John Becker

In 1889 the John Becker Manufacturing Co. was founded in Boston, MA, to make vertical milling machines. The firm moved to Fitchburg, MA, in 1891 and then merged with the Brainard Milling Machine Co. in 1899 to form the Becker-Brainard Milling Machine Co.

John Becker retired from the Becker-Brainard Milling Machine Co. in 1903 and formed the Becker Milling Machine Co. in 1908 to take over the operations of the Becker-Brainard Milling Machine Co. In 1914 he turned over management of the company to his son, John Becker, Jr., and in 1919 sold his interest in the company. In 1922, the company was merged into the Reed-Prentice Co., who continued to produce Becker milling machines.

Information Sources

• August 1908 Machinery.

  Becker Milling Machine Co., Hyde Park, Mass., has taken over the business of the Becker-Brainard Milling Machine Co. and will continue under the management of Mr. John Becker, whose practical experience in the design and development of the Becker Milling Machine has placed him among the foremost mechanics of the day. Many changes and improvements have been made in the plant, carrying out Mr. Becker's ideas and making it virtually the successor of the business which he started in Boston fifteen years ago and afterwards successfully built up in Fitchburg.

• 1908-08-06 The Iron Trade Review.

  Milling Machine Transfer—The Becker Milling Machine Co. has taken over the business of the Becker-Brainard Milling Machine Co., Hyde Park,.Mass, with John Becker, formerly of the John Becker Mfg. Co., Fitchburg, Mass., as its active head and manager. Several important improvements on the vertical type of milling machines are already placed on the market by the new company and orders have been booked from the government works.

• The Massachusetts corporate registry database lists Becker Milling Machine Co.'s first registration as 1916-12-01.
• American Milling Machine Builders: 1820-1920 by Kenneth L. Cope, 2007 Pgs. 19 & 20