The Standard Products Company - Linda Higgins

Once upon a time in Port Clinton, Ohio, the red logo of the Standard Products Company could be seen on the silver water tower rising above the plant on Maple Street. The 250,000-square-foot plant was built in 1904 by a hardware manufacturing company, which sold it to a crayon manufacturer. By 1923, the building had also been used as a tire production facility. None of these companies became successful enterprises, so the plant stood empty until 1934.

James S. Reid, M.D., doctor-turned-inventor, developed what would become the company’s flexible window channel and weather strip for autos. He patented and manufactured it and an improved gas cap after having left the Cleveland Health Department. He purchased an interest in Standard Products in Cleveland, and continued development of these products.

The company was establishing itself quickly when Dr. Reid bought the empty Port Clinton plant in 1934. They focused on producing the channels and other rubber automobile items. In 1943 the company halted production for the automobile industry and began manufacturing 30-caliber carbines for the Army. Females were the majority working on these lines, all under “voluntary censorship” about their work. This secrecy ended after a short time and when the war ended, the company went back to producing the popular window channel. Losing war contracts affected the company’s bottom line briefly, but they quickly resumed prewar levels.

Standard Products continued to prosper and became prominent in manufacturing due to its innovations, its product-development capability, and top-of-the-line automated production processes. The U.S. government again contracted with the company, this time to produce rubberized tank track. It was one of three U.S. companies fully approved to do so. The Port Clinton division became the largest manufacturing division of the company.  It produced the rubberized military tank track, rubber compounds for the other divisions of the company, structural glazing gaskets for the construction industry, and a line of molded and extruded products for automotive and industrial applications. The employees numbered between 300 and 500 much of the time, that number having risen to about 1,000 during the war.

Standard’s engineers and technicians collaborated with major automakers to design components for increasingly more sophisticated vehicles. Promotional materials stated that they were “part of every car on the road,” with Port Clinton’s division contributing greatly. And the company produced the rubber that was used in Houston’s Astrodome!

While the manufacturing boom of the ‘50s and ‘60s slowed in the ‘70s, the success of Port Clinton’s 20-acre division of The Standard Products Company continued through the ‘80s as a main contributor to the economic development of western Lake Erie. Its hundreds of employees added immeasurably to the financial base and quality of life in the city and the county. They participated in the local community’s organizations, civic, social, and religious. The company sponsored sports leagues within the company and the community, including Little League baseball, adding depth to the area’s growth.

The plant continued to do well, despite periodic layoffs, but it was the oldest of all the company’s buildings and needed considerable maintenance. The rapid introduction of new technology was a major factor in decisions to close manufacturing facilities throughout the country, as was the acquisition of potentially more efficient, lower-maintenance plants across the world. The Standard Products Company, Port Clinton Division, succumbed and was closed in 1993.

The plant remained empty and locked for twenty years. When serious concerns arose about contamination found on the site that might harm humans, the EPA conducted extensive testing. The test results proved the concerns unfounded. All affected areas, included the water tower, were cleared. An ongoing “voluntary action plan” was implemented and overseen by the agency. And the close-knit group of employees continued to gather regularly after the company closed, sharing memories of jobs they loved. The Standard Products Company, Port Clinton Division, truly had a good run!