In 1896 Alford started as shop foreman at the McKay Metallic Fastening Assn. in Boston, which merged to McKay-Bigelow Heeling Assn. in 1897. After another two years as shop foreman, he found employ as production superintendent at the United Shoe Machinery Company in 1899 in Boston. The United Shoe Machinery Company, formed in 1899 out of the merger of three shoe machinery companies, developed revolutionary new shoemaking equipment, which revolutionized the shoe industry.Background & History at cummings.com. Accessed 11, 2014. The company employed 9,000 workers and in its best days supplied 85% of all shoemaking machines in the United States.United Shoe Machinery Corporation Records, 1898-1987. Accessed November 2014. In 1902 Alford got promoted to mechanical engineer, and invented and patented some new constructions for the United Shoe Machinery Company.
