In 225 BC, Greek engineer Philo of Byzantium designed the first industrial application for linked chain. In the 16th century, Leonardo da Vinci sketched the first conceptual illustrations of silent chain. In 1829, the ‘Galle chain’, a steel link chain, was patented. These innovations have evolved to become today’s modern industrial chain.
Born in 1882 in New York, Joseph Henry Ramsey showed a knack for tinkering and inventing as a youth.
After graduating with a mechanical engineering degree, Mr Ramsey founded the Albany Machine & Tool Company in Albany, New York in 1916. Albany Machine & Tool designed and manufactured special automatic machinery, tools and dies for local industries.
Only a few years after he started his company, World War One broke out and companies all over the United States were gearing up for America’s entry into the conflict. However, Mr Ramsey knew that once the war was over, things would change, and he would have to find a new product to sell.
Designing a better chain
While exploring several possibilities for his company, Ramsey had a casual conversation with a friend, who praised the quality of the current-day silent chain pin and bushing joint. Mr Ramsey disagreed, arguing that the design would develop friction and shorten its service life. He stated he could design a better chain joint, and set out to do just that. The thought hit him that this was the product he needed for his company.
The first thing Mr Ramsey did was build a special machine for wearing out silent chains. He then spent the next year and a half testing as many chains as he could get his hands on. He collected copies of all available silent chain patents and extensively reviewed the existing silent chain designs, noting their most desirable features, as well as those to avoid.
Armed with his thorough research, Mr Ramsey designed a prototype of an improved chain and tested it on his machine. He was convinced he had created a breakthrough design, but would it work? Much to his joy, it did. Mr Ramsey found his new, innovative design was virtually impossible to wear out, even when heavily overloaded. He had his new product: the Ramsey Compensating Joint Silent Chain.
Mr Ramsey’s breakthrough silent chain design had three decided advantages over the old forms of construction: smoother running qualities, greater quietness of operation, and—what is usually most important—a considerably longer service life. Within a year, Ramsey’s Compensating Joint Silent Chain was used by the engineering departments of prominent companies, such as H.H. Franklin Manufacturing, General Electric, National Brass, New York Edison, Wickwire-Spencer, DuPont, and many others. Ramsey Silent Chain excelled in a number of application fields, including textile machinery, punch presses and shears, woodworking machinery, mixing machinery, grain elevators, compressors, pumps and reciprocating machines, tannery and paper mill drives, newspaper and printing, and many more.
Birth of a patent and a company
In December 1920, Mr Ramsey filed a patent application for his new Compensating Joint Silent Chain (serial number 429,103) with the US Patent and Trademark Office. On 1 April 1924, Patent #1,488,710 was issued. Mr Ramsey decided he needed to form a new company to manufacture, sell, and distribute his silent chain. And for that, he needed more capital.
In came local investor Anthony ‘Tony’ Brady Farrell, Sr. Mr Farrell was only 23 years old when he joined Mr Ramsey to start the new company. On 5 July 1923, the two men incorporated the Ramsey Chain Company of Albany, New York.
Early growth, early challenges
The business expanded rapidly. A company newsletter in 1928 noted that Ramsey Chain Company had some 400 automotive replacement distributors and direct branches in New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Atlanta and San Francisco. The company had also built warehouse stocks for quick service at convenient points across the country and had placed industrial representatives in several other principal US cities. Furthermore, Ramsey Chain Company was exporting its silent chain products to 41 foreign countries, with agents based in Canada, the Far East, South America, South Africa and Europe.
Along with growth came many challenges over the following years. Besides the usual storms that expanding companies must weather, such as finding the right people and acquiring equipment, there were changes in ownership and management, new factories, and setbacks such as a fire that took out a large part of the factory in 1939. There were also national events that impacted Ramsey, as well as many businesses around the world – Black Tuesday and the Great Depression, America’s entry into World War Two, iron shortages and industrial modernisation. But, over the following decades, Ramsey Chain Company continued to expand and progress.
Glass conveying
During the early 1970s, one of the most important innovations developed by Ramsey Chain Company was the glass conveyor system. It changed the game for bottle producers and glass equipment manufacturers, and for the company itself. The silent chain used for this application was durable, flat and heat resistant, and it provided an exceptionally smooth conveying surface for the rapid, synchronised transport of fragile glass products. It was an instant success in an industry which had long sought a conveyor system that could safely and efficiently move hot, freshly moulded or blown glass. The glass conveyor silent chain became one of Ramsey Chain Company’s most famous products, which was exported internationally and made the company a truly global enterprise by the 1990s, ultimately accounting for more than 50% of its business.
Focus on research & development
In September 2011, the company announced a large-scale expansion of its product testing and development capabilities. This expansion included additional equipment for chain tensile testing, dynamic testing and wear testing, as well as more dedicated research and development laboratory space. In addition to supporting general product research and development, these improvements allowed for more extensive testing for specific customer applications.
Ramsey today
With thousands of customers worldwide, Ramsey Products Corp has become a dominant force in the chain industry. Currently, Ramsey holds eight patents and numerous registered trademarks. With representation in more than 70 countries, Ramsey boasts of its commitment to providing customers with solutions that help solve their conveying and power transmission problems. Ramsey believes that getting to know its customers closely, visiting their plants and seeing in person the challenges they face is vital to everyone’s long-term success.
Looking ahead, Ramsey’s CEO, Mark Taylor, is confident that the company will continue its 100-year tradition of excellence as it embarks on a journey of digital transformation to improve its information storage, processing and security while recruiting the next generation of employees and instilling Ramsey’s old-school work ethic and culture into their careers. “We want to focus on what we do well and be the best at it. And continue to find new applications for our products, which will help us grow,” Mr Taylor stated. “If a job can be done with silent chain,” as the company motto goes, then “Ramsey will help find the most affordable and effective chain for the job,” he concluded.