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Feature Article on Monarch Machine. Topic: INDUSTRY
& PEOPLE
Written by Rich Wallace in July,
1997
MONARCH MACHINE AND LOCAL COMMUNITY SHARED MUTUALLY
BENEFICIAL PARTNERSHIP...Pg 2 |
| Thedieck, who was married to Ida Wagner, had
loaned funds earlier to Ida's cousin, A. P. Wagner, for the operation of A. P. Wagner Tool
Works in Detroit. When Wagner failed to pay him, and the business failed, Thedieck
foreclosed on Ida's cousin, claimed the machinery of the business, and exchanged it for
$25,000 in Monarch stock. The Commercial Club,
the forerunner of today's Chamber of Commerce, arranged for a building site, and within a
few months, production began. The business started with 15 employees, who were paid
between 5 cents and 35 cents per hour for a 55 hour week. The company concentrated on the
production of engine lathes. Business was slow, and Thedieck often had to make personal
loans to meet payroll. Perhaps the most important decision in Monarch's history was made
in the spring of 1912, when Thedieck hired his son in law, Wendell Whipp, to serve as
general manager. With no prior knowledge about machine tools, Whipp learned on the job.
He became a persuasive and aggressive salesman. Long before his retirement from Monarch in
April of 1947, Whipp became the personification of Monarch and its approach to quality
products and the treatment of employees as 'family.' He insisted on quality work, for
which he paid top wages.
By 1915, under Whipp's leadership, Monarch began to prosper. He instituted a profit
sharing plan that year for all employees. Within a year, top factory workers were
receiving ten percent of their base pay in a bonus - an unheard of generosity for the
time. By 1917, Whipp had in place the first group life insurance for employees in Ohio.
Whipp believed deeply in both personal and corporate support for community activities.
After the local Red Cross chapter was organized in 1917, an initial fund drive was held.
Monarch contributed $500. The next largest corporate donation was $25. The biggest nemesis
of the machine tool industry in this country has been the boom and bust cycle associated
with economic periods of growth and decline. This problem was to be greatly accentuated by
huge government purchases during times of war,
and the dumping of excess machines on the market by the government afterwards. Monarch
first faced this problem during World War I. Employment increased from 55 to 258, with a
resulting increase in business, but by 1924, only 118 workers remained. Whipp sought to
smooth out the up and down cycles of the business by constantly working on the research
and development of new products for the domestic market.
Whipp also saw the wisdom in securing foreign orders whenever possible in order to
diversify the company's customer base. Large shipments of lathes to the French and British
governments before the entrance of the U. S. into World War I played an important role in
the subsequent Allied victory. From the beginning, Whipp imbued a sense of civic
responsibility in all Monarch employees. During World War I, all 258 employees subscribed
to war bonds, and raised more money than any other Sidney business. To set a proper
example, Whipp and Thedieck each purchased over $1,600 worth of bonds. Whipp and the
others were also involved in numerous community activities. Fred Dull, one of the most
beloved of all Monarch managers, labored constantly on behalf of Kiwanis, the Sidney Civic
Association, parks and recreation projects, and his church.
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