The Aloe Company, founded about 1860 by Albert S. Aloe, a Scotch-Irish immigrant, began as an optical eye-glass shop and soon expanded its line to include cameras, surveying and civil engineering instruments, and surgical instruments. The latter proved the most popular, and in 1888 the A.S. Aloe Company published a catalog of surgical instruments. In 1893, Louis Patrick Aloe succeeded his father as president of the firm. Following Louis Aloe's death in 1929, his son-in-law, Howard F. Baer, became president of the company, and expanded the firm both geographically and in its product line, which, by 1959, included 30,000 separate items. In that year, the A.S. Aloe Company was acquired by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company of Chicago. In 1968, Sherwood Medical was formed from various medical, surgical, and laboratory products companies, including the A.S. Aloe Company. Sherwood-Davis and Geck was created in 1995 when the businesses of Sherwood Medical and the medical manufacturing firm of Davis and Geck were combined. At the time the time capsule was opened, Sherwood-Davis and Geck was one of the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of medical and surgical devices, headquartered at 1915 Olive Street in St. Louis and employing 8,700 people worldwide. In 1998, Sherwood-Davis and Geck was acquired by Tycho International, which transferred plant operations to Mexico.