Category: Business and Industry

The I. N. TOPLIFF MFG. CO.was the brainchild of Connecticut- born inventor and industrialist Isaac Newton Topliff. Though first working as a schoolteacher Topliff's mechanical penchant led him to the midwest and the carriage industry during the 1850s. After a brief stay in Elyria, OH where he worked with his brother John A. Topliff at carriage making, he went on to spend ten years running his own shop in Michigan.

IDEAL MACARONI CO., a family-owned pasta company located in the Cleveland area for over 90 years, began in 1903 when grocer Pasquale Ippolito first rolled out pasta behind the family store at 1506 Scovill Ave.; by 1919 he had organized the Ideal Macaroni company. After Pasquale's death in 1920, Ideal was operated by members of the Ippolito and Dodero families with his son, Leo C.

The INDUSTRIAL EXPOSITION OF 1909 was a massive exhibit of Cleveland manufacture that showcased the products of Cleveland industries. The exhibition, planned in 1908 by the Chamber of Commerce as an expression of civic pride, was held in a massive temporary building on the current site of City Hall.

INDUSTRY. Within 60 years of Cleveland's founding, industry, especially the making of iron and its products, began to dominate the economy of the city and its vicinity. To a large degree, Cleveland's growth has been determined by its industrial base. The term industry in its economic and technical sense refers to the organized production of goods for the market.

The INSURANCE BOARD OF GREATER CLEVELAND, which regulates the local insurance industry, was founded in 1846 by Joseph L. Weatherly as the Cleveland Board of Underwriters. At that time both the insurance companies and public were dependent on the integrity of the agent who quoted premiums based on his inspection of the client's premises.

INTERNATIONAL STEEL GROUP (ISG). See MITTAL STEEL USA.

INVACARE CORPORATION began in Elyria, Ohio, in 1889 as the Worthington Company that focused on manufacturing and selling wheelchairs. The company changed its name to the Colson Company following a merger with a manufacturer of rubber-tired wheels and became a major supplier of bicycles with wheelchairs becoming a secondary product.  Colson moved from Elyria in 1952.

IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY. Location has been Cleveland's potent metallurgical advantage since the mid-19th century, when its situation on Lake Erie at the convergence of numerous railroad lines made it an ideal meeting place for iron ore and coal.

J. B. ROBINSON CO., INC., one of the largest retail jewelers in the country, was founded in 1946 by Joseph B. Robinson as a wholesale diamond operation located on the 8th floor of the Schofield Bldg. on E. 9th St. After Robinson's death in 1959, his son, Lawrence, changed the company to a retail jewelry firm, specializing in diamonds and watches with $200,000 in annual business.

J. L. GOODMAN FURNITURE CO. was founded in 1886 by Jacob L. Goodman, who opened his store at Broadway and Harvard avenues in Newburgh. Featuring such items as brass beds and silk-trimmed mohair couches, the company prospered over the years by keeping up with changes in furniture styles and offering fair prices. Jacob's son Julius took over the store when his father died in 1919.

The J. SPANG BAKING CO., a family-owned retail bakery that operated for 70 years, was established by German immigrant Julius Spang, who learned the baking trade in Germany, where he was born in 1852. He and his family came to the U.S. in 1882, and after settling in Cleveland, Spang opened a small bake shop on Barber Ave. in 1888. The J. Spang Baking Co.

The JAZZ TEMPLE was an influential establishment in the Cleveland JAZZ scene. Founded in 1962 by Winston Willis, the Jazz Temple’s existence was cut short due to several threats and acts of violence in 1965.

JERRY VENCL CORLETT MOVERS & STORAGE COMPANY, INC. was established in 1930 by Jerry (Jaroslav) Vencl Sr., a CZECH immigrant to Cleveland. After migrating to the United States in 1922, Vencl worked for his older brother Anton who owned an established moving company in Cleveland.

The JOHNS-CARABELLI COMPANY, originally known as Carabelli & Broggini, was founded in 1879 by GUISEPPE CARABELLI and James Broggini.

The JONES AND LAUGHLIN STEEL CORP. (CLEVELAND WORKS) began in 1873 when CHAS. A. OTIS with 2 associates formed the Otis Iron & Steel Co. It was the first firm in America formed exclusively to make acid, open-hearth steel. Under Samuel T. Wellman's guidance, the new Otis mill on the lakeshore at E. 33rd St. produced its first basic open-hearth steel in 1880.

JORDAN MOTOR CAR CO., noted for promoting its product through innovative advertising, was founded by EDWARD S. (NED) JORDAN in June 1916. Located at 1070 E. 152nd St., the firm sold 1,788 cars the first year of its operation. With generous profit margins on its automobiles, the Jordan Co. enjoyed spectacular financial success and the original stockholders received a 1,900% return on their investment.

JOSEPH & FEISS CO., an important part of Cleveland's garment industry, came from Meadville, PA, in 1845 as Koch & Loeb and set up a wholesale clothing store at 82 Superior St. The firm, run by Kaufman Koch, sold a general line of men's and boys clothing as well as piece goods to tailors. The company also sold its own brand of clothes, but manufacturing was contracted out to small ethnic shops.

JUMPSTART INC. was created in 2003 to address Northeast Ohio's declining economy, loss of jobs and lack of entrepreneurial growth.

KAUFMANN'S, A DIVISION OF THE MAY DEPARTMENT STORES CO. (formerly May Co. of Cleveland) is one of the area's largest retailers. The parent company, founded in Denver in 1888 by David May and his brothers-in-law, Louis, Joseph, and Moses Schoenberg, relocated its headquarters to St. Louis by 1899. At that time it entered the Cleveland market by purchasing the E. R. Hull & Dutton Co.