Dometic history

The impetus came when a rattling door in Seth Atwood's automobile led to the development of an adjustable door bumper in 1915.

In 1936, a division was established to manufacture automobile and tractor clutches.

Growth through Acquisition: 1950-69

The latter firm, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of Atwood, manufactured items like change-making devices, coin chutes, and slug rejectors. It was around this time that Atwood began acquiring other companies, beginning with Royal Oak, Michigan-based Press Products Inc. and Chicago-based A.B.T. Manufacturing Corp. in 1955.

In 1956, Atwood acquired the trailer hardware division of Maywood, Illinois-based H.W. Crane Co., expanding its offering of couplers.

In early 1966, Atwood established the General Products Division to serve the automotive, trailer, and mobile home markets from the company's plants in Wixom, Michigan, and Rockford, Illinois (North Main Street).

In 1967, Atwood constructed a new foundry in Havana, Illinois, to make iron castings used mainly for non-automotive purposes.

In 1971, total company sales were approximately $50 million, $40 million of which was attributed to the Automotive and Contract Division and the remainder to the Mobile Products Division.

By 1975, the Automotive Division had established a new plant in Oregon, Illinois, to make parking brakes, adding to the company's overall lineup of plants in Illinois, Michigan, and California.

In 1986, the company added air conditioners to its line of mobile products and acquired Greenbriar, Tennessee-based Wedgewood Industries.

According to Atwood President John Henriksen in the December 18, 1987, Rockford Register Star, the acquisition put the company in a stronger position to compete in the market for foreign automobiles manufactured in the United States.

In August, it purchased Travel Star Inc.'s line of cooking appliances, giving Atwood a market share of 50 percent in the recreational vehicle market for slide-in range ovens and drop-in ranges, according to the August 29, 1989 Rockford Register Star.

When Elkhart, Indiana-based Excel Industries Inc.--a manufacturer of automotive window systems with annual sales of approximately $888 million--acquired Atwood Industries in March 1996, it announced that the division's technical and engineering staff would be relocated to Detroit.

By May 1997, Excel closed the entire automotive division in Rockford and moved operations to its plants in Florida and Tennessee.

1999: Excel Industries is acquired by Dura Automotive Systems Inc., and Atwood Mobile Products becomes a division of Dura.