DAYTON PARTS COMPANY HISTORY

1922

Harrisburg Stanley Spring Works was formed by a group of investors who constructed a shop in Harrisburg to manufacturer leaf springs.


1935

Frank & Rhoda Barker formed a new corporation and Stanley Spring Works, Inc. was created. After WWII, the federal government had a tremendous surplus of leaf springs which Barker purchased in the thousands of tons, reselling them and enabling the business to invest in new equipment.


1954

Angelo Paioletti was promoted to Vice President and joined Barker, changing the Stanley Spring Works marketing strategy from selling primarily to the automotive parts houses to selling exclusively to spring service shops and export markets. This change was highly successful and provided growing recognition in the industry.

Stanley Spring Works expanded their reach to include the Deep South and west of the Mississippi River.


1964

Frank Barker sold his controlling interest in the business to five of his employees: Angelo Paioletti, Edwin Musser, Charles Orris, Charles Haring, and John Stengel.

Under their leadership, Stanley Spring Works more than doubled its rate of growth, quickly reaching the position of second in the country for replacement leaf springs sales and first in quality.

Manufacturing expansion continued through 1974.


1981

Stanley Spring Works was sold to TRW and created TRW Heavy Duty Parts. This new company brought additional products in undercarriage to add to their existing Stanley Spring Works product portfolio.


1988

Dayton Parts Inc. was formed when TRW Sold to Varity Corporation, combining TRW Heavy Duty and Dayton Walther’s aftermarket.


1997

Dayton Parts Inc. acquired Brake, Axle, and Tandem Company (BATCO), the industry leader in foundation air brake and wheel attaching components.


2003

Dayton Parts, LLC was formed.


2007

Dayton Parts, LLC acquired S&G Enterprises and Merion Spring Company (a subsidiary of S&G).


2012

Shortly after partnering with AEA Investors, Dayton Parts, LLC acquired Dallas Spring/Eagle Suspensions. Dallas Spring is a leading distributor of leaf springs and suspension components servicing the heavy-duty aftermarket, and Eagle Suspension is a leading manufacturer of leaf springs to some of the most respected truck, trailer, and suspension systems builders in the world.


2018

Dayton Parts, LLC continued their goal to provide complete coverage to the North American market by opening a warehouse in Las Vegas to better serve the West Coast. Dayton Parts, LCC also acquired Superior Suspension Parts (SSP), a distributor with a long standing reputation of selling quality parts to many businesses in Ontario, Canada.


2021

Dayton Parts was acquired by Dorman to accelerate the success of our combined heavy-duty programs, and to deliver best-in-class innovation, manufacturing, and distribution capabilities to our customers, with strengthened fleet and distributor relationships across the United States, Canada and Mexico.