Harry Germanow in
his first machine shop
~1916-1920

Tel-Tru's world-class philosophy encompasses state-of-the-art equipment and manufacturing processes and a customer-centric staff and culture. From our beginnings, making household thermometers, up to our latest products serving the industrial, commercial, OEM, HVAC, and food service markets, we have always put the customer first.

Germanow-Simon Corporation is one of those timeless American success stories. Founded in Rochester more than a century ago, it's the saga of two young immigrants who pooled their meager resources and built a business through ingenuity and hard work. Operating today as GS Plastic Optics and Tel-Tru Manufacturing Company, G-S remains a family business, owned by a grandson of one of the founders.

The story began with Harry Germanow, who was born in Pinsk, Russia in 1888. In those days, about the only trade a Jewish boy could learn was tailoring or shoe-making. It was Harry's good fortune to attend a trade school founded by Baron de Hirsch, a German-Jewish banker and philanthropist. There he became a skilled machinist and gained the courage to try his luck in America.

By 1909, Harry had followed a half-brother to Rochester, NY. He dreamed of having his own shop, and in 1916, as World War I raged overseas, Harry decided to go out on his own. His problem was that he needed $1,000 to buy the machines to get started and he only had $500. A young apprentice at the shop, Julius Simon, managed to scrape up another $500 and the two partners opened Germanow-Simon Machine Works.

Founders
Harry Germanow (right)
and Julius Simon

G-S Combination Vise
G-S Bottle Capper

Subcontracting World War I military work from their previous employer got them started. Manufacturing their own products was their goal. The first product was a patented machine vise – the G-S Combination Vise. Their second product, developed during prohibition, was the G-S Bottle Capper, presumably for use by home brewers!

The company's big breakthrough came after the war when G-S pioneered manufacturing the first plastic watch crystals and a method for inserting them into watch cases adapting the Bottle Capper design. In those days all mechanical watches were serviced by Jewelry store repair departments including replacing frequently broken glass crystals. Despite industry resistance salesman demonstrated to shop owners the advantages of using the new plastic crystals. Soon sets of replacement crystals were in the hands of watch repairmen in towns and cities across America, and exported internationally. Sales of the unbreakable G-S Flexo Crystals skyrocketed. "It was like a godsend," Harry wrote in an autobiography.

In the 1930s G-S bought the equipment of a bankrupt local firm that made dial thermometers and began producing Art Deco style household thermometers branded TEL-TRU. Sold in hardware and department stores the thermometers became successful. The company, although always short on cash through the dark days of the Great Depression, continued to grow.

During World War II, G-S produced military supplies, crystals and household thermometers. After the War new products were added including: Barometers; Do-It-Yourself Furniture kits; Plastic Bathroom Accessories; Kitchen Timers and Cutlery with plastic handles. They acquired Hub Machine Company, a Rochester manufacturer of wheel hubs for horse racing sulkies and Harvey Manufacturing Company, a Long Island manufacturer of small tool room surface grinders and die filers. A new line of Tel-Tru dial thermometers was designed for food service, laboratory, and industrial markets.

Tel-Tru Household Thermometers

By the 1980s in addition to household and food service thermometers, the business expanded to include industrial markets for thermometers.

Harry Germanow's sons – Leon, Norman, and Irving – were all active in the management of the companies throughout their lives. Harry lived to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary before passing away in 1972 at the age of 84. Julius Simon died in 1954. His son, Leonard, continued his family's presence in the company until 2007 when the original watch crystal business was spun off to him. Harry's grandson, Andy Germanow now owns the firm.

After the War
new products were added

Andy Germanow, CEO

Today Tel-Tru Manufacturing Company manufactures and distributes bimetal thermometers, digital thermometers, temperature and pressure transmitters, pressure gauges, and accessory products, that sense and monitor temperature and pressure in sanitary, industrial, OEM, HVAC, and food service processes and equipment worldwide. We have established a reputation for producing thermometers that are the world standard for quality workmanship and accuracy. Our focus today, as it was in 1916, is to meet customers' requirements with quality products, leading technology, and responsive service. We look forward to providing you with a world-class experience

It's been over 100 years since Harry Germanow and Julius Simon decided to combine resources and go into business together. With the help and support of generations of skilled and dedicated staff the company has survived and continues to thrive.