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When F. Ritter Shumway took the reins of Ritter CO., the dentalsupply firm his grandfather, Frank Ritter, founded in 1887, he blazed a trail of dramatic growth, leading his firm into the upper echelons of the business world as one of the 200 largest companies in the nation.
Shumway was born in 1906. As the third generation of his family to guide the business-his Aunt Adele, Frank Ritter's daughter, came before him-Shumway put the company on the fast track to expansion.
In 1963, Ritter Co. merged with Pfaudler-Permutit and became Ritter Pfaudler Inc. Over the next five years, Shumway acquired some 40 more companies, changing the company name to Sybron Corp. in 1968 after acquiring Taylor Instrument Co. Shumway served as chairman of the board and CEO until his retirement in 1971 but stayed on as a director and then honorary director until 1985.
Sybron continued to grow throughout Shumway's years as CEO. By 1973, it had achieved $409 million in sales and had...