Morart Gravure (1950-1964)

Morart Gravure had a base of 30 customers in 1951. Only two of the customers were located in Holyoke; the rest were first-rate major manufacturers throughout the nation. These manufacturers incorporated Morart's work into their product production, which in turn was sold to wholesalers, who then sold to retailers. 

Morart supplied the printed decorations for laminated products. Morart was the groundbreaker in this type of work, producing a wide range of patterns and colors. The ovens used in the baking process were the brainchild of the company's co-founder, Charles F. Moriarty. Many of the designs imprinted on its laminated products resembled wood grain and leather patterns. The work focused on designs and patterns for stationery, lunch counters, trays, walls and furniture. No words or letters were added to the process or the finished product, including Morart's company name. The company employed 100 workers at the time.

When Multicolor Gravure Company moved to the Florence section of Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1952, Morart leased the vacant 10,000 square feet of space from the Holyoke G & E. Another large expansion occurred in 1955, when Morart leased 20,000 square feet of first-floor space at the former Farr Alpaca Company's Building E. The company now had over 100,000 square feet of space for its use, a far cry from its humble one-room beginnings at 200 Race Street some 25 years earlier.

The company established a Midwest presence when it purchased the 30,000-square-foot, 2-story Oxford Corporation plant in Dayton, Ohio, in 1956.

Oxford was in the business of producing etched copper cylinders used in the rotogravure trade. The cylinders reproduced high-grade photographic images that resembled wood grain, marble, fabrics, and other materials. The company would add work that was also performed in Holyoke, in essence, increasing production capacity. The company was renamed Morart-Oxford Corporation, a subsidiary of Morart Gravure Corporation. Several key employees of the Holyoke mill moved to Dayton to manage the operation there.

In 1961, there were sufficient Morart employees in Holyoke to form its own four-team ten-pin bowling league. In 1963, the workers voted to unionize under the International Brotherhood of Bookbinders.

Further major changes would occur as the 1960s progressed, leading to the company's departure from Holyoke.

Citations:

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