

It looked like the opportune time for the business to expand.įairbanks Plays Major Role in Industrialization Before the design was finalized, customers were already placing orders.

In 1830, Thaddeus built his first real scale and applied for a patent. Now his scale was not only accurate, but very stable. Johnsbury for the test marketing of the scale, he discovered a solution to his dilemma.īy adding two short levers to his long ones, he established support points at all four corners of the platform. In his first design, Thaddeus rested a platform on two long levers which were connected to a steelyard, upon which the counterbalance was placed.Īlthough achieving accurate weighing results, Thaddeus was troubled by the instability of the design. This modification ended the task of having to hoist the entire load. He dug a pit for the levers, placing the platform level with the ground. Not completely satisfied with his invention, he took it a step further. Through an arrangement of levers, Thaddeus Fairbanks was able to tremendously reduce the amount of weight needed to counter-balance a load. So, Thaddeus decided to invent a new, more dependable weighing machine. Once in business together, the two brothers realized that the current weighing system yielded inaccurate results. The two brothers formed the E & T Fairbanks Company in St. In 1824, Erastus joined Thaddeus' lucrative business. Thaddeus, a mechanic and builder, was a wagon maker by trade.įull of new ideas for inventions, he built a foundry in 1823 to manufacture two of his inventions-the cast iron plow and a stove. It all began with two brothers, Thaddeus and Erastus Fairbanks. As one of the nation's oldest industrial manufacturing companies, Fairbanks Scales has consistently maintained a solid reputation of providing top quality products and service since 1830.
