Federal-mogul Motorparts history

Federal-Mogul was founded in 1899, as the Muzzy-Lyon Company, selling mill supplies and rubber goods along with a subsidiary called the Mogul Metal Company.

Determined to be their own bosses in the market they knew best, the two partners opened their first facility in 1900.

The year 1910 brought an important order for 10,000 connecting rod bearings for the massive Buick 10.

In 1923, Muzzy learned that Douglas-Dahlin, a large Kansas City-based parts distributor, stood in danger of bankruptcy while owing Mogul a large sum of money.

In 1924, the Muzzy-Lyon Company and Federal Bearings and Bushing, an engine bearings and bushings manufacturing company, merged to become Federal-Mogul Corporation.

In 1927, Federal-Mogul purchased United States Bearings Company, an Indiana distributor that resold replacement bearings.

The corporation acquired the Indianapolis-based Superior Bearings Company in 1936.

In 1937 the service division went international with the acquisition of the former Watkins Rebabbitting Limited that had locations in Toronto, Montreal, and Winnipeg, Canada.

By 1939, Federal-Mogul was operating 53 service branches across the North American continent.

By 1941 Federal-Mogul plants exhibited signs such as, “Defense Plant, part of the Arsenal of Democracy,” and over 50 of their facilities were devoted to military production.

As the 1950’s drew to a close, the corporation could look back on a decade of substantial growth.

In 1953 Federal-Mogul merged with Bearings Company of America to mark the single largest acquisition in its history.

Federal-Mogul-Bower Bearings, Inc., 1955-64

Soon thereafter, the corporation announced its third major merger in as many years, when The National Motor Bearing Company joined the new Federal-Mogul-Bower Bearing Corporation in 1956.

Federal-Mogul management noted this trend and in March of 1960 started to invest in foreign manufacturing operations and purchased interests in various major European bearing firms.

In 1964 the company opened a new facility that was publicized as the most highly mechanized oil seal plant in the world.

In 1965 the company purchased Steering Aluminum, a piston factory, and the Vellumoid Company, a manufacturer of gaskets and gasket materials.

The early 1970’s marked a domestic expansion into the southern states.

An additional powdered metal parts plant in Ripley, Tennessee opened in 1972.

The 1975 recession caused management at Federal-Mogul to reassess its long-term strategy.

Öhlins Racing AB was founded in 1976 in Sweden by Kenth Öhlin. Öhlins started making gas shock absorbers for motorcycles and rapidly became a reference within the motorcycle racing circuit.

In 1984, Öhlins filed its first patent for Continuously Controlled Electronic Suspension valve (CES) technology and started to work on developing the valves, shock absorbers, sensors, ECUs and software required to make semi-active suspension systems for a variety of applications.

Principal acquisitions included: the vehicular lighting assets of R.E. Dietz and Co. in March 1990; German manufacturer of automotive and diesel engine bearings, Glyco AG in October 1990; Brown & Dureau (Australia) and Sealed Power Replacement.

By 1993, 21 percent of the company’s sales were generated by businesses outside the United States and Canada, while another 13 percent of annual revenues still came from exports.

Another accolade came in January 1997, when Federal-Mogul's engine bearings facility in Orleans, France, was honored with the first-ever Platinum Award for supplier excellence from the Rover Group, for winning the Gold Supplier Excellence Award three consecutive years.

The new company continued to grow and evolve through the 20th century and in 1998, acquired the Automotive Products division of Cooper Industries, with brands including Anco wiper blades, Champion ignition, MOOG chassis, and Wagner and Blazer lighting.

In 2003, Tenneco and Öhlins jointly launched the first CES shock absorbers as standard equipment on the Volvo S60R performance car.

In 2005, the company rebranded its name to Tenneco, to better represent the expanding number of markets it served.