Marc E. Porter
Marc E. Porter was an American industrial executive who served as President of the Taylor Instrument Companies during the pivotal mid-to-late 1960s, overseeing the company’s transition into electronic industrial process automation and its historic 1968 merger to create the Sybron Corporation.
Executive Rise and General Management
Prior to his election as president, Porter served as the company’s Vice President and General Manager. In that post, he exercised executive responsibility across manufacturing shops, product research laboratories, and domestic and international sales organizations:
- Supervised production logistics at the Ames Street main campus and regional assembly hubs.
- Directed international operational expansion across Western Europe, Canada, and Latin America.
- Accelerated the transition from analog pneumatic instruments toward electronic transmitters and process recorders.
Presidency (Elected 1965)
In 1965, Marc E. Porter was elected President of the Taylor Instrument Companies, succeeding Raymond E. Olson, who retired from executive operations to assume the chairmanship of the Board of Directors.
Porter led the firm through rapid technological shifts:
- Electronic Process Control: Industrial clients across the petrochemical, paper, power, and pharmaceutical sectors increasingly required electronic instrumentation. Porter prioritized the development of standardized electronic transmitters and centralized control-room systems.
- Automation Scale: Under his direction, Taylor reinforced its standing alongside competitors such as Foxboro, Honeywell, and Fisher Controls in global process automation.
The 1968 Sybron Corporation Merger
In 1968, under Porter’s leadership, the Taylor Instrument Companies negotiated a major corporate merger with Rochester-based Ritter Pfaudler Corporation, a leading manufacturer of medical, dental, and chemical process equipment.
The combined enterprise was organized as the Sybron Corporation:
- Taylor transitioned from an independent corporate entity into the primary process-control operating subsidiary of Sybron.
- The corporate name was adjusted to the singular Taylor Instrument Company.
- This merger provided substantial capital backing that supported Taylor's subsequent launch of its landmark computer-integrated process systems (including the MOD series) throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Archival Primary Sources
Records documenting Marc E. Porter's administration, executive minutes, electronic instrument development, and the 1968 merger with Ritter Pfaudler are preserved in the Taylor Instrument Company Papers (Collection D.75) at the University of Rochester Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation:
- Series I: General History — 1965 executive election records, Sybron merger agreements, and board resolutions.
- Series III: Business Papers — Electronic process automation design files, operational reports, and corporate shareholder proxies.
