COMPANY·HISTORIES
SIC 3569

General Industrial Machinery and Equipment, Not Elsewhere Classified

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

23companies1850–1992founding years23still active0no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedGrinnell Corp.
1850
FoundedUnited Dominion Industries Limited
1882
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedBoart Longyear Company
1911
FoundedDuriron Company Inc.
1912
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedGEA AG
1920
1929
EconomyThe stock market crashes; the Great Depression spreads worldwide.
FoundedKubota CorporationFoundedPetrolite Corporation
1930
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
FoundedKaydon Corporation
1941
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
FoundedPremier Industrial Corporation
1946
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedUnited States Filter Corporation
1953
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedFiggie International Inc.
1963
FoundedPentair, Inc.
1966
FoundedEsterline Technologies Corp.
1967
FoundedOsmonics, Inc.
1969
1971
EconomyThe dollar leaves the gold standard; currencies float.
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
FoundedPurolator Products Company
1976
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher worldwide.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
FoundedSmurfit-Stone Container Corporation
1983
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
1987
EconomyBlack Monday: markets fall sharply around the world.
FoundedABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.
1988
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
FoundedChart Industries, Inc.
1992
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EconomyThe Asian financial crisis rattles global markets.
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2000
EconomyThe dot-com bubble bursts.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2008
EconomyThe global financial crisis freezes credit worldwide.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Recovery Engineering, Inc. →
Active
Recovery Engineering, Inc.
Grinnell Corp. →
Active · founded 1850
Grinnell Corp., a subsidiary of Tyco International Ltd., became the largest fire protection company in the world when…
United Dominion Industries Limited →
Active · founded 1882
United Dominion Industries Limited once provided extensive manufacturing, engineering, and construction services to…
Boart Longyear Company →
Active · founded 1911
Boart Longyear Company is a major provider of diamond drill bits and related drilling parts and services for the…
Duriron Company Inc. →
Active · founded 1912
Duriron Company Inc.
GEA AG →
Active · founded 1920 · Germany
GEA AG is one of the world's leading suppliers for food and process engineering, and thermal engineering technology.
Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. →
Active · founded 1930 · Japan
Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
Kubota Corporation →
Active · founded 1930 · Japan
Kubota Corporation prides itself on being flexible and adjusting as necessary to compete under changing economic…
Petrolite Corporation →
Active · founded 1930
A leader and a pioneer in the oil field chemical industry, Petrolite Corporation manufactures specialty chemicals,…
Kaydon Corporation →
Active · founded 1941
With more than a decade of nearly unbroken sales and earnings growth, Kaydon Corporation has been quietly building an…
Premier Industrial Corporation →
Active · founded 1946
Premier Industrial Corporation is one of the United States' largest broad-line electronics distributors.
Washington Scientific Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1950
Washington Scientific Industries, Inc.
United States Filter Corporation →
Active · founded 1953
United States Filter Corporation (USF) is the world's largest and fastest-growing water and wastewater treatment…
Figgie International Inc. →
Active · founded 1963
Figgie International Inc.
Pentair, Inc. →
Active · founded 1966
Pentair, Inc.
Esterline Technologies Corp. →
Active · founded 1967
A diversified manufacturing company divided into three business groups--Automation, Aerospace and Defense, and…
Osmonics, Inc. →
Active · founded 1969 · www.osmonics.com
Osmonics, Inc.
Coflexip S.A. →
Active · founded 1971 · France
France's Coflexip S.A.
Purolator Products Company →
Active · founded 1976
Purolator Products Company is the largest manufacturer of automotive filters in the United States.
Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation →
Active · founded 1983
Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation is the world's largest manufacturer of paperboard and paper-based packaging…
ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd. →
Active · founded 1988 · Switzerland
Formerly fierce competitors in the heavy-electrical and power-generation fields, Sweden's ASEA AB (which changed its…
Chart Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1992
Chart Industries, Inc.
Thermo Fibertek, Inc. →
Active · founded 1992
Thermo Fibertek, Inc.
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