The company struggled at first, then entered a phase of profitable growth under the leadership of Alfred P. Sloan (later president of General Motors).

John Wesley Hyatt was a printer by trade and a prolific inventor who secured over 250 patents, the first issued in 1861 for a knife grinder.

[7] Sloan wrote later, Well, I am bound to admit the first sight of my opportunity was disappointing... Not far from a city dump on a weed-grown, marshy plain was an old weather-worn building, like an overgrown barn.

Eventually across the wall nearest the railroad track there was lettered in black this legend: HYATT ROLLER BEARING COMPANY.

[7] Although the company was mismanaged and financially insecure, Sloan saw that the spirally-wound flexible roller bearing product had real potential.

[7] At that time industrial parts were not machined precisely, so the flexibility of the Hyatt bearing was a valuable quality.

However, Sloan left Hyatt in 1897 to take a better-paying job with which he could afford to marry his fiancée, Irene Jackson.

[11] Sloan learned an important lesson early in his tenure from Henry M. Leland, general manager of Cadillac, then an independent company.

Given the importance of the contract for immediate revenue and for Hyatt's reputation as a quality supplier, Sloan at once travelled to Detroit to discuss the problem.

At first Sloan defended his products, but then listened as Leland forcibly explained the importance of uniform precision in automobile parts.

[6] James D. Mooney, later to become head of General Motors Overseas, was hired by Hyatt and worked there before enrolling in the army in 1917 during World War I.

Other suppliers were acquired at this time and assembled in the "United Motors" parts and accessories company with Alfred Sloan as president.

[6] As of 1934 Hyatt Roller Bearings were being used in industrial equipment for mining, oil fields, textiles, steel mills, road building, power transmission, farm machinery and railroad cars as well in automobiles.