Homer Laughlin China Co.- A Different Corporation

The third day of our trip began with a foray to Newell, WV and to The Homer Laughlin China Company, the creators of Fiesta brand dinnerware. This company was begun in 1871 by Homer and Shakespeare Laughlin with $5,000 of seed money from the East Liverpool city council to produce white dinnerware in that city.

Shakespeare Laughlin left the enterprise in 1877 and it continued to prosper under Homer Laughlin producing dinnerware and ceramic toilets.

 In 1897 the business was sold to a Laughlin Company manager named William E. Wells and a financier named Louis I. Aaron. The company continued to do well because of strong retail sales and because a cereal company put Laughton Co. bowls in boxes of oats. In 1902, in need of expansion, the company moved to Newell, WV across the Ohio River.

Newell, WV was a tiny, agricultural village prior to the arrival of the Homer Laughlin China Company. The company laid out the town, built the water treatment plant, and built the infrastructure that comprises a city. As Newell's largest citizen, the Laughlin Company acknowledged its position in the town, and that is reflected in its mission statement. The number one priority in its mission statement is to provide jobs in the Ohio Valley. Not surprising, this company is a family business with second and third generation people involved as workers, managers, and owners.

The second priority in the mission statement is to produce the finest quality product possible. Their success in fulfilling this priority is reflected by the sustained popularity of Fiesta Dinnerware. The Laughlin Company is also very successful in producing dinnerware for the restaurant industry and for the U.S. Armed Forces.

 
In the 1980's, the company moved to become more environmentally conscious when it produced lead-free glazes and a lead-free vitrified china. While other corporations state that profit is their number one priority, The Homer Laughlin China Company demonstrates that business success can best be achieved when social responsibility accompanies business acumen.

Questions to Research 

• Why do most people assume that being environmentally responsible means a reduced level of profit?
• Why have so many glass and pottery companies located in the Ohio Valley?
• Why have so many glass and pottery companies gone out of business in West Virginia?
• How might glass companies resume production and make glass a thriving industry in West Virginia again?