Call Number:

06

Repository:

Wissahickon Valley Historical Society

Extent:

7.5 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1925-1986 (inclusive)

Creator:

Amchem Products, Inc.

Abstract:

James Harvey Gravell started the American Chemical Paint Company in 1914 and moved the factory to Ambler, Pennsylvania soon after. He was an engineer, innovator, and philanthropist who made national headlines for paying off all his employees' debts and mortgages for Christmas in 1936. After Gravell's death, his company was renamed Amchem Products, Inc., and was acquired by Henkel in 1980. Amchem Products, Inc. records, 1925-1986, consist of administrative records, photographs, and company publications.

James Harvey Gravell was an engineer, innovator, and philanthropist born in Philadelphia in 1880. While employed by Hale-Kilburn Metal Company, Gravell helped develop a chemical treatment for preventing rust and peeling on painted metal. He purchased the patent for the "Deoxidine," and started his own company, the American Chemical Paint Company, in 1914. After operating in a rented space in Philadelphia, Gravell opened an agricultural chemical and paint chemical manufacturing and research facility in Ambler. The company was extremely successful, and Gravell became a rich man.

In 1936, Gravell and the American Chemical Paint Company attracted national attention when, as a Christmas bonus, Gravell paid the outstanding debts and mortgages of all his factory employees. At the same time, he instituted a company profit-sharing plan. Gravell was congratulated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and addressed the U.S. Congress about his pamphlet, "The Cause and Cure of the Depression."

After Gravell died in 1939, the company went through some restructuring, including a name-change to AmChem Products, Inc. It was acquired by Henkel in 1980, a company which continues to operate today.

Bibliography:

AmChemers. "James Harvey Gravell -- Engineer, Innovator, Philanthropist." Inventory to the collection Amchem Products, Inc. records at the Wissahickon Valley Historical Society.

Amchem records consist of administrative records, photographs, and company publications. The administrative records include a ledger of income and expense, 1934-1938; minutes of weekly meetings, 1933-1939; Tidewater Fertilizer Company director's meeting minutes, 1931-1941; and subject files on products, events, and finances, 1925-1968. There are also a large number of patents dating from 1927-1952. The collection features a large number of photographs depicting views of the factory, company events and conventions, and employees. There are also company publications, including a complete set of American Chemical Paint/Amchem Products News, 1953-1986, arranged chronologically.