Concord, New Hampshire Mar 12, 2026 (Issuewire.com) - Tomorrow marks the 95th anniversary of one of the most remarkable moments in American manufacturing history.
On Friday, March 13, 1931, Neil Tillotson carried the world’s first latex-dipped products—14-inch “Cat” balloons he had made in the kitchen of his home in Watertown, Massachusetts—to Boston’s DeCiccio Brothers, a distributor serving street vendors. The order was modest—15 gross at $2.50 per gross—but it launched an enterprise that would ultimately transform multiple global industries.
From that humble beginning, Tillotson’s innovations would help give rise to entire product categories, including:
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Toy balloons and weather balloons
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Rubber-coated industrial work gloves
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Broadloom carpets
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Natural rubber latex medical examination gloves
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Nitrile rubber latex examination gloves
Over the following decades, the Tillotson enterprise expanded across North America and Europe, operating facilities in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, California, Canada, and Belgium.
Neil Tillotson remained deeply involved in the company throughout his life and was still serving as President of Tillotson Corporation at the age of 102, at the time of his passing in 2001.
The Legacy Continues in Colebrook, New Hampshire
Today, that extraordinary legacy lives on at American Performance Polymers (APP) in Colebrook, New Hampshire—formerly Tillotson Polymers—where the next generation of polymer innovation continues to unfold.
At the helm of the technical and polymer science programs is Rick Tillotson, son of Neil Tillotson and a leading figure in the modern development of nitrile glove technology and advanced polymer formulations.
Under Rick Tillotson’s leadership, APP continues the tradition of American polymer innovation that began nearly a century ago—advancing the science of nitrile and specialty polymers while supporting the re-emergence of domestic U.S. manufacturing of medical exam gloves and other critical polymer products.
This work has become increasingly important as the United States seeks to restore resilient domestic supply chains for critical medical countermeasures and industrial materials.
From a Kitchen Experiment to an American Industrial Legacy
What began as a simple experiment in a Massachusetts kitchen in 1931 helped shape a global industry and laid the foundation for generations of polymer science innovation.
Nearly a century later, the Tillotson spirit of invention, resilience, and American manufacturing leadership continues—alive and well in Colebrook, New Hampshire.
Media Contact
Glen Jackson / Renco Manufacturing Group/American Performance Polymers]
737 222-0067
glen@rencoman.com
Media Contact
Renco Manufacturing Group Inc. glen@rencoman.com 7275605074 23 Gould Street https://www.rencomanufacturing.com/
