Ansonia, Conn.-based Farrel Pomini, founded in 1848 as a foundry and equipment manufacturer by Almon Farrel and his son, Franklin, has been inducted into the American Manufacturing Hall of Fame.
The company began by supplying castings and machinery services to local manufacturers. During the Civil War, Farrel supplied bayonets to the Union Army and during World War I and World War II, supplied gear boxes for U.S. Navy ships.
Farrel became a mainstay for the booming rubber industry. In 1916 Farrel engineer Fernley H. Banbury developed his famous Banbury Mixer, revolutionizing the rubber processing industry. The Banbury became closely linked with the tire industry. It was recognized in 1959 with the Charles Goodyear Medal.
In 1963, the company developed the Farrel Continuous Mixer for the rubber industry, where it received limited acceptance. The Continuous Mixer found its niche in the plastics processing sector. By separating the mixing and extrusion of polymers, the machine provided a high-quality polymer at a lower cost than competing technologies.
In 1982, the company invented the Compact Processor — an independently controlled Continuous Mixer and an extruder in a unitized frame.
In 2010, Harburg-Freudenberger Maschinenbau GmbH, Farrel Corp. and Pomini Rubber & Plastics srl were integrated to form HF Mixing Group. The following year Farrel Pomini was established to focus on the continuous mixing segment of MF Mixing Group member companies.
In 2017, Farrel Pomini opened a new headquarters plant on a hilltop overlooking the company's historic, mammoth old mill complex by the Naugatuck River on Main Street in downtown Ansonia.
