Sink history

1952: Facing national competition, the company adds a direct sales force.

Just as his company was poised for explosive growth, John Hammes died in 1953, at the age of 57.

According to an article in the August 7, 1955, Racine Sunday Bulletin: "The owner asked if he knew how to run metal working machines, and without a moment's hesitation, Hammes replied yes.

By 1960 the industry was selling approximately 750,000 units annually.

In 1963, In-Sink-Erator experienced its second unexpected leadership loss in ten years when President Quinten A. Hammes died.

A defining moment in In-Sink-Erator history took place in 1968, when Emerson Electric acquired the company.

In 1972 alone, 2.7 million units were sold by the industry, with an estimated 30 million units in place throughout the United States.

In 1974, In-Sink-Erator captured one-third of the market and strengthened its leading position among disposer manufacturers.

As of 1978, the company employed approximately 800 workers and had expanded its manufacturing plant to cover 388,000 square feet.

It also was in 1993 that In-Sink-Erator was preparing to release a computer-controlled home water purification system called Aquabest, marking its first new product introduction in about 15 years.

2001: Annual sales reach an estimated $341 million and the company produces about 75 percent of all food disposers worldwide.

Her award-winning first book, Hearth and Home, Women and the Art of Down Hearth Cooking, was published in 2006.