COMPANY·HISTORIES
NAIC 335312

Motor and Generator Manufacturing

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

24companies1864–1997founding years24still active0no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedDeutz AG
1864
FoundedKohler Company
1873
FoundedSchindler Holding AG
1874
FoundedGeneral Electric Company
1892
FoundedThe Coleman Company, Inc.
1900
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedA.O. Smith Corporation
1904
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedNGK Insulators Ltd.
1919
1929
EconomyThe stock market crashes; the Great Depression spreads worldwide.
FoundedTecumseh Products Company
1930
FoundedWesterbeke Corporation
1937
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
FoundedPenn Engineering & Manufacturing Corp.
1942
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedHonda Motor Company Limited
1948
FoundedLiebherr-International AG
1949
FoundedWinegard Company
1954
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
1971
EconomyThe dollar leaves the gold standard; currencies float.
FoundedNidec CorporationFoundedOwosso Corporation
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher worldwide.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
FoundedEngineered Support Systems, Inc.
1983
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedJohnson Worldwide Associates, Inc.
1985
1987
EconomyBlack Monday: markets fall sharply around the world.
FoundedJordan Industries, Inc.
1988
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
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

Deutz AG →
Active · founded 1864 · Germany
Deutz AG is one of Germany's leading manufacturers of diesel and gas engines for the global market.
Kohler Company →
Active · founded 1873
Kohler Company is one of the largest privately operated firms in the United States.
Schindler Holding AG →
Active · founded 1874 · Switzerland
Through its numerous subsidiaries, Schindler Holding AG is Europe's top supplier of elevators and escalators and ranks…
Rolls-Royce Group PLC →
Active · founded 1884 · United Kingdom
Rolls-Royce Group PLC is flying high in the 2000s.
General Electric Company →
Active · founded 1892
The history of General Electric Company is a significant part of the history of technology in the United States.
The Coleman Company, Inc. →
Active · founded 1900
The Coleman Company, Inc.
A.O. Smith Corporation →
Active · founded 1904
A.O.
Cummins Engine Company, Inc. →
Active · founded 1919
No one makes more large diesel engines than Cummins Engine Company, Inc.
NGK Insulators Ltd. →
Active · founded 1919 · Japan
Based in Nagoya, Japan, NGK Insulators Ltd.
Tecumseh Products Company →
Active · founded 1930
Tecumseh Products Company manufactures compressors for refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, gasoline engines…
Westerbeke Corporation →
Active · founded 1937
For the most part, Westerbeke continued to focus on internal growth in the 1990s, as it had throughout its history.
Makita Corporation →
Active · founded 1938 · Japan
Makita Corporation is Japan's number one manufacturer and exporter of electric power tools.
Penn Engineering & Manufacturing Corp. →
Active · founded 1942
When Penn Engineering & Manufacturing Corp.
Honda Motor Company Limited →
Active · founded 1948
Honda Motor Company Limited is perhaps best known as an automaker--it is the third largest automaker in Japan--but the…
Liebherr-International AG →
Active · founded 1949 · Switzerland
Liebherr-International AG is the Swiss holding company of the Liebherr Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers…
Mabuchi Motor Co. Ltd. →
Active · founded 1954 · Japan
Mabuchi Motor Co.
Winegard Company →
Active · founded 1954
Based in Burlington, Iowa, Winegard Company manufactures a wide variety of reception equipment for home, commercial,…
Nidec Corporation →
Active · founded 1973 · Japan
Kyoto-based Nidec Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer of the tiny electric motors that power hard disk…
Owosso Corporation →
Active · founded 1973
Owosso Corporation, through its subsidiaries, produces engineered component products, including motors, timers, heat…
SRC Holdings Corporation →
Active · founded 1982
SRC Holdings Corporation owns SRC Remanufacturing and more than 20 other businesses.
Engineered Support Systems, Inc. →
Active · founded 1983
Engineered Support Systems, Inc.
Johnson Worldwide Associates, Inc. →
Active · founded 1985
Johnson Worldwide Associates, Inc.
Jordan Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1988
Jordan Industries, Inc.
VA TECH ELIN EBG GmbH →
Active · founded 1997 · Austria
VA TECH ELIN EBG GmbH (VTEE) is the infrastructure and industrial services arm of Austria's VA Technologie AG.
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