At an overlapping time, Tire Engineering Corporation (Blog June 2, 2026) was in business, a company based in Holyoke was one of the largest producers of retread tire parts, and this is the story of the A. A. Patch Company.
In 1942, John H. Wilson, Max Krumpholz and William Krueter acquired the Tire Engineering Company, operating in Holyoke’s Magna Buick property at 1588 Northampton Street. 1942 was also the year John H. Wilson formed the A.A. Patch Company in Albany, New York.
The A. A. Patch Company manufactured sectional tire units for shops that used the vulcanizing process to harden the rubber and attach the new tread to the existing tire chassis.
John Wilson was born and raised in Bubois, Pennsylvania and arrived in this area in 1936, settling in South Hadley. He had an extensive history in the rubber industry, having worked for several large companies and employed as a sales representative traveling through Europe. For a time, he lived in Africa.
John Wilson died in December 1948. His spouse, Mary H. (Callahan) Wilson, was identified as the principal owner and Treasurer of the business. She was instrumental in relocating the retread parts company to Holyoke in 1949, initially establishing the business at 266 Main Street.
In April of 1952, Mary Wilson resigned her position and sold her stock in the company to William B. Christie, also of South Hadley. Mr. Christie had joined the company in 1949 and was prominent in increasing sales, which had quadrupled since his arrival. At the time of the corporate transition, there were 10 production workers and 3 sales staff.
The company moved from 266 Main Street to Gatehouse Road in 1955. This move afforded 6,000 square feet of production space, compared with 3,000 square feet at its former location. On May 20, 1955, an open house was held at the new location, referred to as the Patchery. The company introduced its Steel Cap, a stainless steel wool wrap embedded in the recap that improves traction and mileage.
When the company first opened, it had 5 employees and 1 sales rep. By 1959, there were 20 full-time and 3 part-time employees and a payroll of over $100,000. The company produced one-half million recap parts annually.
In 1961, the company sponsored a 5-day retread training program at the High Point Motor Inn in Chicopee. The classes were taught by members of the National Tire Dealers and Retread Association and attended by foremen from 15 retread shops in New England.
The company was also manufacturing and marketing tire repair patches, plugs, a tire-trimming tool called the Rapid Trim tool, and a carbide-grit sanding sleeve called the Ever Buff.
Raymond J. Pion, a sales representative of the company, purchased an interest in A. A. Patch in 1962. The company changed its name to A. A. Equipment Inc., which it felt better aligned with its products. William S. Ford of South Hadley purchased the remaining shares of Mr. Christie’s stock soon after and became President of the Company. A. A. Equipment relocated to Westfield around 1968, after close to 20 years of operating in Holyoke.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
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