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Exeltor is firmly established as one of the world's leading knitting needle
manufacturers for both hosiery and large diameter fabric producers.
"A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE"
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In 1884, William Corey, a Bedford native, started The Corey Needle
Company in an old wooden building with seven other workers. At that time, latch
knitting needles were manufactured by hand.
By 1913, the Corey Needle Company, which had about 25 people working in the
plant, was bought by Torrington Company Limited and the needles were sold
under the Excelsior brand name. Many of the traditional methods of needle making
were discontinued and new machinery was introduced to meet the demands of the
growing textile industry.
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In 1968, Ingersoll-Rand bought Torrington who had approximately 500 employees working in the Bedford plant.
In 1980, Ingersoll-Rand sold its knitting needle division to its senior management and the new company was
named EXELTOR, a combination of Excelsior, its original needle trademark and Torrington.
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