Many success stories begin with only a dream and a shoestring budget. This story, however, started with a dream and better financing. Heirs to a company run by their father, Edgar Heil Bristol and Bennet Beri Bristol decided not to be a part of that family business.
Also different about this story is that most companies start, grow, and acquire later. The Bristol brothers, however, began with acquisitions in their inaugural year of 1908.
First on the list were Standard Electric Gauge Manufacturing Co. and Standard Electric Time Co. Next came Shepherd Plating and Finishing Co. The brothers then formed Industrial Instrument in Foxborough, Massachusetts (“Foxboro” is an alternative spelling.) and, by the end of the year had 53 employees earning about 13 cents per hour producing gauges for use in steam boilers, refrigeration units, and automobiles.
(Keep in mind that Invensys, the company that today encompasses Foxboro, has roots going all the way back to 19th century England when inventor Augustus Siebe formed an engineering firm that developed, grew and strengthened through the following century.)
