
For nearly 60 years, Doehler-Jarvis was one of Batavia’s manufacturing mainstays. This photograph of the former Doehler-Jarvis Division building at Mill and Evans streets in Batavia was taken in February 1983, one year after the company had closed its Batavia factory. The factory had survived economic downtowns, wars and numerous other challenges while bring much prosperity and prestige to the area. During the company’s peak in the mid-20th century it was the largest producer of die-cast metal in the world. The company’s factories were renowned during the 1950s and 1960s for creating a variety of metal products, including automotive parts such as engine bearings and decorative hood ornaments for car manufacturers that included Willys-Overland, Packard, Ford, and General Motors. The company’s roots date back to 1907 when it began as Doehler Die Casting Company. Founder Herman H. Doehler, a German immigrant turned businessman, moved the company from Brooklyn to Batavia in 1923 to be closer to Eastman-Kodak Company in Rochester, a valued customer as Doehler helped Kodak in the development of several metal cameras. Doehler also created parts of Charles Lindbergh’s famous Spirit of St. Louis, which became the first airplane to cross the Atlantic in 1927, according to Daily News archives. By the early 1930s, Doehler had also opened factories in Pottstown, Pa., Toledo and Chicago. During World War II as many as 2,500 people worked at the plant. A May 1942 Daily News article reported that magnesium bombs produced at the Doehler facility were used by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle and his crews in their daring raid over Tokyo on April 18 – six months after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Doehler-Jarvis also helped in the development of electronic typewriters, vacuum cleaners and products for the defense industry. Workforce numbers saw a gradual decline in the 1960s and 1970s, although Doehler-Jarvis was still a top local employer as of 1966. By 1980, however, only about 150 workers remained. The end came in February 1982 when then-owner National Lead, which had acquired Doehler-Jarvis in 1953, pulled up stakes and left Batavia.
For nearly 60 years, Doehler-Jarvis was one of Batavia’s manufacturing mainstays. This photograph of the former Doehler-Jarvis Division building at Mill and Evans streets in Batavia was taken in February 1983, one year after the company had closed its Batavia factory. The factory had survived economic downtowns, wars and numerous other challenges while bring much prosperity and prestige to the area. During the company’s peak in the mid-20th century it was the largest producer of die-cast metal in the world. The company’s factories were renowned during the 1950s and 1960s for creating a variety of metal products, including automotive parts such as engine bearings and decorative hood ornaments for car manufacturers that included Willys-Overland, Packard, Ford, and General Motors. The company’s roots date back to 1907 when it began as Doehler Die Casting Company. Founder Herman H. Doehler, a German immigrant turned businessman, moved the company from Brooklyn to Batavia in 1923 to be closer to Eastman-Kodak Company in Rochester, a valued customer as Doehler helped Kodak in the development of several metal cameras. Doehler also created parts of Charles Lindbergh’s famous Spirit of St. Louis, which became the first airplane to cross the Atlantic in 1927, according to Daily News archives. By the early 1930s, Doehler had also opened factories in Pottstown, Pa., Toledo and Chicago. During World War II as many as 2,500 people worked at the plant. A May 1942 Daily News article reported that magnesium bombs produced at the Doehler facility were used by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle and his crews in their daring raid over Tokyo on April 18 – six months after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Doehler-Jarvis also helped in the development of electronic typewriters, vacuum cleaners and products for the defense industry. Workforce numbers saw a gradual decline in the 1960s and 1970s, although Doehler-Jarvis was still a top local employer as of 1966. By 1980, however, only about 150 workers remained. The end came in February 1982 when then-owner National Lead, which had acquired Doehler-Jarvis in 1953, pulled up stakes and left Batavia.
For nearly 60 years, Doehler-Jarvis was one of Batavia’s manufacturing mainstays. This photograph of the former Doehler-Jarvis Division building at Mill and Evans streets in Batavia was taken in February 1983, one year after the company had closed its Batavia factory. The factory had survived economic downtowns, wars and numerous other challenges while bring much prosperity and prestige to the area.
During the company’s peak in the mid-20th century it was the largest producer of die-cast metal in the world. The company’s factories were renowned during the 1950s and 1960s for creating a variety of metal products, including automotive parts such as engine bearings and decorative hood ornaments for car manufacturers that included Willys-Overland, Packard, Ford, and General Motors.
The company’s roots date back to 1907 when it began as Doehler Die Casting Company. Founder Herman H. Doehler, a German immigrant turned businessman, moved the company from Brooklyn to Batavia in 1923 to be closer to Eastman-Kodak Company in Rochester, a valued customer as Doehler helped Kodak in the development of several metal cameras. Doehler also created parts of Charles Lindbergh’s famous Spirit of St. Louis, which became the first airplane to cross the Atlantic in 1927, were made at the Doehler plant, according to Daily News archives.
By the early 1930s, Doehler had also opened factories in Pottstown, Pa., Toledo and Chicago.
During World War II as many as 2,500 people worked at the plant. A May 1942 Daily News article reported that magnesium bombs produced at the Doehler facility were used by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle and his crews in their daring raid over Tokyo on April 18 – six months after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Doehler-Jarvis also helped in the development of electronic typewriters, vacuum cleaners and products for the defense industry.
Workforce numbers saw a gradual decline in the 1960s and 1970s, although Doehler-Jarvis was still a top local employer as of 1966. By 1980, however, only about 150 workers remained. The end came in February 1982 when then-owner National Lead, which had acquired Doehler-Jarvis in 1953, pulled up stakes and left Batavia.
Johnson Newspapers 7.1
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