The concept of the Fox Company began in Hugo Fox's imagination sometime between 1922 and 1949, the years when he was principal bassoonist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He founded Fox Products Corporation in South Whitley, Indiana, during the summer of 1949 and the first bassoon was completed in November 1951. During the first production year, twelve instruments were finished and delivered. The business included bassoon reed manufacturing, which Mr. Fox had started during the late 1930's. The 1950's saw the addition of oboe reed manufacturing to the product line, as well as continual additions to machines and tools and modest expansion of bassoon manufacturing. The last year of that decade saw the production of 60 instruments, along with 5,000 bassoon reeds and 10,000 oboe reeds. Mr. Fox's failing health threatened to end the young company as the 50's drew to a close. In the fall of 1960, Hugo's son, Alan, decided to give up his chemical engineering career and take over the family business, with his father supervising the assembly and tuning of the instruments. By 1964, however, the elder Fox was no longer able to continue, so the company began to rely on part-time bassoonists for tuning and on a group of prominent American bassoonists and repairmen for technical guidance.