I've uploaded some photos on to my site of the Schwinn factory operations from 1945. The album can be viewed here:
http://chainedrevolution.com/
Here's a direct link to a large version of the frame building area, which looks to be mostly women:
http://chainedrevolution.com/
Tam Pham Huntington Beach, CA - USA
On 8/14/07, Tam Pham <terminaut@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 8/9/07, Tom Sanders <tsan7759142@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> >
> > Did they build them in house, or were they built by another
> > manufacturer?
>
>
> I had forgotten that I have a book put out by Schwinn to commemorate their
> 50th anniversary, "50 Years of Schwinn Built Bicycles", which was
> originally published in 1945. In one of the pages with photos of Paramount
> cranks and various other parts, the text says "Arnold, Schwinn, & Company is
> today the only manufacturer of fine, precision-built cycle parts in
> America". With that claim I am inclined to believe that they manufactured
> the cranks themselves.
>
> What's even more interesting is that there are a bunch of photos from
> inside the factory and I was surprised to see that the had their own tube
> milling machinery. I'll get scans of the photos posted later this eve,
> including a noteworthy one showing the framebuilding area full of women
> building (non-Paramount) frames!
>
> Tam Pham
> Huntington Beach, CA - USA