
1923
June 6, 2025
1957
June 6, 2025The company expanded its operations to a new building at 401 W. Vermont Street, Indianapolis. The shop area was enlarged and the repair business grew rapidly. It was also a way of introducing the new concept of welding repair to skeptical customers. An early offer to repair the touring Liberty Bell was unfortunately rejected, but many others saw the benefits of welding and ended up purchasing welders for their own operations. Sutton-Garten became a distributor for KG Equipment, an early manyfacturer of gas apparatus that had previously had no representation west of Pennsylvania. Sutton-Garten obtained exclusive rights to the states of Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. KG was later purchased by Air Products and Chemicals, and then by Smith Equipment, an ITW Company. During the 1930’s, the supply business suffered due to the Depression, but the repair business continued to be strong. In fact, no one was laid off all through the Depression. By 1936, equipment sales picked up and the supply business grew rapidly. During World War II, the company helped train welders for jobs in the defense industry. By the late 1940’s the shop buiness was only a minor part of the operation, and it was discontinued in 1953.

