In the 1940s and '50s, the extraordinarily low-profile firm of Fitchburg Engineering Corp. manufactured milling machines, boring machines, and lathes.

The business was sold in 1983 when Charles N. Fickett, son of the original owner, retired. In about 1991 the business shut down and their parts and service business was acquired by Chas. G. Allen Co.

Information Sources

• A database of Massachusetts corporations lists Fitchburg Engineering Corporation as established 29 November 1929 and dissolved 30 March 1981.
• 1951 Directory of Metalworking Machinery, 1951 Revision: First Addendum lists Fitchburg Engineering Corporation as makers of boring machines (rotary table type built in table; multiple head type; horizontal cylinder boring; horizontal floor type fixed head; vertical multiple spindle rail type); heavy duty engine lathes (standard); bed type milling machines (duplex std., horizontal spindle; bridge type, fixed height rail; adjustable rail type, not including planer type; angular head type); planer type milling machines (double housing; openside; traveling housing type).
• A trademark registration is listed as owned by Fitchburg Engineering Corporation. The mark is "PORTA-BOR", for portable boring mills. The trademark application was filed on September 6, 1983 and was canceled on January 25, 1991. First use was 1973, exact date not given.
• 2008 obituary of Robert N. Fickett. "He graduated from Fitchburg High School in 1941 and attended the University of Maine-Orono with a concentration in mechanical engineering. Bob went to work for his father in 1943 at the Fitchburg Engineering Corporation. He would later co-own and operate that business for nearly 40 years prior to his retirement in 1983."
• A timeline of Fitchburg's machine tool shops prepared by Francis D. Morrison, for 1929: "Fitchburg Engineering Co. Locate at site of former Fitchburg Steam Engine Co. ; they build special machine tools, milling machines, wood chipper.. (1930-1985)"