Bullard Company Machine Tools Manufacturer. Edward Bullard originally contracted with the Bridgeport-based A.D. Laws company to manufacture a high-grade lathe with industrial applications. Bullard eventually took over A.D. Laws and continued to expand his Bullard Machine Tool Company for many decades, establishing plants in the city's South and West Ends, and Black Rock section. The company received government contracts during both World Wars. In 1941 it leaped from maintaining a 1,200 person work force to employing 6,500 workers on three shifts, in part to meet Navy defense contract demands for the precision assembly of torpedoes. The Bullard Company serviced a wide range of industries from auto, vacuum, and tractor manufacturers to the makers of washing machines, refrigerators, marine motors, and elevator equipment.