Letter, James Gleason to Gleason Works office

[page 1]
Hotel Metropole Bruxelles

July 12 – 08
Gleason Works
Rochester N.Y.
We are through with
the visit to Berlin and Frankfort.
At Berlin I called on Ludwig Lowe & Co.
Heinrich Dryer and Stolzenberg.
I was shown through the Ludwig Lowe Plant
by one of the firm. They are not busy at this
time and so find it necessary to make a
great variety of machines. They are building
the Warren machine in a very small size and
have just completed a single one machine that
looks as if it was intended to cut a 12’’ gear.
This machine they intend to put on the market
It is the regular Warren type. I was told that
this Warren machine was not a success on
heavy work by the man who took me around.

[page 2]
2
Ludwig Lowe & Co have an enormous stock
of machines on hand, including American
machines and their own.
They sell Norton Grinders, Beaman & Smith
Boring machines, Cincinnati Planers,
Fosdick Drills, Colburn Boring Mills and
several others. Bradford Lathes, etc.
They make themselves milling machines,
Rotary Gear Cutters for Spur Gears, Warren
Bevel Gear Generators, Drills, Lathes
Grinders.
This firm has bought the rights for the Norton
Grinder and intend to make it in all sizes.
They are at present importing the larger
machines until such time as they are ready
with their own patterns and jigs. They will
sell it anywhere in their own territory where
they have agencies now established. This
includes England and all Europe.
Evidently the Norton Co have decided to abandon
their foreign business.
I was told these facts about the Norton arrangements
by the man who showed me around and by the
Supt of the shop.

[page 3]
3.
The man who showed me around is one of
the men who visited us about three years
ago when they ordered the Generators.
This man was very free in critizing
American Machine Tools. He said that
not more than five firms in America did
good work. He also said that our designs
were good.
I think that He is honest in this last
statement because of the fact that they so
freely copy American Designs.
He said that the work on the Cincinnati
Planer for the last year was very bad.
That the Colburn Mill was so badly made
that they had to rebuild many of them.
This firm employ about 1700 men and
are at present adding to their capacity.
The machines they copy are mostly Brown &
Sharpe and Pratt & Whitney. All the
machines I was shown are plain copies with
the possible exception of a rotary milling
machine that I did not recognize.
Heinrich Dreyer you know as well as I do.

[page 4]
4.
F.G. Kel Kretschmer & Co of Frankfort
made a very favorable impression. He
sells only American machines including
B & Sharpes. This seems to be his policy.
Dreyer sells one German Lathe.
I believe that the only way to deal with
Ludwig Lowe & Co would be to sell out the
same as Norton has otherwise they would
not be as good for us as Schuchardt &
Schutte has been. This would of course
cut Fenwick out.
If we do not want to sell out to Ludwig
Lowe then Kretchmer seems to be the best
equipped to handle the business.
Kretchmer says he could not divide the
German and Austrian and Hungary
Territory because of his advertising which
covers all these countries.
He is not prepared to h cover Norway and
Sweden and Russia as S & S does.
On account of the Norton Co’s arrangments
with Ludwig Lowe being so entirely
different from what Kate understood
from Mr Norton I did not take up the

[page 5]
5.
subject of their building part of our
machines in order to protect our patents.
I understand that we will have to build
the machines complete in Both Germany
and England in order to hold them.
The Generator has two years to run the
other patent is about out now.
Personally I think that we can compete
with the Germans without any patents.
Our machines will always bring a higher
price because we can make improvements
fas oftener.
We will be through in France in about
two weeks. The two trouble cases in
Belgium are now entirely satisfactory.
The only case that stands against us is
the old Generator at Renault Bros Paris
where they like the Bilgram machine.

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6
Our machine at Renaults needs
changing same as we changed so many
in the U. S. only to do this work over here
would cost too much. I spoke of this
case in a previous letter.
If you want me to do anything over here
about trying to sell the patents you will
have to let me know very soon.
We expect to spend only a few days in
England and then start for home.
We are having a fine time now. Miriam has
had a letter from her mother telling about
Emmett so that the General appearance and
arrangements of these European cities has
improved very much.
Yours,
Jim.