• Covertech

Humphrey O'Sullivan was born in Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland on October 7, 1853. He attended public school and at the age of 15 began a five year apprenticeship to become a skilled typesetter and a member of the printer's union. After one year in a Cork print shop, O’Sullivan came to the United States. After working as a type setter in Yonkers, N.Y. he soon moved on to Lowell, Mass., where his older brother James owned a retail shoe store. After three years with local newspapers, Humphrey joined his brother in the shoe business.

Legend has it that the invention of the rubber heel occurred in the Lowell, Mass. print shop where O’Sullivan worked. The story goes, as documented in a typewritten page dated 1926 (source unknown), in 1896 Humphrey O'Sullivan was a young printer in Lowell, Massachusetts. He walked on a stone floor while feeding a printing press, and to ease his footsteps, he bought a rubber mat on which to stand. His fellow employees kept "borrowing" the mat, so Humphrey cut out two pieces of the mat the size of his heels and nailed them to his shoes. The results pleased and astonished him. Soon, O'Sullivan was making full-fledged rubber heels, equipped with hidden washers to hold the nails. Next, O’Sullivan was going around peddling the heels among the shoemakers of Lowell. They were the first rubber heels ever made, and he eventually patented the idea. In a few years, O'Sullivan’s heels were being shipped all over the country.

After developing what was to become known as "America's No. 1 Heel", O'Sullivan arranged for his products to be manufactured by the Boston Belting Company. After several years, he switched to the Goodrich Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio, and the O'Sullivan Rubber Company continued with this arrangement for many years. With production now in capable hands, Humphrey concentrated on selling and advertising his products. The business was eventually sold and moved to Winchester, Virginia in 1932. At this time, O'Sullivan Rubber began making rubber heels instead of having them manufactured by another company. Business boomed during WWII, but like many companies, they had trouble adjusting to the post-war era, and sales dropped considerably. To increase sales in the late 1940's, O'Sullivan installed its first vinyl sheeting plant, and for the first time became a publicly owned company. The growth of vinyl took the company in a new direction, and O'Sullivan began shipping their products to customers who made ladies' handbags and furniture upholstery.

In the 1950's O'Sullivan successfully entered another challenging market servicing the automotive industry with PVC/ABS skins for instrument panel applications. Door panel products were added a few years later, along with materials for consoles, knee bolsters, and sun visor materials.

During the 1960s, O'Sullivan added its second vinyl sheeting line, with third and fourth lines added in the 1970s and 1980s, respectively. Also, during those decades O'Sullivan entered the pool liner and healthcare markets. These high performance products that were designed to meet the unique specifications that customers required included outdoor sun resistance and exacting quality standards for blood storage. Whether the opportunity was for rubber heels, high performance TPU alloys for medical mattresses or products to meet stringent automotive specifications - O'Sullivan excelled at developing creative solutions for its customers. That creative energy continues today.

Classic O'Sullivan Ads

---

Historic Building Photos