Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates
Encyclopedia
Adams, Massachusetts
Adams is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,485 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. By 1917 the company was capitalized at $2,500,000 and contained over 260,000 ring and mule spindles
Spinning mule
The spinning mule was a machine used to spin cotton and other fibres in the mills of Lancashire and elsewhere from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century. Mules were worked in pairs by a minder, with the help of two boys: the little piecer and the big or side piecer...
and 6,500 looms for the production of cotton textiles , making it one of the largest cotton textile companies in the world. In 1929, Berkshire merged with the Valley Falls Company
Valley Falls Company
The Valley Falls Company was founded in 1839 by Oliver Chace, in Valley Falls, Rhode Island, an historic mill village on both sides of the Blackstone River, within the modern-day towns of Cumberland and Central Falls, Rhode Island...
of Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, and became known as Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates. In 1930 the company acquired the King Philip Mills
King Philip Mills
King Philip Mills is an historic mill complex located at 372 Kilburn Street in Fall River, Massachusetts.The company was organized in 1871 and Mills No. 1 and 2 were built the same year...
in Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...
. In 1931 the company acquired the Parker Mills of Fall River
Fall River
-Cities and towns:In Canada:*Fall River, Nova ScotiaIn the United States:*Fall River, Kansas*Fall River, Massachusetts, the largest city with this name*Fall River, Tennessee*Fall River, Wisconsin*Fall River County, South Dakota-Rivers:In Canada:...
and Warren, Rhode Island
Warren, Rhode Island
Warren is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 10,611 at the 2010 census.-History:Warren was the site of the Indian village of Sowams on the peninsula called Pokanoket , and was first explored by Europeans in 1621, by Edward Winslow and Stephen Hopkins...
.
Unlike many New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
textile companies that failed during the 1920s and 1930's, Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates would survive the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
intact. At its peak in 1948, Berkshire earned $29.5 million and employed 11,000 workers at 11 mills, under the leadership of Malcolm Chace, Jr.
In 1955, Chace Jr. put together the merger of Berkshire with Hathaway Manufacturing Co.
Hathaway Mills
In 1888, Horatio Hathaway, founded the Hathaway Manufacturing Company at New Bedford, Massachusetts for the production of cotton textiles. Hathaway had been a China trader, profiting from whaling in the Pacific....
, founded in New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
in 1888 by Horatio Hathaway, to form Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
By the 1960s, the Berkshire mill empire had declined to seven plants and 6,000 people, but still annually produced one quarter of a billion yards of material that sold for more than $60 million. The assets, and a sizable amount of cash on the balance sheet, caught the eye of Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often introduced as "legendary investor, Warren Buffett", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is...
, an up-and-coming but little-known investor from Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
.
Buffett, who had founded Buffett Partnership Limited to make investments, started buying stock in Berkshire at $7.60 a share. He eventually paid an average of $14.86 a share, or a total of $14 million, and took control of the company on May 10, 1965.
By then, the company had declined to two mills and 2,300 employees.
Buffett used Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that oversees and manages a number of subsidiary companies. The company averaged an annual growth in book value of 20.3% to its shareholders for the last 44 years,...
as his investment vehicle, took the chairman's job in 1970 and acquired dozens of companies.