Crane Company Valves and fittings. The R.T. Crane Brass & Bell Company began before the Civil War in Chicago and was the manufacturer of large sized valves used in the construction of the Panama Canal. In 1903 the company bought Eaton, Cole, & Burnham in Bridgeport and expanded its plant to 15 acres of floor space. Production departments included cast iron fittings, cutting tools, a malleable iron fittings department, and brass works. Crane produced bathroom, kitchen, and heating equipment such as radiators and boilers. The company expanded rapidly and relocated its facilities to various South End locations several times throughout the 1910’s and 1920’s. After the death of the founder’s son, Richard Teller Crane III, Bridgeport’s Crane Company operations were slowly disbanded and the company left the city by 1941. In its prime, Crane employed between 2,200 and 2,500.