About The Pierce Company

The Pierce Company, Inc. began in a small Anderson, Indiana, garage as a manufacturer of a cable driven governor for the Fordson Tractor. The company was organized in 1913 and was known as the Pierce Speed Controller Company. Pierce governors rode out across early 20th century America on waves of new Ford autos and tractors, and the company became known as Pierce Governor Company in 1916. During World War II, the company was heavily involved in the manufacture of aircraft and other military components. After the war and until 1973, Pierce was strictly a mechanical governor manufacturer for industrial and agricultural gasoline engines.

At one time Pierce was the largest mechanical governor manufacturer in the world. The speed control devices were produced for a diverse range of equipment: gasoline and diesel powered trucks, generator sets, RVs, off-road vehicles, tractors and self-propelled farm implements.

Pierce moved from its Anderson plant to its present Upland, Indiana location in 1965. The Pierce Company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Avis Industrial Corporation in 1971.

While mechanical governors were the cornerstone of Pierce, advances in engine design and technology made governors obsolete. Faced with extinction of its product line, the company again changed its name to The Pierce Company and began to manufacture mechanical fuel pumps for the automotive aftermarket. To increase its offering of fuel pumps, the company purchased the Capac and Ampco automotive fuel pumps from the Wells Manufacturing Company of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in 1973.

The company added the Hoof© line of electronic and mechanical governors in 1995, and purchased the Hygrade® and Blackstone line of electric and mechanical fuel pumps in 1999. In 2003 Pierce added to its array of electrics and acquired Dana’s electric fuel pump line.

The company is now doing business as The Pierce Company, and in addition to its fuel pump and governor lines, Pierce offers automotive locks and parts. The purchase of A1 Security in 2006 supplemented Pierce’s product offerings as the company manufactures tools for all aspects of locksmithing, including: automotive, installation, picks, interchangeable core, tubular and PAK-A-PUNCHTM key machines. Pierce’s parent company, Avis Industrial Corporation, moved the manufacturing facilities of its Hurd Lock division from Greeneville, Tennessee, to its Cumsa plant in Matamoros, Mexico. Hurd and LockCraft products are made available through a master distributor, ASP, Inc.

The Pierce Company is devoted to satisfying customer needs and expectations through on-time delivery of superior quality products and services at a competitive price.

The Pierce Company is a manufacturer of automotive, industrial and agricultural hard parts for the aftermarket and OEM markets. Our impressive product offerings include:

• Electric & Mechanical Fuel Delivery Products
• Velocity, Pulley Driven and Electronic Governors
• Key Lock Sets
• Electric Switches
• Electrical Connectors