Guardian International Inc history

Andersen history, profile and corporate video Andersen was founded as a lumber company in 1903 by Danish immigrant Hans Andersen in Hudson, Wisconsin.

In 1917, the company added auto insurance to its portfolio by merging with the motor insurer Car and General.

No company had entered the field in the United States since 1920, when Ford started making glass.

When Ford started outfitting its Model A cars with laminated glass windshields in 1928, Hokin established a new company, Laminated Glass Manufacturing Company, to produce laminated glass using a process originating in Czechoslovakia.

Guardian began in 1932 as the Guardian Glass Company, an automotive industry window manufacturer.

In the meantime Bert Root, a former executive at Toledo, Ohio, glassmaker Libbey-Owens-Ford Company, had been brought onboard in 1934 to serve as president.

By 1936, Hubar and Wetsman had bought out all the other partners except Handler.

Under Root’s guidance, Guardian in 1938 set up a modern plant on West Lafayette Boulevard in Detroit, at a former sign factory.

Wetsman died in 1940 following a heart attack, which led his brother Frank to join the firm as treasurer.

In 1955 he had brought his oldest nephew, William M. (Bill) Davidson, onboard as treasurer.

In response, Guardian Glass in 1956 purchased a radiator foundry and machine shop on Campbell Avenue in Detroit from United States Radiator.

1957–68: REVITALIZATION UNDER BILL DAVIDSON

As the reorganization progressed, Davidson attempted to boost sales by setting up a separate distribution company in 1958.

When Guardian emerged from bankruptcy in 1960, Davidson took the unusual step of committing to pay off the company’s creditors in full.

PPG became the first such licensee, in 1962.

During this period, Guardian Glass grew at a steady if unspectacular rate, eventually reaching sales of $19 million by 1967.

First, on November 7, 1968, he consolidated his various business interests within one new company called Guardian Industries Corp.

Construction of the plant began in April 1969.

Also in 1973 the installation of a second float line at the Carleton plant more than doubled the plant’s capacity at a cost of $20 million.

Company revenues reached the $100 million mark in 1974.

Guardian Photo, in the meantime, transformed itself from a regional to a national player by acquiring the photofinishing business of GAF Corporation in 1978 for around $6 million.

Beginning in 1980, Guardian opened several fiberglass insulation plants.

In November 1981 production began at the new plant, which was situated in Bascharage, Luxembourg, and had a capacity of 500 tons of glass per day.

In July 1984, then, Davidson announced his intention to purchase the 57.3 percent of the company he did not already own at $24 per share, well above its level of $15.25 per share before the offer.

In 1985 Guardian opened a new automotive glass fabrication plant in Auburn, Indiana, which specialized in producing original equipment windshields and side windows for General Motors Corporation.

By mid-1987, the debt reduction program had succeeded in returning Guardian’s debt rating to investment grade status.

Nevertheless, many of Guardian's efforts to counteract the industry-wide disasters of 1990 were met with approval, especially its unexpected turnaround from dramatic loss to decent profit in the early 1990s.

Manville won a judgment against Guardian, which after a lengthy battle in the courts was forced to pay Manville $40.6 million in early 1991.

Guardian's 1993 pre-tax profit figures were still more impressive, reaching one of the highest levels in Guardian's history, even discounting the new inclusion of investment gains.

By 1995 revenues from Guardian’s Automotive Group had reached $500 million, or 30 percent of the company total.

Distribution centers were also established in Argentina and South Africa in 1997.

Also in 1998, Guardian Industries took an even greater leap into building products when it acquired a large stake in Builder Marts of America (BMA), a privately held wholesaler of building materials to more than 1,000 lumber and building material retailers across the country.

In 1999 BMA merged with Ace Hardware’s lumber and building materials division to become the nation’s largest wholesale buying and distribution group in the lumber, building materials, and millwork industry.

In 2004 production began at Guardian’s 24th float glass plant, which was located in El Marqués, Mexico.

As the firm celebrated its 75th anniversary and Davidson’s 50th year at the helm in 2007, the growth initiatives continued.