Carlyle Johnson has played a significant role in American industry since the very beginning of the twentieth century. The technological advances introduced by Moses Carlyle Johnson and the company he founded, have improved both the efficiencies of production and the health and safety of factory workers nationwide.

In 1884, Moses Carlyle Johnson, an apprentice machinist at Pratt & Whitney, invented a friction clutch to permit engaging and disengaging individual machine tools from the factory line shafts that powered them. This device revolutionized the machine tool industry. His friction clutch was small, efficient, and able to handle high torque.

Moses joined forces with Henry Stanbaugh and Frank Simon shortly thereafter. Their interest in Johnson's clutch led to the creation of The Helix Gear Company in Hartford, Connecticut in 1900. By 1903 they had changed the name to The Carlyle Johnson Machine Company and moved to Manchester, a suburb of Hartford.

Carlyle Johnson designed and manufactured a marine reversing drive in 1902. Within the decade they began incorporating a new alloy of steel into their gears and shafting, producing a lighter marine drive. In 1911 they began to manufacture a new lightweight marine motor. These were widely used by leading producers of the day, including Evinrude Motor Company, Frisbie Motor Company, and Koban Manufacturing Company. In 1914, Carlyle Johnson became the first manufacturer to incorporate ball bearings on the main drive shafts of their reverse gear.

By 1928 Carlyle Johnson began manufacturing a new line of clutches, the "Super-Johnson" type clutch. The new design was smaller, and had a special heat resistant facing on the friction ring surface. It allowed for quick, efficient starts and stops, and also offered substantial noise reduction and increased safety.

Johnson clutches and brakes were used in manufacturing facilities across the nation. Early customers included auto manufacturers such as Cadillac, Hudson, Chrysler, Packard, and the International Motor Company (Mack Trucks); tool manufacturers - Stanley Works, American Tool, and Ingersoll-Rand; printers - the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and the New York Times; food processors such as Kellogg; and in electric utilities, textile producers, in mining, drilling, and packaging equipment.

During World War II, Carlyle Johnson's products became a vital part of the war effort. The company was directed by the war department to focus exclusively on the production of clutches and brakes. Chrysler's production of tanks and aircraft required Carlyle Johnson products for their manufacturing facilities. The motto - "Tooling up for Victory" became the theme for industry during that period. From rolled steel to ammunition producers and aircraft manufacturers, Johnson clutches and brakes were there.

After World War II, Carlyle Johnson continued to concentrate on the production of clutches and brakes. In the 1940's the company again led the industry with the development of the multiple disc MAXITORQ^®clutch design. This clutch provided as much as six times the torque handling capability of single disc clutches and brakes of the same size.

In 1946, overload clutches were designed and marketed. The positive automatic disconnect of these devices saved time and money and provided increased safety to production workers.

During the 1950's, electric clutch designs were introduced. Compact and with high torque capability, they provided superior performance and reliability. Continued improvements in materials and design have made the electric MAXITORQ^® clutch an important component incorporated into a wide range of applications including military vehicles, aerospace, medical equipment, machine tool manufacturing, power generation, and oil exploration.

In 1980, a subsidiary company - Metronics Inc. of Bolton, Connecticut - was acquired. In 1998, the company built new facilities in Bolton at the Metronics location, and consolidated all of its operations there.

Throughout more than one hundred years, Carlyle Johnson has produced quality engineered power transmission solutions for its customers. This proud engineering tradition continues in the twenty-first century, as does Carlyle Johnson's commitment to servicing and supplying components for older equipment. We regularly provide parts and upgrades for clutches which are over half a century old!

Carlyle Johnson power transmission products are found in many industries and in many products. They are used in outer space and 15,000 feet below the surface of the ocean. They are used to make our everyday lives more enjoyable, safer, and healthier. They protect our freedom by helping our military forces whenever and wherever the need arises. Medical, military, aerospace, packaging, oil exploration, power generation, agriculture, mining, food processing, industrial and commercial markets all benefit from Carlyle Johnson's engineered power transmission solutions.