Parker Hannifin history

In 1919, Parker's truck slid over a cliff, causing the company to lose its entire inventory and forcing the founder to return to his previous job.

In 1924 he tried again, offering new flared-tube fitting components to expand his one-product line.

By 1927, the firm had expanded into airplanes.

Now indispensable to two transport industries, the company achieved $2 million in sales in 1934.

Other businesses were not so lucky: although almost four million cars rolled off assembly lines in 1935, many smaller factories had to close their doors.

By the time President Franklin Roosevelt declared war on Japan and its allies in December 1941, patents held by the Parker Appliance Company were setting standards for such components of military aircraft as hydraulic tube couplings, fuel system valves, and pumps.

After Arthur Parker's death in 1945 and the end of the war, the company neared bankruptcy due to the sudden drop in demand.

1947 GMC Cabover w/truck bed

In 1951, Parker Appliance reached $12.2 million in sales.

In 1953, Arthur Parker's son Patrick S. Parker began working full-time at the company.

Co. in 1957 to form the Parker Hannifin Corp.

Mindful of the need for ultra-modern manufacturing plants, in 1961 the company had made a heavy investment in equipment to increase capacity and improve operating efficiency.

Situated in Amsterdam, it was followed in June 1962 by Parker-Hannifin NMF GmbH in Cologne, West Germany, a subsidiary gained by the purchase of Niehler Maschinenfabriek, a manufacturer of hydraulic components.

With a team of 4,400 employees, Parker Hannifin became a publically traded company on December 9, 1964, listing shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

The wisdom of this practice was reflected in 1967 sales, which totaled more than $152 million.

In 1968, outgoing President Robert Cornell was succeeded by the founder's son, Patrick Parker.

The company designed parts for the craft used in NASA's first manned moon landing in 1969.

An economic downturn in 1970 forced the company to expand beyond its focus on hydraulic systems.

A recession in 1971, causing profits to tumble, prompted a new strategic plan called cycle forecasting.

Following shortly afterwards were the Roberk Company, which made windshield wipers and rear view mirrors, and in 1978, EIS Automotive Corporation, manufacturers of hydraulic replacement parts for drum- and disc-brake systems.

Many more acquisitions followed, with the company reaching 40 acquisitions by the year 1979.

Proof of the strategy's success came with the year-end sales figures for 1980, which passed $1 billion for the first time.

In 1982, Paul G. Schloemer replaced Patrick Parker as the company's president (although Patrick Parker remained chairman and CEO). That same year, the firm entered the Mexican market.

In 1984, Paul Schloemer succeeded Patrick Parker as CEO and president.

In 1988, the company reached $2 billion in sales.

In November 1989 Parker-Hannifin sold its three automotive aftermarket components divisions to an investor group headed by the president of the Parker automotive group.

Parker began to reorganize its operations in the early 1990's to focus on its core motion and control markets' aerospace and industrial.

By 1993, Parker's 26,000 employees operated 143 manufacturing plants and 87 administrative and sales offices, company stores, and warehouses around the world.

Parker achieved all-time sales and earnings records in fiscal year 1995 with $3.21 billion in sales and net income of $218.2 million or $2.96 per share.

The 1996 purchase of Swedish-based VOAC Hydraulics fortified the company's product line with hydraulic systems for mobile heavy equipment.

In 1997, Parker moved into a newly-constructed global headquarters at 6035 Parkland Blvd. in MAYFIELD HEIGHTS and launched its first company website, www.parker.com.

In 1999, the company's sales reached approximately $5 billion.

Parker Hannifin acquired Commercial Intertech Corporation, a maker of hydraulic systems, in 2000.

In 2001, CEO Don Washkewicz introduced lean startup methods to company operations and has said that over the decade this reduced the time to obtain price quotes by 60% and cut product development lead times by 25%.

The company won $2 billion in contracts to build fuel and hydraulic systems for Airbus A350 airliners in 2008 Two years later, its products were used in repairing the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

In 2011 he hired Ryan Farris out of Vanderbilt University and licensed patents covering a powered exoskeleton that Farris had worked on at Vanderbilt.

Here are 10 little-known facts about GMC: The GMC name turns 100 years old in 2012.

With annual sales surpassing $13 billion in fiscal year 2013, approximately 58,000 employees supported operations in 49 countries around the world.

In 2015 the company opened an internal business incubator that Maxwell had proposed when he was first hired.

In 2016, the completed its largest acquisition to date, buying Clarcor, a filtration systems manufacturer, for $4.3 billion.