The Man Behind The Brand: William Ross Fox

---William Ross Fox---

               

          William Ross Fox was born 1853 in Middletown, Connecticut. When he was 9 years old, his father died, leaving him only his sister and mother as his two older brothers were enlisted in the United States army in the American Civil War. As a young boy, Fox began to learn the art of business by peddling Root Beer produced by his mother at a small country store they owned. As he grew, he took on more responsibilities of managing and running the store. However, he was intrigued greatly by machinery, and from the age of 16 to 21, he worked in tool making, machine tending, and steam engineering. 

               

           At the age of 21, he desired entrance into the Technological Institute of Worcester, Massachusetts, but was required to pass examinations in algebra and grammar, along with a slew of other topics, which he knew little about. However, spending his free time wisely and studying hard during his evenings, he was able to pass said examinations and enroll at the institution. During his education, he contracted typhoid-pneumonia, and only just barely survived, the ordeal ending his educational prospects. He then went to work at the American Threat Co., at Willmette, Connecticut.

                

          While there, he married, and through his marriage indirectly created his first invention. Through helping his wife create frames for mottos, he was forced to use a poorly made miter box, which his mechanical mind despised. It was thus that he set about making a more perfect design, and created the Fox trimmer, which would eventually gain immense success in the business market. Over the course of the next two years, Mr. Fox perfected his trimmer, invented a rotary steam pump, and designed a steam chime whistle which also became widely used.

           It was in the fall of 1879, however, that Mr. Fox chose to go west and ended up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, leaving his family behind. He gained employment as a draftsman and pattern-maker in the factory of Perkins and Co, all the while making arrangements with a manufacturer in the East to make his trimmer and sell it on a royalty basis. After two years with Perkins and Co., Mr. Fox switched over to the Michigan Tool Works, and afterwards the Farmers Roller Mill Co., all the while gaining valuable knowledge about machinery. While employed by FRM Co, Mr. Fox made improvements in roller-mill machinery that some of the largest manufactures in the field had been trying to create for years. By this time, he obtained the use of water power and machinery in the factory where he was employed and built a few trimmers, which he sold by correspondence.

                

          He next went to work for the Berkey and Gay Furniture Company, and invented the Fox furniture caster. In 1886, he sold his half-interest in the caster to the company for 18 months’ rent of a few square feet of floor space, where he began active work on the manufacture of his trimmer. His capital at this time consisted of $1,545.48, $800 of which was in cash and second hand tools. This was the beginning of the Fox Machine Co. As the company grew, Mr. Fox superintended the work, designed the machinery, made the tools, sold the product, kept the books, attended the correspondence, wrote the advertisements, and planned the extensions.

                

          The venture proved such a success that after only two years, a two story brick building was built for it specifically, which was eventually raised to four stories. In these new quarters, the enterprise grew at an accelerated pace, so that when it was incorporated in 1890, the tangible assets were at $75,000.

               

            When, in 1893, the bicycle became a big hit, the Fox Machine Company began the manufacture of high grade wheels. Finding the initial work unsatisfactory, Mr. Fox worked on improving the machines which made the wheels, and soon other bicycle makers demanded Mr. Fox’s far improved machines to make their own parts. The bicycle craze soon ended, however, and so Mr. Fox was left with very special machinery for fine work, and nothing to use it for. It was then that Mr. Fox, ever resourceful, looked towards the typewriter market and decided that with his equipment, he could manufacture typewriters.

         An expert was hired to design the machine, however time passed without a design that would pass Mr. Fox’s judgement, at which point he decided he would simply have to design the machine himself. Spending enormous amounts of time studying and researching the field, covering every patent that had ever been taken out on typewriters, and conducting a long course of experiments, he created within a few months of hard work the Fox Typewriter.

               

          Soon after, the market began to demand visible machines, but Mr. Fox chose to perfect his blind typewriter first, stating that he would not produce an article which he could not recommend for speed, accuracy, and durability. With the help of his son W. H. Fox, and a few others, he tackled the problems faced by most other typewriter designers. In less than twelve months, Mr. Fox and his helpers solved the problems and built the first Fox “Visible” by hand at the cost of $1000. Once complete, Fox subjected it to a merciless and thorough trial, which it completed handedly.

               

            Within 12 months of the first visible machine being made, over two thousand special tools were made for building it, and over $80,000 worth of finished typewriters were sold, a business feat not previously equaled, all due to his high reputation which he made with his “blind” machines.

                

          As his company succeeded, Fox still spent every day conducting interviews, writng an responding to correspondence, making plans of promotion, working on machine designs, attending legal matters, working on typewriter improvements, business promotions, and conducting general management within the company.

         Mr. Fox’s son, at this time 25 years of age, was the superintendent of the works and a co-worker with his father in invention and design. He had been given the choice by his father between going to college, and going into the shops to learn the business, of which he chose the latter.

               

          Mr. Fox had made the Fox Typewriter Company’s continuing goal to be the improvement of the quality of the product, regardless of cost, and an effort to reduce the cost of manufacture without a detriment to quality. Though paradoxical in essence, this was achieved to some degree. By having employees scrutinize every last screw and spring, quality of every machine was achieved, as no inferior product was allowed. And the implementation of a special cost system of accounting allowed the cost of any action or production to be reported to a manager within two hours, allowing for any issues to be nearly immediately dealt with.

              

           An employee of Mr. Fox had this to say about the man in charge; “The greatest thing about Mr. Fox is his unwavering hope, faith, courage, and cheerfulness in the face of the most trying circumstances. No difficulty daunts him, and he always finds a way out.”

Source: The Business Philosopher, Volume 4, 1908.