Talk:Columbia Manufacturing Inc.

Contested deletion
This page should not be speedily deleted because it is notable enough. It manufactures the most common desk chair in the United States, and manufactures a bicycle brand which goes back to the 19th century. Furthermore, there is more out there, but I haven't bothed researching it just yet, as I have other things to do in life. -Kevin Rutherford (talk) 22:14, 5 January 2013 (UTC)

Westfield Manufacturing Company?
The article could be improved ... by determining what peculiar entity is the article all about; is it about a furniture manufacturer, a bicycle manufacturer, or a bicycle brand - "the (company) was the brand" - or about one factory.

The article could be improved by explaining the relationship (1916 reorganization of the bankrupt Pope Manufacturing Company) to the Westfield Manufacturing Company of Westfield Massachusetts which made the Columbia - brand of bicycles. The Westfield Manufacturing Company catalogs stated that Westfield (not Columbia) were “successors to The Pope Manufacturing Company” - and not "owned by" - a bankrupt company.

The article could be improved by explaining the relationship (1933 subsidiary) to the Torrington Company of Torrington, Connecticut.

The article could be improved by explaining that Westfield Mfg. Co. started production of a line of tubular steel school furniture in order to augment sales during the bicycle "off season" (1952).

The article could be improved by explaining the formation of an independent corporation (1960) and renaming to Columbia Manufacturing Company (1961), and merger with the Modern Tool and Die Company (1967).

The article could be improved by mentioning the bankruptcy (1987). [UNSIGNED]


 * Agree that the article is notable. Columbia was a major manufacturer of relatively inexpensive, if not always high quality, bicycles for much of of the 20th century. Someone with a bit of time (maybe I, some year) could flesh out the article. I'm sure that lots of sources could be found. (From circa 1967 to circa 2016, I rode a well-built and durable, but heavy and not so well-designed, Columbia 3-speed bicycle made circa 1960. At its end, it was hit sideways by a car while it was locked to a bike rack, rendering the fork unsafe and the frame too bent to repair.  Even though its corpse has very few original parts, I'm going to hang it on my workshop wall, for the memories.) Acwilson9 (talk) 05:50, 13 May 2020 (UTC)