Sunday, November 1, 2015

This Month in Rochester History

Fifty years ago this month, the Rochester area was preparing to welcome a new industry to the community.  Holley Computer Products Company moved into a brand-new facility on the southeast corner of Tienken and Rochester roads.  Holley Computer was a manufacturer of computer printers and had been founded in 1962 by Control Data Corporation and Holley Carburetor.  By 1965, the company had already outgrown its original plant in Warren, Michigan and began looking for a new location for expansion.

A 13-acre site in Avon Township was chosen for a new 60,000 square foot plant that was expected to employ 350 people immediately and eventually employ as many as 800.  The Rochester facility was later renamed Computer Peripherals, but was still a subsidiary of Control Data Corporation.

The company later closed the Rochester plant and the building was razed in 2004 to make way for the City Walk lifestyle shopping development that now occupies the site.