- 1930
- Company constructs an
Art Deco-inspired Research & Engineering building in
Milwaukee, one of the first dedicated R&D operations
in the U. S. At the time, A. O. Smith employed more than
400 engineers.
1933
- The end of Prohibition
provided an
- opportunity to apply
our new technology
- to a revitalized brewing
industry.
- Capitalizing on research
in the process of fusing glass to steel, the company introduces
the first large, single-piece glass-lined brewery tank. Over
the next 32 years, A. O. Smith made more than 11,000 glass-lined
tanks.
1936
- This A. O. Smith giant
would bend
- an 8' section of glass-lined
pipe to
- demonstrate it's ability
to flex without cracking.
- A. O. Smith patents the glass-lined water
heater. This concept quickly became the standard of the industry,
making hot water an affordable convenience for homeowners.
The company began mass-producing residential water heaters
three years later, but shifted all production to war-time
use during World War II.
- 1940
- Extending its reach in
the oil field, the company acquires Sawyer Electric of Los
Angeles, California, a manufacturer of electric motors. One
of their products was a pump motor that could be used in
oil well applications.
1942
- As part of the war effort,
A. O. Smith begins producing bomb casings, aircraft propellers
and landing gear, torpedo air flasks, and other materiel.
By 1945, it had built 4.5 million bombs, 16,750 sets of landing
gear, and 46,700 propeller blades, as well as nose frames
for the B-25 bomber, water heaters, jeep frames, and components
for the atomic bomb project.
1946
- Move over Porky Pig,
a special booth
- and character is developed
to introduce
- A. O. Smith products
at a trade show.
- The company constructs
a 400,000 square foot residential water heater plant in Kankakee,
Illinois. Life Magazine proclaims it “the most modern
water heater factory in the world.”
1948
- A. O. Smith acquires the
Burkay Company of Toledo, Ohio, and enters the market for
commercial water heaters. The coil-type “instantaneous” heaters
served as the foundation for the development of the company's
commercial water heater line.
1949
- Introduces the Harvestore ® structure,
a glass-fused-to-steel silo targeted at dairy and livestock
operations. Over the next 50 years, A. O. Smith installs
more than 70,000 structures on farms throughout North America.
1950
- A. O. Smith acquires Whirl-A-Way
Motors of Dayton, Ohio, and consolidates its electric motor
manufacturing operations there.
1953
- A horse constructed
out
- of A. O. Smith motors
created a stir
- at trade shows.
- The motor division introduces
the hermetic motor, a critical component of air conditioning
and refrigeration compressors, to meet the growing demand
for residential and commercial air conditioning.
1959
- Establishes glass fiber
division to commercialize its research in the use of fiberglass
to replace steel in many applications. Business expands into
supplying oil field pipe and pipe for service stations, eventually
becoming Smith Fiberglass Products in 1986.
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