Bayer Diagnostics Records

The records from Bayer Diagnostics Corporation document the medical instrument manufacturing and research of Bayer Diagnostics and its predecessor entities, Gilford Instrument Laboratories, Ciba Corning Diagnostics, and Chiron Diagnostics. For four decades this manufacturing plant was a major employer in the city of Oberlin. Located at 132 Artino Street, Gilford Instrument Laboratories was the first occupant of the Oberlin Industrial Park in 1959. The company was a leading manufacturer of analytical instruments for the medical and scientific communities; in 1978, Gilford Instruments expanded its manufacturing base by branching into the growing market for clinical chemistry reagent products. The company continued to be an important player in these markets after Gilford Instruments became a subsidiary of Corning Glass Works in 1980. In later years, the plant’s parent company changed several times and there was increased focus on the clinical chemistry products.  Through a series of mergers and sales, the plant became part of Ciba Corning Diagnostics in 1985, Chiron Diagnostics in 1996, and Bayer Diagnostics in 1998. The plant closed in January 2001 as part of Bayer Diagnostics Corporation’s plan to consolidate its manufacturing operations. In addition to the records from the Oberlin plant, there is material from the Colson Corporation of Elyria, Ohio; Gilford Instrument Laboratories was formed when Colson sold its medical equipment division to Saul R. Gilford (1919-79). This collection also contains material related to Saul R. Gilford and to his work in electrical engineering.

The records in this collection include annual reports, correspondence, financial records, product information, publications, and non-textual material, and they document the company in general, its products and sales, employees, facilities, and special events. Gaps in the record do exist, however. The bulk of the material dates from 1958 to the early 1990s and was created by Gilford Instruments and Ciba Corning. There is very little material about Bayer Diagnostics because the parent corporation purchased Chiron Diagnostics in 1998.

The group contains little financial information. What financial records exist, in Series VI, cover only Gilford Instrument Laboratories (1959-84). Additional information on Gilford Instruments’ finances may be gleaned from the Annual and Interim reports in Series I. Series VII. Gilford Instruments Stock contains correspondence and Securities and Exchange Commission forms. These records cover the period from 1967, when Gilford stock went public, through 1980 when Gilford merged with Corning Glass Works. Many of these records concern Gilford’s popular Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

General documentation of the company and its administration is found in annual reports (1959-90, 1993, 1997). Organizational charts (1985, 1989-97) exist, but are more modest in number. Written histories and timelines of the company, and news releases on sales and mergers, are in Series VIII. Historical Files. A noteworthy item in these files is a 1958 company prospectus describing the proposed Gilford Instrument Laboratories to be formed from the Colson Corporation’s medical equipment division.

More detailed coverage exists for the company’s products. Series XII. Product Files contains brochures and other information about Colson and Gilford products and their applications, testing and evaluation reports, and user lists. Series XIII. Sales and Marketing provides details on the company’s sales effort, through an outline of the company’s marketing strategy for 1974 to 1976 and guidelines and directions for sales agents.

Considerable documentation exists on the employees who worked at Gilford Instrument Laboratories.  Series V. Employee Information contains handbooks (1962-85, undated) and other information put together for employee use, including employee rosters (1969-82, undated). Employees were honored at special events, such as the annual awards banquets (1975-83) and company luncheons. Programs and invitations for many of these events are located in Series XIV.  In addition to pictures of these special events, Series XVII, Subseries 3, contains photographs of employees.

In addition to the coverage of events for employees, records also exist relating to the Gilford Company’s twentieth and twenty-fifth anniversary celebrations, groundbreakings, and production milestones.  Being very community-minded, the company also opened its doors to visitors through Open House days (1969-83, 1996) and through the “Engineer for a Day” program for high school students (1977-81). Material related to these events is in Series XIV. Special Events and Visitors. Photographs of many of the events are located in Series XVII, Subseries 3, Photographs.

The Gilford Instruments plant in Oberlin, which opened in 1959, faced growing pains.  In its first 25 years there were 24 plant expansions. Little documentation exists for most of these projects.  The 1978 project (the single largest addition) is the exception. Extant is correspondence, a project prospectus (in Series XV. Subject Files), and an architectural drawing. Also included in the architectural drawings in Series XVII, Subseries 1, are plans for the original building (1958), and for the Administration and Engineering building built in 1971. The photographs from a 1983 groundbreaking event are of special interest (namely, a color-coded plan illustrates how the Gilford plant was expanded over the years).

In addition to documenting the company, these records provide information on Saul R. Gilford, the founder and first president of Gilford Instrument Laboratories, and on his research. General biographical information is found in Series II, which primarily consists of memorial articles published after Gilford’s death in a 1979 plane crash. Gilford’s research for the National Board of Standards (1948-1954) and for the Colson Corporation (1954-58), as well as his work after he founded Gilford Instrument Laboratories, verifies his aptitude and faculty in the field of electrical engineering. Found here are laboratory notebooks in his hand (1955-78), writings, patents (1948-83), and correspondence (1953-60). The photographs in Series XVII include photographs of National Board of Standards machines and Colson products. Photographs of Gilford include pictures of him receiving awards, including a Silver Medal from the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1954 for contributions in the field of medical instrumentation and the 1977 Oberlin College Distinguished Community Service Award.

In the late 1950s, Gilford’s early work in the area of heart monitoring equipment caught the attention of Willis A. Wood (b. 1921), a biochemist at the University of Illinois (and later Michigan State University).  The two collaborated to develop a line of spectrophotometers, which became a mainstay of the Gilford product line. Their correspondence and collaborative articles illustrate their work together from 1956 to 1961; additional material on Wood may be found in Series XVI. Subject Files and in Series XVII, Subseries 3, Photographs.