Historical Timeline

Corporate Lineage • 1851 to Present

Evolution of the Company Name

Tracing the corporate identity of the Taylor instrument legacy across seventeen decades of manufacturing, scientific innovation, and global expansion.

Kendall & Taylor

1851 – 1853

Founded in Rochester by David Kendall and George Taylor with an initial capital investment of $919. Produced tin-case thermometers and mercurial barometers. Partnership ended with Kendall’s early retirement and death.

George Taylor

1853 – 1861

Operated as a sole proprietorship by George Taylor. Expanded into meteorological thermometers and peddled instruments to rural general stores across New York and New England until operations were paused during the American Civil War.

Taylor & Richardson

1866 – 1872

Following the Civil War, George Taylor partnered with partner J.W. Richardson. Re-established commercial distribution and began manufacturing clinical and fever thermometers for medical practitioners.

Taylor Brothers

1872 – 1890

Formed when George’s brother, Frank Taylor, and later Hamlet Taylor bought out Richardson. Rapid growth in dairy thermometers, industrial process control, and patented brass scales.

Taylor Brothers Company

1890 – 1907

Formally incorporated in New York State. Began acquisition of key competitors (including Hohmann & Maurer and Short & Mason of London) and laid the foundation for global industrial instrumentation.

Taylor Instrument Companies

1907 – 1968

The Definitive Era. Construction and major expansions at 95 Ames Street. Unified products under the iconic Tycos trademark, supplied vital aviation and naval instruments during WWI and WWII (awarded the Army-Navy “E” in 1942), and celebrated the Centennial in 1951.

Taylor Instrument Company (Sybron)

1968 – 1989

Merged into the Sybron Corporation as its premier instrument and control systems subsidiary. Transitioned from analog pneumatic controls to electronic and early microprocessor process automation (MOD systems).

Taylor Instruments Division

1989 – 1990

Acquired by Combustion Engineering (C-E) during corporate consolidation in the energy and industrial systems sector, operating as a specialized process automation division.

ABB Kent-Taylor Inc.

1990 – 1996

Global engineering giant Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) acquired Combustion Engineering. Combined Taylor’s Rochester product line with Britain’s George Kent group to create ABB Kent-Taylor.

ABB Instrumentation Inc.

1996 – Present

Integrated fully into ABB’s modern Measurement & Analytics business unit. While operations eventually moved from Ames Street, the Taylor instrument designs, patents, and engineering heritage remain active across global industrial facilities today.