HOW TWO HYDRAULIC COMPANIES BECAME ONE
Click the button below to view the Rivett or Dynex early history, before the two companies merged into one!
RIVETT
DYNEX
1884 – Faneuil Watch Tool Company founded by (Joseph) Edward Rivett and C.A.W. Crosby. The first factory is a wooden extension of Rivett’s own home. The company’s first manufactured products include a watchmaker’s lathe and a precision bench lathe.
1887 – The Rivett lathe receives the highest award at Mechanics’ Fair, Boston, Massachusetts.
1893 – The company receives gold medals for its lathes at the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Illinois.
1901 – The Rivett lathe awarded a gold medal at the Pan American Exposition, Buffalo, New York.
1905 – Mr. Rivett purchases the other half of the business from heirs of Mr. Crosby, who had passed away in 1894. Mr. Rivett renames it after himself as Rivett Lathe Manufacturing Company.
1908 – The company expands its factory located in Brighton, Massachusetts to double their capacity.
1912 – Mr. Rivett sells the company to a group of businessmen who incorporate it as The Rivett Lathe & Grinder Company in Boston, Massachusetts.
1920 – The company expands its factory, doubling its capacity again.
1921 – After World War I, the company struggles financially as a global slow-down takes hold in most advanced nations. A voluntary receivership arranged with Thorvald S. Ross appointed by the bank to examine the business and provide recommendation for actions to take. Mr. Ross is overwhelmingly convinced the company still has more potential. He resigns from the bank and takes over management of the company as President.
1954 – Mr. Hunt purchases the company from Thorvald S. Ross and becomes President.
1955 – The company purchases The Gerotor May Company which brings new products into the company’s offerings, including hydraulic power units and industrial pneumatic valves.
1961 – The first Brighton, Massachusetts facility demolished because of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority deciding to extend the Massachusetts Turnpike into Boston along the Boston and Albany Railroad right of way. Four acres purchased nearby, and operations moved to a new modern-built facility in Brighton.
1967 – Applied Power Industries, Inc. moves the company from Brighton to Needham Heights, Massachusetts. Applied Power sells off the machine tool portion of Rivett’s business.
By 1970, the new owners of all Rivett lathe and grinder products are no longer producing them. Most assets of the former company supporting those lathe and grinder products end up in a landfill in Maine.
1970 – The Rivett Division of Applied Power Industries, Inc. is primarily selling hydraulic power units, but is also now selling industrial hydraulic valves produced at another Applied Power facility located in Mineral Point, Wisconsin.
Demand for the Rivett brand of hydraulic valves is robust, and the Mineral Point operation is unable to keep up with demand. The Needham Heights operation begins to regularly purchase more than required for demand. Inventory of finished products increases to primarily sell to U.S. distributors who are requiring faster lead-times than achieved from either the Mineral Point or Pewaukee, Wisconsin facilities.
1974 – Applied Power Industries, Inc. hires Raymond M. Warell as Vice President – General Manager to manage both Rivett and Dynex divisions in their facility located in Pewaukee, Wisconsin.
DYNEX/RIVETT INC.
1977 – Mr. Warell purchases both Dynex and Rivett Divisions from Applied Power Inc. and incorporates them both into Dynex/Rivett Inc. The acquisition includes all assets including the manufacturing facility and land located in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, rights to manufacture, market, and sell Dynex and Rivett products through its Needham Heights, Massachusetts location, a U.K. location, and a Mineral Point, Wisconsin location.
1979 – The London, U.K. office closes, and a new location is established in Eaton Socon, Cambridgeshire. Finished goods shipped from the Pewaukee manufacturing operation stored here for distribution into Europe and other regions located closer to this facility.
1980 – The company develops a hydraulic servo valve for J. I. Case which wins the Wisconsin, USA Governor’s New Product Award.
1981 – The Pewaukee facility expands its building to add more machinery and consolidate operations after closing a smaller facility that was operating out of a leased building in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. All Rivett product manufacturing operations at Mineral Point location move to the Pewaukee location.
1986 – Dynex/Rivett Inc. moves its New England operation from Needham Heights to Ashland, Massachusetts. This operation continues to design and fabricate hydraulic power units and warehouses finished goods manufactured by the Pewaukee operation. These stocked products provide shorter lead times for distributors and customers.
1987 – While the corporate name of the company remains as Dynex/Rivett Inc., Mr. Warell increases marketing and branding the use of the Dynex tradename over the Rivett tradename since it has greater customer recognition globally.
1991 – Dynex exhibits its hydraulic products at Hannover Fair, Hannover, Germany for the first time recognizing that its global presence is important for future growth, and to support European customers who have been purchasing the company's products for decades. A new group of European distributors gather to meet with Dynex president at this exhibition.
1994 – Raymond A. Warell, son of Raymond M. Warell, named Vice President – Sales & Marketing after having progressed through the Dynex sales and marketing department since hiring in 1981.
1998 – Dynex applies market segmentation to focus on key customers and markets where its products excel, and to identify new opportunities where it can competitively fulfill niche applications within large global industries. New products developed to increase company’s global market share within new niche markets.
2003 – Raymond A. Warell named Executive Vice President and assumes responsibility for all manufacturing operations of the company. Mr. Warell initiates a major capital reinvestment project starting with purchase of new state-of-art CNC machining centers and modern technology equipment for Pewaukee manufacturing operations.
2005 – Dynex purchases the facility in Eaton Socon, Cambridgeshire, England for its European operation to continue expansion into Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, and Middle East.
2008 – Raymond A. Warell named President. Raymond M. Warell named CEO until he passes away in 2011.
2013 – Dynex/Rivett Inc. certifies to ISO9001-2008.
2016 – Raymond A. Warell is new owner of Dynex/Rivett Inc.
2021 – Dynex/Rivett Inc. recertifies to ISO9001-2015.
2022 – Dynex opens new office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates to serve customers principally involved in the global Oil & Gas industry within Middle East region.
Click video on left to see some of our archived footage. Click image on right to read our news story about the interesting life of (Joseph) Edward Rivett!