The Tillotson Legacy Lives On: 95 Years of American Polymer Innovation

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 worlds first latex-dipped products14-inch Cat balloons he had made in the kitchen of his home in Watertown, Massachusettsto Bostons DeCiccio Brothers, a distributor serving street vendors. The order was modest15 gross at $2.50 per grossbut it launched an enterprise that would ultimately transform multiple global industries.

From that humble beginning, Tillotsons innovations would help give rise to entire product categories, including:

• Toy balloons and weather balloons

• Rubber-coated industrial work gloves

• Broadloom carpets

• Natural rubber latex medical examination gloves

• Nitrile rubber latex examination gloves

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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 Hampshireformerly Tillotson Polymerswhere 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 Tillotsons leadership, APP continues the tradition of American polymer innovation that began nearly a century agoadvancing 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 continuesalive and well in Colebrook, New Hampshire.

Media Contact
Glen Jackson / Renco Manufacturing Group/American Performance Polymers]
737 222-0067
[email protected]