Table of Contents

Historical Note

Scope and Content Note

Information for Researchers

Related Materials

Separations List

Administrative Information

Description

Subject Headings

Inventory of the New Bedford Rayon, Inc., Records

In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library

Historical Note

The New Bedford Rayon Company was established in June 1928 as an offshoot of Delaware Rayon Company of New Castle, Delaware. Formed to meet a growing demand for rayon fiber on the part of New England textile manufacturers, the company commenced operations one year later in what had been the buildings of Manomet Mills at New Bedford, Mass. New Bedford Rayon Company grew at a steady rate between 1930-1950, supplying a world-wide market for different types of rayon yarn. The firm also manufactured rayon-based synthetic fabrics during this period, particularly through its subsidiary, New Bedford Knitting Company. In 1951, New Bedford Rayon Company became a division of Mohawk Carpet Mills, Inc., of Amsterdam, N.Y., and shifted its focus to producing rayon for use in carpets. The company remained associated with the Amsterdam firm--reorganized as Mohasco Industries, Inc., in 1957-- until 1969, then became a part of Empire Synthetics Corporation of Mt. Vernon, N.Y. Under the name of New Bedford Rayon, Inc., the company attempted to combat growing competition from other types of synthetic fiber producers by manufacturing dyed yarns as well as novelty and regular commercial grades of yarns. Sales, however, continued to decline, and this factor, when combined with increasing labor costs, high tax rates, and a serious fire at the mill, led to the liquidation of New Bedford Rayon, Inc., in September 1970.

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Scope and Content Note

Materials in this collection represent those records collected, generated, or received by the general managers of New Bedford Rayon, Inc., throughout its forty-two year existence. Because the original order of these documents is unknown, and because other records of the firm no longer exist, the materials have been organized into seven series by type of document in order to reflect the administrative, financial, labor, production, and sales activities of the company from 1926-1974.

Series A contains a number of Administrative Records, including reports to stockholders dating from 1931-1934 and 1951-1968. Most of these records, however, consist of agreements, contracts, and related documents reflecting the administrative relationships of the firm with the Delaware Rayon Company, New Bedford Knitting Company, Mohawk Carpet Mills, Inc., Mohasco Industries, Inc., and Empire Synthetics Corporation from 1926-1969.

Financial Records in Series B chronicle the company's cost of operations from its first year of production, 1929, to its settlement with creditors in 1971. Included in these materials are balance sheets, profit and loss statements, statistics, correspondence, and memoranda relating to productivity, wage rates, and the cost of equipment, utilities, and raw materials. This series also encompasses profit growth plans, appropriation requests, and budgets, 1965-1969; financial reports, 1951, 1968; and records of insurance on buildings and machinery, 1931-1969.

Particularly notable among records in this collection are those in Series C concerning the labor force of New Bedford Rayon, Inc. The company's association with local and national textile unions began in 1933, and contract negotiations, collective bargaining sessions, and arbitration and grievance procedures relating to the firm's employees are amply reflected by minutes of union meetings, contracts and other legal documents, correspondence, notes, and memoranda, ca. 1933-1969. Included among these union records are several work measurement studies completed by New Bedford Rayon, Inc., in the 1950s-1960s in an effort to increase productivity. In addition to union-related materials, the Labor Records encompass salary schedules and payrolls, 1941-1970; job description, evaluation, and assignment records, 1937-1970; personnel policy manuals, 1958-1968; records concerning employee benefits, 1949-1970; personnel safety records, 1938-1970; and memoranda relating to work hours and employee regulations, 1958-1970.

Comprising the bulk of this collection are Production Records in Series D which reflect all aspects of the chemical process of manufacturing viscose rayon. These materials, dating from 1929-1974, include tests, production standards and schedules, reports, correspondence, and other documents dealing with the fabrication, spinning, washing and drying, cone winding, inspection, packing, and shipping of rayon products. Production-related activities are also highlighted by engineering records concerning the company's physical plant and equipment and by technical records such as product test reports and procedures; notes; and correspondence and tests responding to customer complaints. These materials are supplemented by numerous reports prepared by company officials, chiefly concerning operations at other textile mills in the United States, Canada, and Europe, 1930-1969; correspondence relating to overall production activities and problems, 1931-1970; and supply catalogs, ca. 1929-1970, advertising machinery and equipment used in the manufacture of viscose rayon.

Sales Records for New Bedford Rayon, Inc., have been grouped together in Series E. These documents include sales-related correspondence; requests for yarn samples; order acknowledgments; sales statistics and reports; inventories; and price lists, as well as color codes and sales catalogs. Dating from ca. 1950-1974, the materials focus on the company's marketing activities as a division of Mohawk Carpet Mills, Inc., and Mohasco Industries, Inc.

Rounding out the collection is a group of general correspondence and several historical and biographical sketches, clippings, and articles. Incoming and outgoing letters in Series F, 1947-1974, chiefly reflect public relations duties of the company's general managers and, in addition, demonstrate their efforts to influence state and federal legislation having a potential impact on the rayon industry. Series G material, dating from ca. 1930-1970, includes a useful account of the firm's history by Olga Louise Garth and Leo F. St. Aubin.

In addition to materials relating to New Bedford Rayon, Inc., this collection contains records of the New Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce and its credit information division, the Credit Bureau of New Bedford, Inc., for 1961-1969. These records, consisting of by-laws; minutes of meetings; balance sheets and financial statements; membership registers; publications issued by the organization; incoming and outgoing correspondence; and memoranda and clippings, principally represent materials associated with Leo F. St. Aubin's service as a director and president of the Chamber of Commerce between 1966-1969. Notable among the records are documents concerning efforts to redevelop New Bedford's central business district.

Arrangement of Collection

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Information for Researchers

Access to the Collection

Unrestricted. Consult librarian for an appointment.

Preferred Citation

New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library Mss 25 [sub-group, series, sub-series, folder/volume as appropriate], [item]

Copyright Notice

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 United States Code 552a) governs the use of materials that document private individuals, groups, and corporations.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a reproduction if the document does not infringe the privacy rights of an individual, group, or corporation. These specified conditions of authorized use include:

If the researcher later uses a copy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," the researcher is personally liable for copyright. privacy, or publicity infringement and agrees to indemnify the New Bedford Whaling Museum from any legal action as a result of the error. Permission to obtain a photographic, xerographic, digital, or other copy of a document does not indicate permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, sell, distribute, or prepare derivative works from the document without permission from the copyright holder and from any private individual, group, or corporation shown or otherwise recorded.

Permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, prepare derivative works from, sell, or otherwise distribute the item must be obtained separately in writing from the holder of the original copyright (or if the creator is dead, from his/her heirs) as well as from any individual(s), groups, or corporations whose name, image, recorded words, or private information (e.g. employment information) may be reproduced in the source material. The holder of the original copyright is not necessarily the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The New Bedford Whaling Museum is not legally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement when materials are wrongfully used after being provided to researchers for "fair use."

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if fulfillment of the order is judged in violation of copyright or federal or state privacy law. This institution also places restrictions on the use of cameras, photocopiers, and scanners in the research room.

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Related Materials

Related Manuscript Collections

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Separations List

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Administrative Information

Provenance

Records in this collection were given to the Old Dartmouth Historical Society on 28 October 1981 by Leo F. St. Aubin, an employee of the company from 1929 through 1971--and its final General Manager

Processing Information

Processed by: Patricia J. Albright, with assistance from Leo F. St. Aubin, ca. 1982

Encoded by: Kermit Dewey, 28 July 2011; box list ammended by Mark Procknik, 9 December 2011

Funds for processing this collection were provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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Description

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Subject Headings

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