Our History
M.M. Cook & Son was founded in 1860 by Matthew M. Cook, a San Francisco sea captain who traded in leather and tallow. However, the lure of the sea proved too strong and Captain Cook turned the business over to his son, Horatio Nelson Cook. Horatio changed the firm’s name to H.N. Cook Belting Company and soon won contracts supplying leather hose, belting and fire buckets to the City of San Francisco and Mother Lode towns. In time, H.N. Cook Belting supplied lumber companies, cement plants and other industries throughout the American West and Hawaii.
Oakland industrialist Albert J. Aztec founded Aztec Belting and Supply Company in 1921. The company manufactured and distributed conveyor belting and components as well as hoses, gaskets and other industrials products. During the 1920s and ‘30s, the firm was a major supplier of leather power transmission belting which could transmit up to 1400 h.p. Aztec soon broadened its product line and initiated a growth cycle that increased sales volume by 600 percent in the ‘50s and ‘60s.
By the 1980s, Aztec Corp. and Cook Rubber Co. had each grown and adapted to changing times and recognized that together they could offer more services and products. The companies merged in 1986 to become Aztec/Cook Company and moved into new headquarters at 1600 Factor Avenue in San Leandro, California.
San Diego Rubber Co Inc. acquired Aztec Corp in 1994 to become Aztec Company, Inc. Aztec continued to grow in the following years, acquiring: the WC Hendrie conveyor belt division of Motion Industries of Los Angeles in 1995; Akron Western of Modesto, California in 1996; Capitol Industrial Supply of Wilsonville, Oregon in 2001; Pollard’s Vulcanizing, Inc. of Perris, California in 2008; and FD Company of Eugene, Oregon in 2009. Aztec continues to seek acquisition and growth opportunities with other companies within the industry.
Aztec Company, Inc. offers a complete line of products with the convenience of one-stop shopping. We keep up with changes in technology, materials and product applications and we boast one of the finest quality assurance programs in the industrial supply field. The Aztec team has the commitment, knowledge and products and stands ready to meet industrial needs, as we have for more than 150 years.