By Aiko Hill

Looking Back, Moving Forward

For most of us, Los Altos is home to the leaders of companies that build or service things. When we think of local business, our thoughts are probably on the many merchants that populate Loyola Corners, Rancho Market, or the village proper. Real estate, medical, clothing, restaurants and specialty stores have long been at the core of our local economy.

Presently, our largest employer is the Packard Foundation which provides funding to a wide range of causes around the world. On the industry side, our largest local company is Rambus, a maker of microchip switching technology. Long before these organizations, however, this was the home of the Formway Machine Shop.

“So what?” you say. “Never heard of it.” Maybe. But the fact is, that shop was our only factory and the birthplace of the Wizard Walnut Huller.

William Formway opened his business at 514 Almond Ave. in 1920 as a repair shop for Model Ts. As the need for that service began to fade, he looked for other opportunities. The Formway team began servicing household appliances and equipment for the growing residential population. In 1933, they made another transition, this time shifting to manufacturing. Formway was both the designer and developer of the invention, inspired, as the story goes, after his father purchased a 10-acre Palo Alto walnut grove.

As Ellen Shaw discovered in her local research back in 1996, the elder Formway didn’t like hulling the walnuts by hand. Not only was it a tough job, but the hand hulling method was also slow. So, son Bill created the machine to do the job.

Soon after the original Wizard model, the company developed what became its mainstay - the Old Wizard Standard. This product was so successful that it was Formway’s primary revenue source for nearly 15 years, providing an irreplaceable capability for customers around the world. Formway remained in Los Altos for nearly 50 years; but, ultimately, zoning ordinances got the best of them. In 1971, the company moved to Sunnyvale; however, things weren’t the same. The business environment was changing and just four years later Formway was forced to declare bankruptcy.

The company stayed in business long enough to fill any outstanding orders. While industry in Los Altos is rare, the lessons from leaders like Bill Formway show us that our Village can be a great home to business.

Send comments and suggestions to aikohill@aol.com.