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History of NORDYNE
NORDYNE’s history began in 1919 as
International Oil Heating Company. At that
time they manufactured oil burners for
residential heating products. These oil
burners were known for
flexibility because
they could be used on any residential
furnace or boiler.
Early on, International Oil Heating Company
was aware of the environmental impact coal
had.
As a St. Louis-based manufacturer,
company leaders understood that the city was
a prime target to market a product that
could reduce or replace coal fuel. Since
1822, St. Louis had been known as the
dirtiest place in the Mississippi Valley
because of its excessive use of coal-burning
fuel. It was so dense, that a writer for the
Missouri Republican reported that it was
necessary
to use candles during midday. The
problem continued in the 1920s, and growers
were not allowed
to sell evergreens to St.
Louis City because of the horrible
pollution.
International Oil Heating Company knew that
their oil burners provided a cleaner
solution to the dirty coal problem – not
just for the St. Louis area, but nationwide.
The company reported thousands of flattering
testimonials from customers expressing their
satisfaction of using oil burners over coal
and wood.
A chance happening directed the company into
the mobile home industry. At the time, they
were called trailer homes, and the market
was fairly young. In 1933, a gentleman asked
for an oil heater for his trailer. The
company obliged, and within weeks they were
besieged with calls from other trailer
owners who wanted similar models.
In 1935, the company developed the first
heater for use in trailers. Then in 1954,
the company introduced the first central air
conditioner for mobile home use. The
following year, the company introduced the
first sealed combustion furnace for mobile
homes. The company continued their pattern
for innovation during the 1960s. They even
built the first wind tunnel machine to
produce conditions up to 100 MPH to test and
analyze their pilot and main burners. With
continued success through the 1960s, the
company went public under the name
Intertherm in 1969, at
a net worth of over
$35 million.
In the 1970s, the company continued to
support the mobile-home market with new
innovative products. But they also started
focusing on innovations that would apply to
the residential market. After all, if they
could successfully make a manufactured home
comfortable with all of its heating and
cooling challenges, they certainly could
design products that would rival other
manufacturers for the site-built home. The
first example of this adaptation of
mobile-home technology was in 1971, when
they introduced the first sealed combustion
residential oil and gas furnace.
The 1980s were a decade of change that would
help the company become the manufacturer
they are today. In 1986, the company Nortek
purchased Intertherm, along with a rival
company, Miller, owned at that time by Lear
Siegler. They were merged, and a year later
they officially changed the company name to
NORDYNE. This new formation provided the
capital opportunity for expansion and for
NORDYNE to continue to grow its legacy as
innovator of HVAC product applications into
a broader market.
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©2008
NORDYNE. All Rights Reserved.
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