James Knott, Riverdale Mills Founder, Passes Away

James Milne Knott, founder of Riverdale Mills Corporation, passed away on August 16 at the age of 88.Knott was born in 1929 in Brighton, Massachusetts. He starred as a high school wrestler at The Governor’s Academy in Byfield, studied mechanical engineering at Northeastern University, and earned an economics degree from Harvard College in 1954. He then served three years as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army where he earned the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service. Upon discharge, Knott founded Coatings Engineering Corporation which he sold to the Gilbert & Bennett Mfg. Company of Georgetown, CT in 1962.

In the summer of 1947 in Gloucester, Knott met his wife Betty Davis. They married in 1951 and moved to Wellesley where they raised four children. In Gloucester, Knott saw firsthand how much time lobster fishermen spent fixing their wooden traps. He was convinced there had to be a better way. So, he set out to build a more durable lobster trap to reduce the downtime for fishermen and improve their annual catch rate. In 1979, Knott founded Riverdale Mills Corporation to manufacture Aquamesh®, the first-of-its-kind marine-grade coated wire mesh. Today 85% of all lobster traps in North America are made with Aquamesh. In 2006, Knott was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by the University of Maine for his “commitment to the future of the lobster industry, innovative spirit, perseverance and positive leadership, willingness to share his knowledge and ideas and his outstanding support of UMaine’s Lobster Institute.”

Knott was always concerned for the welfare of the community and the industries his business served. His employees, many of whom have worked at Riverdale Mills for decades, loved his quiet, unique approach and novel ideas. He was a visionary and had a different perspective on manufacturing. The company soon expanded to more than 200 employees. Knott served as President and CEO of Riverdale Mills from 1979 to 2014.