From September 1921 Machinery

In about 1910 William L. Procunier co-founded the Woodstock Safety Chuck Co. to manufacture his patent drill press chuck; he was also working on a reversible tapping head. The business proved to be under-capitalized and failed in about 1913. He continued working on his chucks and tapping heads and by 1921 he was manufacturing his improved chucks and tapping heads under the name William L. Procunier. He continued to innovate, adding bench tapping machines and stud setting tools to his product lineup. Meanwhile, son Harry G. Procunier worked at Ford Motor Co., then at Rhode Island machinery manufacturer Potter & Johnston Machinery Co., and then rose to become general manager at Detroit machinery retailer Boyer-Campbell Co., which was, not surprisingly, a dealer for his father's products. In 1928 Harry took over his father's business, incorporating it as the Procunier Safety Chuck Co. William L. Procunier died in 1937. When Harry died in 1952, age 60, he was still president of the company. The subsequent company history requires further research.

Nowadays, Procunier products are still available from Createch Machine and Design, which was formerly Rockford-Ettco.

Information Sources

• July 1919 Machinery.

  Clifford C. Whiting has recently been made manager of the William L. Procunier Co., Chicago, Ill., manufacturer of the "Double Gripp" safety tapping chucks and attachments. Mr. Whiting has served overseas and has just been mustered out of the service. He was formerly with the International Harvester Co.

• June 1927 Western Machinery and Steel World, vol. 18 p. 294. "William L. Procunier, of 18 S. Clinton Street, Chicago, Ill., has recently perfected a new high speed tapping attachment, shown in the accompanying illustration..."
• 1928 The Iron Trade Review, vol. 82 p. 247. "Procunier Safety Chuck Co. is the name of the company incorporated to continue the business formerly conducted by William L. Procunier, 18 South Clinton street, Chicago. The company will continue the manufacture of tapping devices, quick change chucks and stud setting tools. H. G. Procunier is president, Mark H. Corley secretary, and H. E. Corley, treasurer."
• An Ancestry.com search reveals that William L. Procunier lived 1867 to 1937. His wife was Lura D. née Cheadle, 1878-1940. His brothers were Edward F. Procunier 1854-1926, Isaiah Becker Procunier 1858-1901, and Frank G. Procunier 1864-1940.
• 1952 Manufacturing Engineering and Management, obituaries section.

  Harry G. Procunier—Harry G. Procunier, president of Procunier Safety Chuck Co., Chicago, Ill., passed away February 2, two weeks before his 60th birthday.

  Prior to his association with the Procunier company in 1918, the Chicago chapter member had been employed at Ford Motor Co. and Potter & Johnston.