Houghton Celebrates 150 Years

Houghton International Inc. (Valley Forge, PA), a global leader in metalworking fluids, is bringing back its popular industrial periodical, The Houghton Line, to celebrate the company’s 150th anniversary.

In 1908, company president Charles E. Carpenter introduced an industrial periodical called The Houghton Line. Each president of the company for the next 100 years was the editor of the publication. The initial target audience was company agents, but the popular booklet quickly spread to customers and eventually reached a circulation of over 200,000. When it was retired in 2008 it had become the longest-running industrial publication in history.

“The Houghton Line was a very unique and beloved periodical,” said Dianne Carmody, the director of marketing, Americas. “In addition to Houghton product information and advertisements, it included public interest stories and provocative opinions. We are thrilled to bring this issue back for our 150th anniversary and take a trip down memory lane with articles that span the 100 year history of The Line.”

The special anniversary issue of The Houghton Line contains a collection of material from past issues, including wise or witty quotations, social and political commentary, letters to the editor, a Prohibition-era short story, articles on such topics as war, marriage, and the 1952 presidential election, and a biography of “A Most Remarkable Business Woman” who helped lead Houghton at the turn of the century.

The issue is available on line by clicking here.

www.houghtonintl.com