Nash-Kelvinator

Last updated

Nash-Kelvinator Corporation
Industry Automotive
Major appliances
Predecessor Nash Motors
Kelvinator Corporation
FoundedJanuary 2, 1937;87 years ago (1937-01-02)
DefunctJuly 4, 1954;69 years ago (1954-07-04)
FateConsolidated into American Motors
Successor American Motors Corporation (AMC)
Headquarters Detroit, Michigan
Products
  • Automobiles
  • Military components
  • Major home appliances
  • Commercial refrigeration

Nash-Kelvinator Corporation was the result of a merger in 1937 between Nash Motors and Kelvinator Appliance Company. The union of these two companies was brought about as a result of a condition made by George W. Mason prior to his appointment as CEO of Nash. The company manufactured cars and refrigerators as well as aeronautic components and helicopters during World War II. In 1954, the company merged with Hudson Motors to form American Motors Corporation (AMC).

History

The founder of Nash Motors, Charles W. Nash, now serving as chair of the board, wanted George W. Mason for his expertise as a production engineer for several car manufacturers before being appointed president of Kelvinator in 1928. [1] To have Mason, Nash had to buy Kelvinator, a leading manufacturer of refrigerators. [2] The merged company began on 2 January 1937 with no debt and $50 million in cash assets. [3] Mason then served as president of Nash-Kelvinator until 1954 when the firm merged with Hudson Motors. [1]

Nash-Kelvinator ranked 27th among United States corporations in the value of World War II production contracts. [4] As part of the Arsenal of Democracy, the company shifted its factories to make a large variety of military components and aeronautic assemblies. The company expanded its facilities to produce the Hamilton Standard propellers to become the largest manufacturer of this type of propeller with more than 158,000 units made with an additional over 85,000 spare blades, assembling nearly 17,000 Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 18-cylinder, air-cooled aircraft engine, making the newly introduced Sikorsky R-6 helicopters, and becoming one of the largest suppliers of binoculars in the world with over 200,000 delivered to the U.S. Army. [1] [5] [6] Starting in late 1944, the company began to work on new car designs and by 1945 it completed new proving grounds in Wisconsin. [6]

In 1955, Kelvinator introduced the Kelvinator Food-A-Rama Side-by-Side Refrigerator, one of the earliest modern side-by-side frost-free refrigerators. [7] Kelvinator consumer products, before and after the merger with Nash, were considered an upmarket brand of household appliances.

In 1954, Nash-Kelvinator acquired Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, in what was called a mutually beneficial merger that formed the American Motors Corporation. It was the largest corporate consolidation to date. Kelvinator continued as a wholly owned division that was focused on the production and marketing of major home appliances and refrigeration equipment within the new company.

Seeking to focus on the automobile market, the rights to the Kelvinator brand was sold by AMC to White Consolidated Industries in 1968, which brought the product under its corporate appliance group, joining the White-Westinghouse, Gibson, and Frigidaire appliance brands. The appliance division of White Consolidated Industries is now part of Sweden's Electrolux Corporation. The Kelvinator brand is applied to household appliances and scientific refrigeration systems.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Motors Corporation</span> Defunct American automobile company

American Motors Corporation was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 1954. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.

Rambler is an automobile brand name that was first used by the Thomas B. Jeffery Company between 1900 and 1914.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles W. Nash</span> American businessman (1864–1948)

Charles Williams Nash was an American automobile entrepreneur who served as an executive in the automotive industry. He played a significant role in building up General Motors as its 5th President. In 1916, he bought Thomas B. Jeffery Company, makers of the popular Rambler automobile, and renamed it Nash Motors. The resulting firm played an independent role in an automobile industry increasingly dominated by the Big Three: General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nash Motors</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

Nash Motors Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin from 1916 until 1937. From 1937 through 1954, Nash Motors was the automotive division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation. As sales of smaller firms declined after 1950 in the wake of the domestic Big Three automakers’ advantages in production, distribution, and revenue, Nash merged with Hudson Motors to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). Nash automobile production continued from 1954 through 1957 under AMC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hudson Motor Car Company</span> American auto company

The Hudson Motor Car Company made Hudson and other branded automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., from 1909 until 1954. In 1954, Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). The Hudson name was continued through the 1957 model year, after which it was discontinued.

Kelvinator was an American home appliance manufacturer and a line of domestic refrigerators that was the namesake of the company. Although as a company it is now defunct, the name still exists as a brand name owned by Electrolux AB. It takes its name from William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, who developed the concept of absolute zero and for whom the Kelvin temperature scale is named. The name was thought appropriate for a company that manufactured ice-boxes and refrigerators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy D. Chapin</span> American businessman

Roy Dikeman Chapin Sr. was an American industrialist and a co-founder of Hudson Motor Company, the predecessor of American Motors Corporation. He also served as the United States secretary of commerce from August 8, 1932, to March 3, 1933, during the final months of the administration of President Herbert Hoover.

The Studebaker-Packard Corporation is the entity created in 1954 by the purchase of the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana, by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan. While Studebaker was the larger of the two companies, Packard's balance sheet and executive team were stronger than that of the South Bend company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffery (automobile)</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Jeffery brand of automobiles were manufactured by the Thomas B. Jeffery Company in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nash Ambassador</span> Large-sized cars produced by Nash Motors Corporation

The Nash Ambassador is a luxury automobile that was produced by Nash Motors from 1927 until 1957. For the first five years it was a top trim level, then from 1932 on a standalone model. Ambassadors were lavishly equipped and beautifully constructed, earning them the nickname "the Kenosha Duesenberg".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nash Rambler</span> Compact-sized cars produced by Nash Motors

The Nash Rambler is a North American automobile that was produced by the Nash Motors division of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation from 1950 until 1954 in sedan, wagon, and fixed-profile convertible body styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hudson Hornet</span> Full-sized automobile produced by Hudson and American Motors

The Hudson Hornet is a full-size car manufactured by Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan from 1951 until 1954, when Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson merged to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). Hudson automobiles continued to be marketed under the Hudson brand name through the 1957 model year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hudson Italia</span> Two-seat sports car produced and marketed by Hudson and American Motors

The Hudson Italia is an automobile styling study and a limited production two-door compact coupé that was produced by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, in cooperation with Carrozzeria Touring of Italy, and subsequently marketed by American Motors Corporation (AMC) during the 1954 and 1955 model years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy D. Chapin Jr.</span>

Roy Dikeman Chapin Jr. was the chairman and chief executive officer of American Motors Corporation (AMC). Chapin's father, Roy D. Chapin Sr., was one of the co-founders of the Hudson Motor Car Company; Hudson later merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation in 1954 to form American Motors. Roy D. Chapin Jr. was instrumental in introducing many successful lines of cars by American Motors that included the Gremlin, Hornet, and Javelin, as well as the purchase of Kaiser Jeep by the automaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. E. Barit</span> American businessman (1890–1974)

Abraham Edward Barit was an American industrialist who served as the president and CEO of the Hudson Motor Car Company from 1936 to 1954 when Hudson merged with Nash Motors to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). Barit served on the board of AMC following the merger of the two automakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George W. Mason</span>

George Walter Mason was an American industrialist. During his career Mason served as the Chairman and CEO of the Kelvinator Corporation (1928-1937), Chairman and CEO of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation (1937-1954), and Chairman and CEO of American Motors Corporation (1954).

Edmund E. Anderson was an automotive designer in the North American automotive industry at General Motors and notably as the lead designer for American Motors Corporation (AMC) from 1950 to 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weather Eye</span> Worlds first mass-market automotive heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system

The Weather Eye was a trade name for a Nash Motors-designed fresh-air system for automobile passenger compartment heating, cooling, and ventilating. The Nash "All-Weather Eye" was the first automobile air conditioning system for the mass market. The use of the Weather Eye name for automobile passenger heating and air conditioning systems continued in American Motors Corporation (AMC) vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard E. Cross</span> American business executive

Richard Eugene Cross (1910-1996) was an American business executive in the automotive industry, a lawyer, and a civic leader.

The Leonard Company was founded in 1881 by Charles H. Leonard in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Encyclopedia of Detroit: Kelvinator Corporation". Detroit Historical Society. 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  2. Adler, Dennis (2004). Fifties Flashback: The American Car. Motorbooks International. p. 103. ISBN   9780760319277 . Retrieved 22 April 2023 via Google Books.
  3. Mays, James (16 November 2020). "Nash-Kelvinator 1937: A healthy new company Chapter 1 of A Car and a Refrigerator Go to War: Nash-Kelvinator in World War II". allpar.com. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  4. Peck, Merton J.; Scherer, Frederic M. (1962). The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis. Harvard Business School. p. 619.
  5. "In which we serve freedom (advertisement)". Life. Vol. 15, no. 23. 6 December 1943. pp. 52–53. Retrieved 22 April 2023 via Google Books.
  6. 1 2 Hyde, Charles K. (2009). Storied Independent Automakers: Nash, Hudson, and American Motors. Wayne State University Press. pp. 68–76. ISBN   9780814334461 . Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  7. "1952 Kelvinator Food-A-Rama Side by Side Refrigerator". antiqueappliances.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2004. Retrieved 20 April 2013.