Tecumseh Products history

In 1936 Tecumseh Products began to focus on manufacturing the product on which its reputation would be built: the hermetically sealed refrigeration compressor.

1937: The first shares are offered publicly.

In 1938 they brought out the first hermetically sealed refrigeration unit, but this line of business was sidelined for War production in the following years.

In 1945 Herrick's son, Kenneth G. Herrick, returned from the war and went to work for Tecumseh Products as the company resumed its focus on the production of compressors.

In November of 1950 they purchased the Universal Cooler company of Marion, Ohio, branching out into the air conditioning business.

Also involved in finding new uses for its products, the company marketed an air conditioning compressor for automobiles in 1953.

The following year, Tecumseh's sales reached $124 million, and in 1955 Herrick is reported to have paid nearly $5 million to purchase Tresco, the engineering business founded by Smith, Brown, and Touborg.

In 1960 Tecumseh Products of Canada, Ltd. was formed as a sales distribution center for compressors manufactured in the United States.

Hazelwood remained in this position until 1966 when the 76-year-old Herrick gave up the chairmanship and, retaining a position for himself as vice-chairman, named his son Kenneth as president.

In 1981 Tecumseh Products entered into a joint venture with the Italian Fiat Settori Componenti, which resulted in the formation of Tecna-motor S.p.A., a manufacturer and marketer of engines for outdoor power equipment.

Tecumseh Products was further able to form a strong European interest through a 1985 joint venture with L'Unite Hermetique S.A. in Paris, a compressor manufacturer and exporter that Tecumseh Products eventually acquired as a subsidiary.

In 1987 the company introduced a new line of air conditioning compressors for residential use, designed to be both quieter and more energy efficient in compliance with the federal government's National Appliance Energy Conservation Act.

1992: A new class of shares arouses investor interest.

Tecumseh cut 900 jobs in a 2000 restructuring that closed a plant in Somerset, Kentucky.

Tecumseh acquired a supplier of manufacturing software, Manufacturing Data Systems, Inc. (MDSI), in 2002.

2003: The company begins phasing out United States production.