Ames True Temper

{{Short description|Manufacturing company which produces non-powered lawn and garden products}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Ames True Temper, Inc.

| logo = 250px

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| fate =

| predecessor = {{ubl|American Fork and Hoe Co.|Ames, Baldwin, Wyoming Co.|Ames Shovel and Tool Co.|Baldwin Tool Works|Hubbard & Co|O. Ames Company|The Old Stone Forge|Pittsburgh Shovel Co.|True Temper Co.|Wyoming Shovel Works}}

| successor =

| foundation = {{Start date and age|1774}}

| founder = Captain John Ames

| defunct =

| location_city = Camp Hill, Pennsylvania

| location_country = U.S.

| locations =

| area_served = Worldwide

| industry = Landscaping tools

| products =

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| parent = Griffon Corporation

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| homepage = {{URL|ames.com|Ames.com}}

| footnotes = {{cite web| url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=1454588 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130118153354/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=1454588 | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 18, 2013 | title=Ames True Temper, Inc.: Private Company Information | publisher=Bloomberg | work=Businessweek | accessdate=July 6, 2012}}{{cite web| url=http://ames.com/about-us/our-history.aspx | title=About Us | publisher=Ames True Temper}}

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}}

Ames True Temper, Inc. is a multinational corporation headquartered in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, U.S. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Griffon Corporation.{{cite web | url=http://www.griffoncorp.com/?p=25 | title=Griffon Corporation -- Ames True Temper | access-date=July 6, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329130457/http://www.griffoncorp.com/?p=25 | archive-date=March 29, 2012 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }} Ames True Temper specializes in the manufacture of non-powered lawn and garden products. Its manufacturing plant was located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and produced 85% of the wheelbarrows in the United States and Canada making 1.7 million wheelbarrows each year, until Griffon decided to outsource production to China. The Harrisburg plant had been in continual operation since 1876.{{cite web | url=https://www.pennlive.com/business/2023/08/wheelbarrow-factory-that-will-close-this-fall-has-been-a-harrisburg-fixture-for-over-a-century.html | title=This factory made wheelbarrows for more than a century. Now that’s ending | website=PennLive | date=August 23, 2023 | accessdate=May 1, 2025}}

Ames, which celebrated its 200th anniversary in 1974, is among the oldest extant business corporations in the United States.{{cite news |last=Sloane |first=Leonard |date=30 April 1974 |title=Ames Prospers as It Marks 200 Years |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/04/20/archives/ames-prospers-as-it-marks-200-years-ames-is-still-prospering-as-it.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=21 January 2020}}

History

=Formation=

Blacksmith and pioneer Captain John Ames began making metal shovels in America in 1774.{{cite web| url=http://ames.com/about-us/our-history.aspx | title=Ames - Our History | publisher=Ames True Temper | accessdate=July 12, 2012}}

Ames underwent a merger in 1931 including Baldwin Tool Works of Parkersburg, West Virginia, the Ames Shovel and Tool Company of North Easton, Massachusetts; the Wyoming Shovel Works of Wyoming, Pennsylvania; Hubbard & Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and the Pittsburgh Shovel Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It later absorbed the Skelton Shovel Co. Inc. of Dunkirk, New York. The result of the merger was called the Ames Shovel and Tool Company. The company was renamed the Ames, Baldwin, Wyoming Company in 1933. In 1952, it became known as the O. Ames Company.{{cite web| url=http://www.stonehill.edu/offices-services/archives/industrial-collections/ames-true-temper-collection/ | title=Ames True Temper Collection | publisher=Stonehill College | accessdate=September 18, 2017}}

The Old Stone Forge of Wallingford, Vermont, founded in 1808, became the American Fork and Hoe Co. In 1949, the name was changed to True Temper. Ames purchased True Temper from the Huffy Corporation in 1999 to become Ames True Temper.

In 2002 Ames, then based in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania closed one of its two plants manufacturing lawn and garden tools in Wood County, West Virginia.{{cite news |title=Ames True Temper plant closing |agency=AP |newspaper=The Charleston Gazette |date=4 May 2002}}{{cite news |last1=Harris |first1=Linda |title=Ames True Temper closes plant in Parkersburg |newspaper=The State Journal |date=10 June 2002 |volume=18 |issue=23 |page=25}}

In 2023, Ames closed the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania plant where President Trump celebrated this first 100 days of his first term in office.{{Cite news |title=Made-in-USA Wheelbarrows Promoted by Trump Are Now Made in China |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-29/made-in-usa-wheelbarrows-promoted-by-trump-are-now-made-in-china |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250430215344/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-29/made-in-usa-wheelbarrows-promoted-by-trump-are-now-made-in-china |archive-date=2025-04-30 |access-date=2025-05-02 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}

=Problems and controversies=

Ames True Temper Company closed its facility in West Virginia in September 2005, unable to reach a contract agreement with the United Steelworkers Union.

Brands

Ames True Temper currently{{when|date=October 2024}} owns the following brands:{{cite web | url=http://ames-truetemper.com/about-us/our-brands.aspx | title=Our Brands | publisher=Ames True Temper | accessdate=July 6, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111115000224/http://ames-truetemper.com/about-us/our-brands.aspx | archive-date=November 15, 2011 | url-status=dead }}

Ames
ClosetMaid
Dynamic Design
Garant
Harper
Hound Dog
Jackson
Razor-Back
Southern Patio
True Temper
Union Tools
Westmix

Ames Australasia

Currently{{when|date=October 2024}} owns the following brands:{{cite web | url=https://au.ames.com/about-ames/ | title=About Ames }}

Cyclone Tools{{cite web|url=https://www.cyclone.com.au/ |title=Home |publisher=Cyclone |date= |accessdate=2022-08-22}}
Gardenmaster
La Hacienda
Hills
Kelso{{cite web|url=https://www.kelsotools.com.au/ |title=HOME - Kelso - Built Stronger to Last Longer |publisher=Kelsotools.com.au |date= |accessdate=2022-08-22}}
Nylex
Northcote Pottery{{Cite web|url=https://northcotepottery.com/|title=Northcote Pottery | The container gardening experts|website=northcotepottery|accessdate=17 April 2023}}
Supercraft
Trojan Tools{{cite web|url=https://www.trojantools.com.au/ |title=Home |publisher=Trojan Tools |date=2015-06-07 |accessdate=2022-08-22}}
Tuscan Path
Westmix