Company names

1851-1853

Kendall & Taylor

     George Taylor (d. 1889) and David Kendall founded the Taylor Instrument Company in Rochester, New York in 1851 under the original name Kendall & Taylor. The general stock and trade of the company was in thermometers and other instruments for monitoring temperature.

1853-1861

George Taylor

    Kendall left the company in 1853 and George Taylor succeeded him as sole owner, before withdrawing himself in 1859. Under George the company moved to 11 Hill Street, a larger space with more room for the company’s expanding employee forces.

1866-1872

Taylor & Richardson

     His brother Frank came to Rochester in 1862 from New Hampshire and re-named the company as Taylor and Richardson, under himself and Hamlet Richardson in 1866, operating out of a space at 145 Buffalo Street. Richardson eventually left the company [due to ill health] in 1866, and sold his interest to George Taylor in 1870.

1872-1890

Taylor Brothers

     Under the two Taylors, the company officially became the Taylor Brothers Company in 1872. George Taylor stayed with the company as its president until his death in 1889. His brother Frank succeeded him, and would stay on as president until 1900.

1890-1907

Taylor Brothers Company

     Incorporated as the Taylor Brothers Company. George’s two sons, J. Merton Taylor and G. Elbert Taylor, were also associated with the company under Frank Taylor.

Taylor Brothers Company Logo

1907-1968

Taylor Instrument Companies

     In 1907, Taylor consolidated and reorganized itself into Taylor Instrument Companies and began using the trade name Tycos.

Taylor Instrument Companies

Tycos trade name

1968-1989

Taylor Instrument Company

     The Taylor Instrument Companies merged with Ritter Pfaudler Corp. in 1968 to form Sybron Corporation. Based in Rochester, New York, Sybron operated Taylor as a prominent division specializing in industrial controls, barometers, and thermometers until selling the division to Combustion Engineering in 1983.

Taylor Sybron logo

1989-1990

Taylor Instruments Division

     By 1989, Combustion Engineering (along with Taylor) was absorbed by the electrical engineering conglomerate ABB. 

1990-1996

ABB Kent-Taylor

     ABB Kent-Taylor was a legacy process automation and instrumentation brand, previously formed from the merger of Taylor Instruments and Kent Instruments. Formerly based in Rochester, NY, it is now part of the ABB Measurement & Analytics division, manufacturing industrial flowmeters, transmitters, and analytical tools.