Enterprise Engine History

The history of Enterprise Engine and Machinery Company [http://c-a-m.com/content/products/product_detail.cfm?pid=3038] dates back to the late 1800’s when a German immigrant, Henry Martens, made San Francisco, California his new home in July 1881. The name “Enterprise” was chosen by Henry due to his belief that the United States was truly the “land of enterprise.”

Beginnings

In the beginning, around 1886, Martens and his two business partners, H.W. Heany and A. Anderson primarily supplied castings for gold mining machinery and other industrial equipment which included compression cylinder castings for large engines. Following the aftermath of the notorious 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, the Enterprise Engine and Machinery Company played a key role in the rebuilding of the city. Although this was an unfortunate natural disaster, it helped Martens and his partners gain additional momentum for expanding their business.

Crucible steel

In 1915, the company acquired a crucible steel foundry and shortly after this purchase, Martens and his partners branched out with the establishment of a brass and bronze foundry in Los Angeles. In 1917, the company constructed an electric furnace for its steel foundry. In addition to being the only foundry of this type on the west coast, this also marked the company’s termination of the crucible-steel process. In the same year, a new engine department was created and a team of engineers were hired with the objective of designing and manufacturing various types of heavy duty gas and distillate fuel engines.

Engines

The first engines produced by the engineering team consisted of single cylinder, eight horsepower engines followed by twin cylinder engines that were rated at 20 horsepower. In short time, the team developed additional engine models which were capable of producing up to 250 horsepower.

Stemming from the success of their gas and distillate fuel engines, the engineers set out to create a line of diesel engines. At this time, the hourly cost to operate a diesel engine was approximately 20 cents which was extremely inexpensive compared to the $2.75 hourly cost of operating a gasoline engine. Considering this cost effectiveness, the Enterprise Diesel line quickly gained popularly in a number of industries which had previously utilized gas powered engines. The diesel engines manufactured by the Enterprise Engine and Machinery Company ranged up to 200 horsepower.

Merger with Western Machinery Company

In 1924 the Enterprise Engine and Machinery Company merged with the Western Machinery Company of Los Angeles. This merger positioned the new organization as the premier manufacturer of internal combustion engines on the west coast. In effort to diversify the company’s products offerings the company also began selling oil burners and food processing equipment.

World War II

During World War II, Enterprise built hundreds of diesel engines for the United States Navy which were used for tugs, harbor crafts, small vessels and for auxiliary electric generators on larger ships. In addition to these applications, many Enterprise engines were utilized to power electric generators in cities and towns across America.

Merger with Adel Precision Products Company

After many decades of success, Enterprise Engine & Foundry Company merged with Adel Precision Products Company of Burbank which was part of General Metals Corporation. As a result of this merger, the available engineering and production skills along with testing and research development drastically increased. As a result, Enterprise now had the necessary resources which allowed them to manufacture diesel engines ranging from 73 horsepower to 7,700 horsepower which were now being utilized in almost every conceivable type of job, from powering boats to pumping oil to generating electricity. From its modest beginning in 1886, Enterprise had now become a huge division of a major American corporation by the mid 1950’s.

Developments since 1960

During the period of 1960 -1980, Enterprise Engine & Foundry Company changed ownership numerous times. Unfortunately these transitional decades were accompanied by a major downturn in America for the demand of large power engines. In addition to a weak domestic market, the export market for Enterprise engines was also experiencing tough times due to a strong dollar value and rising interest rates. In the late 1960’s, Enterprise Engine & Foundry Company was purchased by Delaval Turbine and then in the 1970’s Delaval Turbine was acquired by TransAmerica Corporation. However in 1987, Transamerica elected to spin off the Delaval operations to its shareholders in the form of a dividend and the name was changed to IMO Delaval. In 1988, IMO Delaval sold the Enterprise aftermarket services to Cooper Industries, currently named Cameron’s Compression Systems division. To date, [http://www.c-a-m.com/cs Cameron Compression Systems] is the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) for Enterprise and continues to provide parts, service and technical support for Enterprise engines.

External links

* [http://www.oldtacomamarine.com/enterprise/index.html Information about Enterprise Diesel Engines on Old Tacoma Marine Inc]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=105103426574378662388.0004447f6a06f8749552f&ll=41.574361,-99.492187&spn=29.168477,59.765625&t=h&z=4 Map of known remaining Enterprise diesel engines]