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Whirlpool Appliances

 

Before they founded the Upton Machine Company on November 11, 1911, Louis Upton (Lou) worked as an insurance salesman and his uncle, Emory Upton, owned a machine shop. Following a failed business venture, Lou acquired a patent to a manual clothes washer and he approached Emory to see if he could add an electric motor to the design. With the aid of a $5,000 investment from retailing executive Lowell Bassford, they began to produce electric motor-driven wringer washers. Soon after its founding, Lou's younger brother Fred joined the company. Their first customer, the Federal Electric division of Commonwealth Edison, ordered 100 machines, but a fault in the gear transmission led the customer to threaten their return. After the machines were recalled and repaired, Federal Electric doubled the order. They remained a customer for three years, when they began to produce their own washers. The loss of Federal Electric forced Upton to diversify temporarily until, in 1916, they landed Sears, Roebuck & Co. as a customer. Sears began selling two types of Upton wringer washers under the "Allen" brand, one for $54.75 and a deluxe model for $95. Sales grew quickly and in 1921, Sears appointed Upton as their sole supplier of washers. To avoid becoming over-reliant on Sears, Upton began marketing a washer under their own brand name.

The increasing volume of sales led Upton to merge with the Nineteen Hundred Washer Company of Binghamton, New York in 1929, adopting the name Nineteen Hundred Corporation. The company was relatively unaffected by the Great Depression; during World War II, its factories were converted to armament production. In 1947, it introduced an automatic, spinner-type washer sold by Sears under the "Kenmore" brand, and a year later, sold by the company under the "Whirlpool" brand name. Lou retired as president in 1949, and was replaced by Elisha "Bud" Gray II.

In response to the post-war consumer demand for convenience products, the company launched a range of home laundry products including wringer and automatic washers, dryers, and irons. In 1950, The Nineteen Hundred Corporation was renamed as the Whirlpool Corporation. In 1951, the philanthropic Whirlpool Foundation was established

. Again, if you own any of the appliances that need repair, your best bet is to call SD Appliance Service.