HYATT

The Hyatt Roller Bearing Company was established in 1892 by John Wesley Hyatt. By 1895, Alfred P. Sloan’s father, an early investor in Hyatt, secured a drafting position for Sloan at the company's headquarters in Harrison, New Jersey. Sloan, a recent graduate of MIT, became president of Hyatt in 1901 at age 26. Under Sloan’s leadership, Hyatt expanded significantly, becoming a highly profitable and influential manufacturer of bearings. The company’s first automotive customer was Oldsmobile, and it quickly gained other automobile manufacturers as clients. Hyatt became a major supplier of bearings for General Motors, providing components from axles to transmissions. The Sloan family invested over $50,000 in the company. Today, Hyatt and New Departure are brands owned by the General Bearing Company of New York.