This company was founded in 1904 by Andrew J. Corley, Sr.. They are still in business and the third and fourth generations of the Corley family are still active in the company.
Information Sources
- 1941 catalog.
- Their trademark registration indicates that they have operated as "Corley" since 1914, and are still active.
- The U. S. Forest Products Laboratory published a booklet dated March 1936, Operating small sawmills, methods, bibliography, and sources of equipment by C. J. Telford. A table lists the makers of various types of equipment, including circular sawmills, band sawmills, edgers, and planers. This company was listed as a maker of circular sawmills, edgers, sawblades, and belting.
- This company is listed in C. H. Wendel's "The Circular Sawmill", which says that the company was "organized in 1904 by Andy Corley. This Chattanooga, TN firm specialized in sawmills from its beginnings, and prided itself on building virtually the entire mill using a bare minimum of OEM parts from other companies."
- The February 2005 issue of The Standard, the monthly newsletter of the Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers, Inc., carried an article on this company. "The company was founded in 1905 by A.J. Corley, Sr., to design and manufacture sawmill machinery.
In the past 100 years, Corley Manufacturing
has evolved into a major producer of computercontrolled,
precision machinery designed to yield the
optimum in accurate lumber from sawn-logs, company
officials said.
In 1983, Corley entered the field of electronic
controls and scanning equipment with the acquisition
of Lewis Controls of Portland, Oregon. The
Tyrone-Berry product line of "shot-gun" and cable
type carriage drives was acquired in 2003. The third and fourth generations of the Corley
family remain active in management, manufacturing
and engineering. The company employs 70
people in Tennessee and 20 at Lewis Controls in
Oregon."