Gale Products was a manufacturer of several products based in Galesburg, Illinois. The company started in 1937 assembling refrigerators from parts sent in from Waukegan, Illinois [1] The factory expanded making many other household products. In 1941, Gale Products was acquired by the Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) to build outboard motors. After building over one million motors, the parent company OMC ceased boat motor manufacturing reusing the facility as the new headquarters and factory of Lawn-Boy lawn mowers. [1] Eventually, Lawn-Boy was sold to its competitor Toro where offices were moved to Minnesota and manufacturing was moved to other Toro facilities. The factory was closed in the mid-1980's. [2]
An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method of propelling small watercraft. As well as providing propulsion, outboards provide steering control, as they are designed to pivot over their mountings and thus control the direction of thrust. The skeg also acts as a rudder when the engine is not running. Unlike inboard motors, outboard motors can be easily removed for storage or repairs.
Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere, is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains used in heavy equipment and lawn care equipment. It also provides financial services and other related activities.
BRP Inc. is a Canadian manufacturer of snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, side by sides, motorcycles, and personal watercraft. It was founded in 2003, when the Recreational Products Division of Bombardier Inc. was spun off and sold to a group of investors consisting of Bain Capital, the Bombardier-Beaudoin family and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. Bombardier Inc., was founded in 1942 as L'Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée by Joseph-Armand Bombardier at Valcourt in the Eastern Townships, Quebec.
Anzani was an engine manufacturer founded by the Italian Alessandro Anzani (1877–1956), which produced proprietary engines for aircraft, cars, boats, and motorcycles in factories in Britain, France and Italy.
Briggs & Stratton Corporation is an American manufacturer of small engines with headquarters in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
McCulloch Motors Corporation is an American manufacturer of chainsaws and other outdoor power tools. The company was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1943 by Robert Paxton McCulloch as a manufacturer of small two-stroke gasoline engines and introduced its first chainsaw in 1948, the Model 5-49. McCulloch and its brand are owned by Husqvarna.
Evinrude Outboard Motors was a North American company that built a major brand of two-stroke outboard motors for boats. Founded by Ole Evinrude in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1907, it was formerly owned by the publicly traded Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) since 1935 but OMC filed for bankruptcy in 2000. It was working as a subsidiary of Canadian Multinational Bombardier Recreational Products but was discontinued in May of 2020.
Johnson Outboards was an American manufacturer of outboard motors founded by the four brothers Louis, Harry, Julius and Clarence Johnson.
Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) was a maker of Evinrude, Johnson and Gale Outboard Motors, and many different brands of boats. It was a multibillion-dollar Fortune 500 corporation. Evinrude began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1907. OMC was based in Waukegan, Illinois. They also owned several lines of boats such as Chris Craft, Lowe Boats, Princecraft, Four Winns, SeaSwirl, Stratos, and Javelin. OMC was also a parent company to Lawn-Boy and Ryan, which made lawn mowers.
The Toro Company is an American company based in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota that designs, manufactures, and markets lawn mowers, snow blowers, and irrigation system supplies for commercial and residential, agricultural, and public sector uses.
Modern Tool & Die, sometimes referred to as Michigan Tool & Die Company or MTD Products is an American manufacturer of outdoor power equipment for the mass market. Headquartered in Valley City, Ohio, the company began in 1932 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stanley Black & Decker. Prior to Stanley Black & Decker's acquisition in December 2021, MTD Products was a majority family-owned, private company. It originated as a tool and die maker MTD's main competitors are Ariens, Briggs & Stratton, Husqvarna, John Deere, Stiga, Stihl, and The Toro Company.
Lawn-Boy is a brand of lawn mower, originally manufactured by the Evinrude Company in 1934 and owned since 1989 by Toro. It was the first one-handed reel power mower introduced to the American public. Evinrude purchased Johnson Motor Wheel Company from a New York stock brokerage firm a year later, and in 1936 they merged with the Outboard Marine and Manufacturing Company (OMC), continuing production of Lawn-Boy mowers until 1939, when it was temporarily put on hold to manufacture outboard motors for World War II.
Ralph S. Evinrude was an American business magnate who was chairman of Outboard Marine Corporation, and the husband of singer and entertainer Frances Langford.
The Thompson Brothers Boat Manufacturing Company of Peshtigo, Wisconsin was a manufacturer of pleasure boats and canoes. Founded by brothers Peter and Christ Thompson in 1904, the company became prominent in the field and built boats for nearly one hundred years. The Thompson Antique & Classic Boat Rally celebrates the company's history with a boat show every other year and in 2013 the Thompson Brothers canoe was celebrated at the Annual Assembly of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association.
Gilson Brothers Co. was a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of outdoor power equipment and recreational equipment. It operated independently between its inception in 1911 until acquisition by Lawn-Boy in 1988. The company was probably most well known for its garden tillers, snowblowers and garden tractors produced from the 1960s through the 1980s.
The RotorWay Helicopter Manufacturing Company, formerly called RotorWay International, was a manufacturer of kit helicopters located in Chandler, Arizona, United States. The company was founded by B.J. Schramm in 1961 as RotorWay Aircraft. RotorWay International was bought February 14, 2007 by a small group of investors comprising the company's upper-level management – Grant Norwitz, CEO, Bill Adams, COO, and Judy Craven, CFO. Of these, only Norwitz was still with the company in mid-2008.
Pope Products Ltd. was an Australian manufacturer, based in Beverley, South Australia, best remembered for washing machines and refrigerators.
Midwest Manufacturing Company was a manufacturer of refrigerators and steel kitchen cabinets in the 1930s and 1940s.
The Maquoketa Company–Clinton Machine Company Administration Building, also known as Building #7: Clinton Engines Corporation Administration Building, is a historic building located in Maquoketa, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.