A. O. Smith Corporation is an American manufacturer of both residential and commercial water heaters and boilers, and the largest manufacturer and marketer of water heaters in North America. It also supplies water treatment and water purification products in the Asian market.[6] The company has 27 locations worldwide, including five manufacturing facilities in North America, as well as plants in Bengaluru in India, Nanjing in China and Veldhoven in The Netherlands.[7]
In the past, A. O. Smith has had numerous other product lines. Among them, it was the largest bomb maker in the United States by the end of World War I. Smith ranked 74th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.[8]
History
The company today known as the A. O. Smith Corporation was founded in 1874 by Charles Jeremiah Smith as C. J. Smith and Sons, a baby carriage and bicycle parts manufacturer. They began forming steel tubing from sheet metal to make bicycle frames.[9] By 1895, the company was the largest bicycle parts manufacturer. In 1899, Arthur Oliver Smith, a son of the founder, developed the world's first pressed steel vehicle frame and they later began making frames for the Peerless Automobile Company, Cadillac, and Ford Motor Company.[10] In 1904, the company incorporated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as A. O. Smith Company.
In 1913, Lloyd Raymond Smith took over, and in 1914, the company introduced the Smith Motor Wheel, a gasoline-powered device for bicycles and in 1915, they began manufacturing the Smith Flyer, which they later sold to Briggs & Stratton of Milwaukee. A year later in 1916, A. O. Smith was incorporated in New York, and in 1917, they began manufacturing bomb casings for World War I.
In the 1920s, company engineers developed the coated welding rod which they used in manufacturing until 1965, as well as the world's first fully automated automobile frame factory, with the capability of making a frame every eight seconds, until 1958, the first arc-welded, high-pressure vessel used to refine oil, which the company produced until 1963, and oil supply line pipes, until 1972.
In 1933, the company used the process of fusing glass to steel to make a large single-piece glass-lined brewery tank. Over the next 32 years, they made more than 11,000 glass-lined tanks. In 1936, the company patented the glass-lined water heater. Three years later, they began mass-producing residential water heaters, but shifted all production to war-time use during World War II.
In 1940, the company acquired Sawyer Electric of Los Angeles, California, a manufacturer of electric motors. In 1942, it once again began to produce bomb casings, as well as aircraft propellers, undercarriages, torpedoes, and air flasks. By 1945, the company had built 4.5 million bombs, 16,750 sets of landing gear, and 46,700 propeller blades. They also built nose frames for the B-25 bomber, water heaters, jeep frames, and components for the atomic bomb project. In 1946, they built a 400,000 square foot residential water heater plant in Kankakee, Illinois. From this plant, they also made waterheaters with the Kenmore name.[11] In 1948, they entered the commercial water heater market after acquiring The Burkay Company of Toledo, Ohio. In 1949, the company began producing Harvestore, a glass-fused-to-steel silo, targeted at dairy and livestock operations.
In the 1950s, A. O. Smith acquired Whirl-A-Way Motors of Dayton, Ohio, and consolidated its electric motor manufacturing operations there. The motor division later introduced the hermetic motor, a critical component of air conditioning and refrigeration compressors. Its water heater division introduced the first glass-lined commercial water heater, the A. O. Smith Burkay B-65, and later the company established a glass fiber division to replace steel in many applications. It also expanded into supplying oil field pipe and pipe for service stations, eventually becoming Smith Fiberglass Products in 1986.
In the early 1960s, the company opened a commercial water heater and boiler plant in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. In 1965, the Motor division invented the enclosed canopy, two-compartment motor, a design that improved the reliability in pool pump motors by separating the switching components from the motor windings. In 1967, fourth generation Smith family member, Lloyd B. Smith, was elected chairman and chief executive officer of the company. By 1969, the company had produced its 10 millionth residential water heater, and by 1972 had expanded to Europe. In 1974, the Conservationist line of residential water heaters was introduced. In 1976, the Motor division opened a plant in Bray, Ireland, to supply hermetic motors. In 1978, A. O. Smith began manufacturing storage tanks, beginning with Aquastore, a glass-fused-to-steel tank.
A. O. Smith at Veldhoven, the Netherlands
By the early 1980s, the Automotive Products unit had manufactured over 100 million passenger car frames, and 50 million truck frames, in Milwaukee, and soon after the company opened its first electric motor assembly operations in Ciudad Juárez and Ciudad Acuña, Mexico. In 1990, it developed the first hermetic motor insulation system compatible with R-134a non-ozone-depleting refrigerant. In 1995, they acquired Peabody TecTank of Parsons, Kansas, allowing A. O. Smith to enter the bulk dry storage market.[12] That same year the company expanded into Asia by entering multiple joint-venture agreements: Smith Fiberglass Products and Harbin Composites Corporation to make fiberglass pipes for the China's petroleum industry, and Water Products Company and Yuhan Water Heater to make residential water heaters. In 1996, the Water Products division introduced the Cyclone XHE commercial water heater. In 1997, after 90 years in the automotive industry, A. O. Smith sold its Automotive Products Company to Tower International. In 1997, they acquired UPPCO, Inc., making A. O Smith the world's leading manufacturer of C-frame subfractional horsepower motors. In 1998, they acquired General Electric’s domestic compressor motor business, as well as the electric motor division of Magnetek. By the end of the decade, Water Products Company had bought out its joint venture partner in Asia, and had opened a plant in Nanjing, China.
In the 2000s, A. O. Smith made a number of acquisitions, by acquiring State Industries, Inc., and its subsidiary APCOM Inc., Shenzhen Speeda Industrial Co. Ltd., and Athens Products, a supplier of hermetic motors for scroll compressor applications, as well as The Changheng Group of Changzhou, China, a manufacturer of fractional horsepower motors for HVAC applications, Taicang Special Motor Company, Ltd., of Suzhou, China, Yueyang Zhongmin Special Electrical Machinery Co. Ltd., Lochinvar Corporation, a manufacturer of high efficiency condensing boilers for hot water and hydronic heating applications, and in 2006, GSW Inc. a water heaters manufacturer for the Canadian market, and The American Water Heater Company, the exclusive supplier of water heaters to Lowe's, carrying the Whirlpool brand. In 2009, the company entered the water purification industry with a new venture, A. O. Smith (Shanghai) Water Treatment Products Co. Ltd. In 2010, A. O. Smith opened a 76,000 square foot residential water heater manufacturing plant in Bengaluru, India, which later expanded to 297000 sq ft operation with expansion to manufacture of water purification products. Takagi Industrial Company's North American operations were acquired in 2010.. In 2011, A. O. Smith sold its electric motor business to Regal-Beloit.
On August 8, 2016, A. O.Smith, acquired Austin-based water filtration company Aquasana (previously known as Sun Water Systems) from L' Catterton for $87 Million.[13]
Brands
A. O. Smith operates under the following brand names around the world: A. O. Smith (United States, Canada, China, Europe, Turkey, India and Vietnam), GSW (Canada), John Wood (Canada), State Water Heaters, American Water Heaters, Reliance Water Heaters, Lochinvar, Takagi, Giant Factories Inc. and U.S. Craftmaster Water Heaters. [14]
Products
A. O. Smith Water Products Company is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Ashland City, TN location is home of the world's largest water heater factory.[7] A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures the following types of water heaters for residential uses: gas and propane, hybrid, electric, tankless, and solar. The company manufactures the following types of water heaters for commercial uses: oil-fired, gas and electric, as well as boilers, storage tanks, and skid systems. They also provide the following accessories: pump tanks, and expansion tanks.[15]
A. O. Smith Foundation
The A. O. Smith Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization, founded in 1955, that has contributed nearly $50 million to qualifying charitable, educational, scientific, literary, and civic organizations located primarily in communities where A. O. Smith Corporation has facilities. The support for the Foundation comes from the profits of A. O. Smith Corporation.[16]
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (KHI) is a Japanese public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, heavy equipment, aerospace and defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It is also active in the production of industrial robots, gas turbines, pumps, boilers and other industrial products. The company is named after its founder, Shōzō Kawasaki. KHI is known as one of the three major heavy industrial manufacturers of Japan, alongside Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and IHI. Prior to the Second World War, KHI was part of the Kobe Kawasaki zaibatsu, which included Kawasaki Steel and Kawasaki Kisen. After the conflict, KHI became part of the DKB Group (keiretsu).
Trek Bicycle Corporation is a bicycle and cycling product manufacturer and distributor under brand names Trek, Electra Bicycle Company, Bontrager, and Diamant Bikes. The company has previously manufactured bikes under the Gary Fisher, LeMond Racing Cycles, Klein, and Villiger Bikes brand names. With its headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin, Trek bicycles are marketed through 1,700 independently owned bicycle shops across North America, subsidiaries in Europe, Asia, South Africa, as well as distributors in 90 countries worldwide. Nearly all Trek bicycles are manufactured outside the United States, in countries including the Netherlands, Germany, Taiwan, and China.
Domtar Corporation is a North American pulp and paper company that manufactures and markets wood fiber-based pulp and paper products. The company operates pulp mills and paper mills in Windsor, Quebec; Dryden, Ontario; Kamloops, British Columbia; Ashdown, Arkansas; Hawesville, Kentucky; Plymouth, North Carolina; Marlboro County, South Carolina; and Kingsport, Tennessee. While Domtar operated independently for several decades and was listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges, the company was acquired by Paper Excellence Group in November 2021 and has since operated as a subsidiary.
Water heating is a heat transfer process that uses an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water include cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating. In industry, hot water and water heated to steam have many uses.
In law, a warranty is an expressed or implied promise or assurance of some kind. The term's meaning varies across legal subjects. In property law, it refers to a covenant by the grantor of a deed. In insurance law, it refers to a promise by the purchaser of an insurance about the thing or person to be insured.
Murray was an American company whose assets are now owned by Briggs & Stratton and Pon Holdings. The corporate brand is a descendant of the Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company, which manufactured bicycles and lawn and garden equipment. The company went bankrupt in 2005 selling most of its assets to Briggs & Stratton and Pacific Cycle.
Pope Manufacturing Company was founded by Albert Augustus Pope around 1876 in Boston, Massachusetts, US and incorporated in Hartford, Connecticut in 1877. Manufacturing of bicycles began in 1878 in Hartford at the Weed Sewing Machine Company factory. Pope manufactured bicycles, motorcycles, and automobiles. From 1905 to 1913, Pope gradually consolidated manufacturing to the Westfield Mass plant. The main offices remained in Hartford. It ceased automobile production in 1915 and ceased motorcycle production in 1918. The company subsequently underwent a variety of changes in form, name and product lines through the intervening years. To this day, bicycles continue to be sold under the Columbia brand.
Regal Rexnord Corporation, usually referred to as just Regal Rexnord, is a manufacturer of electric motors and power transmission components headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company has manufacturing, sales, and service facilities throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia, with about 29,000 employees. As of year 2021, the company is ranked 763rd on the Fortune 1000, and was the 17th largest corporation in Wisconsin.
The Sheppee was an English steam automobile manufactured in York by the Sheppee Motor Company run by Colonel Francis Henry Sheppee, son of Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Faulkener Sheppee (1835-1913). After long service with the army in India, Colonel F.H. Sheppee created the Sheppee Motor Company in Thomas Street, York around 1902. The firm mainly made steam-driven commercial vehicles but in 1912 at least two passenger cars were made with 25 hp engines and flash boilers. In 1913, they announced they had got a site on the Birmingham Road near Worcester where they would build a new factory for production of their 3-ton steam wagons.
Nidec Corporation, formerly known as Nippon Densan Corporation, is a Japanese manufacturer and distributor of electric motors. Their products are found in hard-disk drives, electric appliances, automobiles and commercial and manufacturing equipment. The company has the largest global market share for the tiny spindle motors that power hard-disk drives.
The Rival Company is an American manufacturer of small appliances that produces products under the Bionaire, Crock-Pot, Fasco, Patton, Pollenex, Rival, Simer, and White Mountain brands. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of Holmes Products Corp. in 1999, and later became a brand of Sunbeam Products, a subsidiary of Jarden Corporation, which purchased Holmes in 2005. Jarden, in turn, merged with Newell Rubbermaid in 2016. It is now part of the Newell Brands company.
The Vollrath Company is an American company based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin that manufactures stainless steel and aluminum equipment and smallwares, and deep draw stainless steel items, for commercial and institutional foodservice operations.
Daikin Applied Americas is a corporation that designs, manufacturers and sells heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) products, systems, parts and services for commercial buildings. Since 2006, McQuay has been a subsidiary of Daikin Industries, Ltd. McQuay world headquarters are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Products are sold by a global network of sales representatives and distributors.
Bradford White Corporation, headquartered in Ambler, Pennsylvania, is an American-owned and employee owned, full-line manufacturer of residential and commercial and industrial products for water heating, space heating, combination heating and storage applications. The corporation's manufacturing facilities are in Middleville, Michigan and Niles, MI, and Rochester, NH. The water heaters were patented by Gerald E White from the years 1933–1938. The company is among the largest American manufacturers of water heaters, competing with companies such as Rheem and A. O. Smith. Bradford White Corporation is made up of Bradford White Water Heaters, Bradford White – Canada, Laars Heating Systems, and Niles Steel Tank.
Tube Investments of India Limited is an Indian engineering and manufacturing company that specializes in bicycles, metal formed products, and chains. It is based in Chennai and a part of Murugappa Group. It was incorporated as TI Cycles of India Limited in 1949, as a joint venture company.
Rheem Manufacturing Company is an American privately held manufacturer that produces residential and commercial water heaters and boilers, as well as heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. The company also produces and sells products under the Ruud brand name. It is an independent subsidiary of Paloma Industries.What became Rheem started in 1925 as a supplier of packaging to the petroleum industry, and is currently headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States. The company is one of the largest manufacturers of both water heating and HVAC equipment in the United States, and also produces and markets products in Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bahrain, China, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Iraq, Kuwait, Mexico, New Zealand, Perú, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, UAE, and Ukraine.
Malleable Iron Range Company was a company that produced kitchen ranges made of malleable iron and other related products. The company existed from 1896 to 1985. Its primary trademark was Monarch and it was often referred to as the Monarch Company.
Sanden Corporation is a Japanese, Isesaki, Gunma-based automotive equipment and electrical equipment manufacturing company and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Ariston Holding NV is an Italian corporation that produces heating systems and related products, marketed mainly under the Ariston, Chaffoteaux, Elco, Racold, Régent, Atag, NTI, HTP, Cuenod, Ecoflam and Thermowatt brands.
Midland-Ross Co. was an American steel, aerospace products, electronics, and automobile components manufacturer which existed from 1894 to 1986.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
US$2.9 billion (2020) [4] 
US$3.06 billion (2019) [4] 
