The Tranter Mfg. Co. was established in 1836 and incorporated in 1891. The business survived into the 1970s; in later years they were a reseller rather than a manufacturer, primarily to schools and industries. In particular, they were resellers for Gallmeyer & Livingston Co. and Delta Manufacturing Co. They were the local South Bend lathe distributor, and also sold Powermatic, K. O. Lee grinders and many other lines.

The original Tranter firm produced mill, mine, and factory equipment, including pumps, boilers, engines, and hoists. We have a report of a 24" bandsaw bearing this firm's name but we have received numerous reports of machinery identified as being made by this firm that were actually just resold by them.

Information Sources

• A correspondent reports that after about 1921 the company no longer appears in the Pittsburgh business directory. We do, however, have a report of a Delta bandsaw, manufactured in 1957, bearing a "Tranter Mfg. Co. / Pittsburgh, Pa." This may be a separate incarnation of the business. The minutes of a 1964 meeting at Oakland University (in Michigan) records the passing the motion to sell some shares in Tranter Manufacturing Co.
• A 16" table saw in the Photo Index bears a Tranter Mfg. Co. label but appears to be a Gallmeyer & Livingston design.
• An undated Gallmeyer & Livingston brochure bears a dealer stamp reading, "Tranter Mfg. Co. / 105 Water Street, Pittsburgh, Pa." Since Gallmeyer & Livingston was established in 1923, this pushes the years of operation for Tranter to at least 1923.
• TMC's catalog #46, copyrighted 1946 by Weinberg & McKee, Inc.
• Our thanks to Doug Grandy for information on the later day Tranter's business: "It was neat old place right on the edge of downtown Pittsburgh. 105 Fort Pitt Blvd. They still had lots of old machinery in the building left over from the days when they actually did manufacture things there. They were very active in this area and a major supplier to school shops as well as industry."