Louis P. Batson Company was started in 1948 by Louis P. Batson, Sr. in the upstairs of his garage behind the family home on Augusta Street in Greenville, South Carolina. Batson began with only one product – a 100 percent wool vibration pad called ShuR-CusH. It was designed to go under machinery to reduce machinery vibration. During the past 59 years, the company has expanded to provide accessories, parts, service, supplies, and capital equipment to textile manufacturers in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

A crisis faced the company and family only one year after its founding, when Louis P. Batson, Sr. died unexpectedly at Christmas. Sons, Louis P. Batson, Jr., known as “Biggie” to countless friends from childhood on, and Elliott, were in the service and college respectively and not available to run the business. Batson’s wife, Joanna, and daughter Joanna, stepped in to run the business until the sons could return home.

Louis P. Batson, Jr., Elliott Batson, and Joanna Batson Stone retired in December of 2002.

Today, the family-owned and operated business employs 32 people and is lead by a third-generation family member, Caroline Batson Stewart. Caroline, Elliott’s daughter, oversees Louis P. Batson Company and the two affiliate corporations, Louis P. Batson Incorporated and Batson Group, Inc.

Dreugh Batson, a non-relative employee with over 40 years service, serves as Group Manager for Louis P. Batson Company which sells accessories, supplies and renewal parts for the textile and converting industries.

Steve Ouimette, as Group Manager, leads the Louis P. Batson Incorporated group that serves as an agent for the paper, plastics, film, foil, and rubber industries. This extension began in the 1960’s with the sales force calling on paper mills. Since then various product lines have been added to include the plastics, film, foil, rubber and converting businesses.

Charles Little, Jr. serves as Group Manager of Batson Group, Inc., which has provided textile capital equipment since the late 1950’s. They also provide machinery parts and technical service.

Each of the three Batson business units has its own sales force. Salesmen work from their homes and are augmented by independent manufacturer’s representatives who serve as sales agents in areas not covered directly by Batson personnel. The company has foreign associates serving Canada, Mexico, Latin America and the Far East.

Further sales support comes from Batson’s Marketing Department. This includes a variety of activities such as advertising, press releases, trade shows, direct mail campaigns and website development.

Batson’s most recent ventures include expansion into the food packaging industry and commercial sales for Segway™ Personal Transporters (PT).