Frederick and Louis Upton

Frederick and Louis Upton

Louis Upton (1886-1954) and Frederick Upton (1890-1986) were co-founders of the Whirlpool Corporation, maker of household appliances. They lived in St. Joseph, Michigan, and established the company's headquarters there.

Frederick and Louis founded the Upton Machine Company in 1911. The firm's first products were wringer washing machines powered by primitive electric motors.

Three keys determined the Upton Machine Company's survival

With many regions of the United States becoming wired for electricity at this time, factories all over the country were springing up to produce kitchen appliances. Three moves helped determine that the Upton Machine Company would be a survivor:

# When Upton Machine's very first batch of power wringer washers turned out to have a defective part, Louis Upton replaced it at no charge - thereby helping to establish the industry tradition of cost-free repair service for machines in the early stages of their working lives.
# Soon after helping to found the company, the young Uptons developed a business friendship and partnership with the CEO of Sears, Roebuck and Company, General Robert E. Wood. In 1916, Sears began sourcing retail appliances from Upton Machine, and in 1925, the Michigan firm persuaded Sears to make it their sole supplier.
#The Uptons implemented an aggressive merger policy that led to the combination of many key manufacturing plants and distribution networks. When, in 1929, the Nineteen Hundred Washer Company of Binghamton, New York bought Upton Machine, the merged firm enjoyed a significant market share of the U.S. East Coast market for washing machines. The Nineteen Hundred firm already possessed the trade name "Whirlpool", which was to become the name of the entire company in 1950.

During the Great Depression

Appliance sales suffered. The Uptons' friendship with Sears enabled Louis and Frederick to regain complete control of the Nineteen Hundred Corporation in 1932. Their supremacy was not challenged again in the Uptons' lifetime.

Whirlpool innovations

*Paid employee vacations (1917)
*Top-loading automatic washing machine (1948).

Upton's family

Louis Upton's family life was challenged by the birth of a son who was profoundly deaf and a daughter with Down's syndrome.

The Frederick S. Upton Foundation was started in 1954. Frederick and his wife Margaret gave millions of dollars to their communities. The couple had 4 children, 16 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. Grandson Fred Upton is member of the United States House of Representatives.

External links

* [http://www.whirlpoolcorp.com/about/history/1911.asp Whirlpool corporate history]


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