Located at 70 Fairview Ave., just south of West Cedar Street in Poughkeepsie, sits a complex of vintage buildings that for 70 years were occupied by the Schatz Federal Bearing Company. Now abandoned, the buildings serve as a reminder of the once flourishing company, one of the largest employers in the municipality.

The business began in 1895 when the father-son team of Adolf and Herrman Schatz opened a metal specialties shop in New Haven, Connecticut. Five years later, the business was incorporated under the name Schatz Hardware Manufacturing Company.

Within a few years, Schatz acquired the Acme Ball Bearing Company and in 1910 relocated the business to a one-story building on Fairview Avenue in Poughkeepsie. Initially hiring 75 employees to work in the building, a new moniker — Schatz Federal Bearing Company — was organized and registered.

DATELINE: San Silverio Shrine in Dover Plains

Under its new name, Schatz focused the operation on the manufacture of high grade ball bearings. A new two-story structure was built in 1916 to accommodate the various departments necessary for the process. They included manufacturing, heat treatment, grinding and assembly.

As business increased two three-story buildings were added, in 1920 and 1936, and the employee count rose to 335. In 1928, Schatz acquired the Waterbury (Connecticut) Steel Ball Company, which provided him with exclusive control over primary parts for ball bearings.

Through the years the company entered into lucrative contracts in the automobile industry — Ford and NAPA Auto Parts were two of its biggest clients. As business escalated, the employee count increased to between 650 and 800 and during the early 1940s it peaked with 1,200 employees.

Approximately 96 percent of product manufactured at Schatz Federal Bearing Company was shipped outside New York, primarily to Detroit, Michigan and Muncie, Indiana.

The company continued to thrive through the 1960s and 1970s, when a few factors had a devastating effect on it. During the late 1960s a 15-month employee strike took a considerable toll on the company and in 1979 Schatz lost its account with NAPA Auto Parts.

Foreign competition blindsided Schatz and its output fell considerably. By 1980, the 800 workers employed at the complex experienced major layoffs.

The company filed for bankruptcy and closed down the following year. Its assets were liquidated at auction but in 1981 a new owner gave the company a second life.

“The people that worked the auction convinced one of the bidders to purchase the Schatz name and restart the operation,” said Stephen Pomeroy, president of today’s Schatz Bearing Corporation. “My family’s business in Connecticut became the supplier for the new venture.”

In 1985, the Pomeroy family acquired the Schatz Company and briefly operated at the original location. A year later they opened a new building at 10 Fairview Avenue, which continues to thrive today.

Kamal Nesheiwat worked for Schatz Federal from 1974 through its closure in 1980 and after some time working as a welder in Newburgh accepted an offer to assume his old position when the Pomeroy family acquired the business.

“The original company was not a bad place to work,” Nesheiwat said. “If you wanted to work it was a good place; if not, then it wasn’t.

“When I worked there Schatz’s grandchildren were in charge. The strike was before my time there but employees wanted more money. I believe that we started losing money when Ford started making its own bearings for its cars.”

Because some managers who worked at Schatz Federal transferred to the Pomeroy-owned business when it opened, Nesheiwat received a call, asking if he would like his old job back. He accepted and has worked there for 33 years.

“Our business today is still ball bearings but while Schatz Federal was dominated by the automotive market, we focus on the aerospace market,” Pomeroy said. “It’s much more regulated for safety reasons and because of that, it limits the type of company that can be involved with it.”

Approximately 80 employees presently work at Schatz Bearing Corporation.