The Zylonite facility was considered one of the largest pyroxylin plastic facilities in the world. Taking into consideration that 126 employees worked in the packaging department alone making cases and boxes for Zylonite products, it must have indeed been an awesome enterprise.
     The growth of the Zylonite Company was due to many factors, but one of the most important attributes to Zylonite's success was the contributions of George M. Mowbray, the company's technical manager and chemist. Mowbray came to North Adams to furnish the explosives used in the construction of the Hoosic Tunnel that moved the railroad from the east to the gateway of the west. His expertise in the manufacture of nitroglycerin and anything related to nitration was what landed him a position as chief chemist with Zylonite. There were also a number of other important men in the history of American Zylonite including J.G. Jarvis, who had started his career in plastics with John W. Hyatt and J.B. Edson, who also left the Celluloid Company to work in the Adams firm.
     The area surrounding the Zylonite factories was eventually developed for the employees and their families, expanding to include a school, church, post office, rail station, and fire department; the village itself was called Zylonite. 

 

American Zylonite pocket notebook advertising waterproof collars and cuffs. The names Hanover and London clearly associate the product with their English roots, the Xylonite Company. American Zylonite operated under license of the British firm from 1881 - 1890. Cuff and collar production began in 1884.


     In the mid 1880s, American Zylonite began to experience financial difficulties due to an unfortunate series of events. Patent litigation over the court battle between Englishman Daniel Spill of Xylonite vs. John W. Hyatt of Celluloid caused the North Adams firm to lose over one million dollars. 
     By the end of 1890, American Zylonite was in such serious financial difficulty that the Celluloid Company of Newark, New Jersey, bought the facility for $950,000. Abruptly on January 1, 1891, the factory was unexpectedly closed leaving more than 525 workers unemployed overnight. 
     To make matters worse, the Celluloid Company moved in and completely cleaned the place out, destroying much of the old machinery, while salvaging the best for their plant in Newark. Devastated workers were forced to uproot their families and seek employment elsewhere. The local paper referred to the Celluloid Co. as the soulless Newark concern.
     The zylonite stock in work, which would have included a wide variety of finished articles, was also packed up and taken to Newark where it was incorporated into the current stock of the Celluloid Company.