Westcott Rule Company

The Westcott Rule Company was founded in 1872 in Seneca Falls, New York, by Henry Westcott and his sons Charles and Frank, initially making wooden furniture for printers and trellis units. The company shifted to manufacturing wooden rulers using machinery rather than hand craftsmanship and grew into one of the largest makers of desk and school rulers in the world. It remained family owned for 96 years until it was purchased in 1968 by the Acme Shear Company, later renamed Acme United Corporation, after which its product line expanded to include scissors, pencil sharpeners, paper trimmers, erasers and other measuring tools. By 2008 the Westcott brand was selling an estimated 60 to 80 million scissors and 15 to 18 million rulers worldwide each year. The brand continues to operate under Acme United ownership, introducing new products such as ergonomic children scissors in 2016.