Meritor, Inc. is an American corporation headquartered in Troy, Michigan , which manufactures automobile components for military suppliers, trucks , and trailers . Meritor is a Fortune 500 company.
90-642: In 1997, Rockwell International spun off its automotive business as Meritor. In 2000, ArvinMeritor was formed from the merger of Meritor Automotive, Inc., and Arvin Industries, Inc. On February 1, 2011, the company announced that it would revert its name to Meritor, Inc. in late March. The name change was successfully completed and launched on March 30, 2011. On February 22, 2022, Cummins announced to acquire Meritor for $ 3.7 billion. The acquisition closed on August 3 of that year. Charles "Chip" McClure, former president and COO of Federal Mogul Corp., served as
180-440: A MOSFET chip for use by its engineers. In 1967 Rockwell set up its own manufacturing plant to produce them, starting North American Rockwell MicroElectronics Corp. (called NARMEC). This would later become Rockwell Semiconductor . One of its major successes came in the early 1990s when it introduced the first low-cost 14.4 kbit/s modem chipset , which was used in a huge number of modems. Collins radios were fitted to 80% of
270-499: A 1.5-MW 1200 rpm unit for the Hartford Electric Light Company . Westinghouse also developed steam turbines for maritime propulsion. The basic problem was that large turbines ran most efficiently at around 3000 rpm, while an efficient propeller operated only at about 100 rpm. This required reduction gearing, but designing reduction gearing that could operate at both high rpm and at high power
360-618: A barely competitive DC lighting system just different enough to get around Edison’s patents. In 1885 Westinghouse imported several Gaulard–Gibbs transformers and a Siemens AC generator , to begin experimenting with AC networks in Pittsburgh . Stanley, assisted by engineers Albert Schmid and Oliver B. Shallenberger , dramatically improved the Gaulard–Gibbs transformer design, creating the first practical and manufacturable transformer. In 1886, with Westinghouse's backing, Stanley installed
450-405: A better way to mine and extract copper from "lean" ores that were not particularly rich in the metal. Success is this venture would have helped him compete in the electrical businesses that used much copper. He was unsuccessful in this project: no new copper reduction process was found and the mine was not profitable. He had founded the town of Duquesne to use as his company headquarters; it is now
540-559: A building to electrical exhibits. It was a key event in the history of AC power, as Westinghouse demonstrated the safety, reliability, and efficiency of a fully integrated alternating current system to the American public. Westinghouse's demonstration of their ability to build a complete AC system at the Columbian Exposition was instrumental in the company getting the contract for building a two-phase AC generating system,
630-501: A compressed air system. His first braking system used an air compressor and an air reservoir in the locomotive, with a single compressed air pipe running the length of the train and with flexible connections between cars. That line controlled the brakes, allowing the engineer to apply and release the brakes simultaneously on all cars. A charter for what would eventually become the Westinghouse Air Brake Company
720-472: A deployed system capable of transmitting electricity for many miles near London, Turin, and Rome. They had found that AC electricity could be "stepped up" in voltage by a transformer for transmission and then "stepped down" by another transformer for lower voltage consumer use. This innovation made it possible for large, centralized power plants to generate electricity and supply it over long distances to both cities and places with more dispersed populations. This
810-456: A ghost town. Duquesne grew to over 1,000 residents and the mine reached its peak production in the mid-1910s. Westinghouse also began to work on heat pumps that could provide heating and cooling. When Westinghouse claimed he was after a perpetual motion machine , the British physicist William Thomson ( Lord Kelvin ), one of his many correspondents, told him that such a machine would violate
900-513: A group of Colorado homeowners filed a lawsuit against Rockwell and the Dow Chemical Company , accusing the operators of reducing the value of their properties as a result of plutonium releases from the plant. A $ 375 million settlement was reached in 2016. Rockwell built heavy-duty truck axles and drive-trains in the U.S., along with power windows, seats, and locks. The Rockwell Tripmaster trip recording system for commercial vehicles
990-567: A hydroelectric AC power plant, the Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant near Ophir, Colorado which supplied AC power to the Gold King Mine 3.5 miles away. This was the first successful demonstration of long-distance transmission of industrial-grade alternating current power and utilized two 100 hp Westinghouse alternators, one working as a generator producing 3,000-volt, 133-Hertz, single-phase AC, and
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#17327809209931080-537: A lot of attention, in part because of a spectacular flaming blowout of the Haymaker Well in 1878. After visiting the well and recognizing its commercial potential, he undertook drilling for gas on his estate Solitude (today's Westinghouse Park ) in Pittsburgh. Early in the morning of May 21, 1884, the drilling crew struck a pocket of gas at a depth of 1500 feet, and the resulting blast of dirt and water blew
1170-683: A more extensive list, see Rocketdyne engines . Rockwell International had a major research laboratory complex in Thousand Oaks , Ventura County, California. It was founded and built by North American Aviation in 1962, as the North American Science Center. In 1973 it became the Rockwell International Science Center. The laboratory did independent contract research for the U.S. Government, and also provided research services for
1260-520: A new model leveraging assets of the profitable seven manufacturing divisions of Rockwell Manufacturing Company into a new business model of a dominant government-serving (NASA, Defense Dept. ) aerospace company, named Rockwell International, which included North American Aviation, of products such as the Space Shuttle . By the end of the 1980s, Rockwell International began to sell-off its prior industrial product manufacturing divisions, starting with
1350-438: A prolific American inventor , engineer , and entrepreneurial industrialist based in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . He is best known for his creation of the railway air brake and for being a pioneer in the development and use of alternating current (AC) electrical power distribution . During his career, he received 362 patents for his inventions and established 61 companies, many of which still exist today. His invention of
1440-609: A spreading public perception that the high voltages used in AC distribution were unsafe and deadly. Edison even suggested that a Westinghouse AC generator should be used in the State of New York's new electric chair . Westinghouse also had to deal with another AC rival, the Thomson-Houston Electric Company , which had constructed 22 power stations by the end of 1887 and by 1889 it had acquired another competitor,
1530-665: A talent for machinery and business. He was encouraged by his father and was assigned tasks in the Westinghouse Company workshop. The company produced farm equipment such as the Westinghouse Farm Engine . At the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861, the then 14-year-old attempted to run away from home to enlist, but was stopped by his father. In June 1863 his parents allowed him to enlist, first in
1620-434: A train braking system using compressed air revolutionized the railroad industry around the world. He founded the Westinghouse Air Brake Company in 1869. He and his engineers also developed track-switching and signaling systems, which lead to the founding of the company Union Switch & Signal in 1881. In the early 1880s, he developed inventions for the safe production, transmission, and use of natural gas. This sparked
1710-614: A train, and they married in August of that year. They were married for 47 years, and had one son, George Westinghouse III, who in turn had six children. From 1871, George and Marguerite Westinghouse maintained a large home in Pittsburgh called Solitude, building up from an existing house on land purchased by George in 1871. They were part of a social class of very rich local industrialists and money managers including neighbors and associates Henry Clay Frick , Henry J. Heinz , William Thaw , Andrew Mellon , and Richard Beatty Mellon , and
1800-517: A while. In 1891, Westinghouse's company was in trouble. The near collapse of Barings Bank in London triggered the financial panic of 1890 , causing investors to call in their loans. The sudden cash shortage forced the company to refinance its debts. The new lead lenders demanded that Westinghouse cut back on what looked to them like his excessive spending on the acquisition of other companies, research, and patents. Also in 1891, Westinghouse built
1890-437: Is now known as Meritor, Inc. In 1996, Rockwell International sold Graphic Systems (formerly Miehle-Goss-Dexter), an Illinois-based newspaper and commercial printing press manufacturer, to its internal management team Stonington Partners as part of a new corporation for US$ 600 million. In 2001, what remained of Rockwell International was split into two publicly traded companies, Rockwell Automation and Rockwell Collins , ending
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#17327809209931980-541: The Adams Power Plant , at Niagara Falls, NY, in 1895. The company was subcontracted to build ten 5,000 horsepower (3,700 kW) 25 Hz AC generators at this plant. Westinghouse's Niagara Power Station No. 1, as it was then called, remained in operation in the Niagara transformer house until the plant closed in 1961. At the same time, a contract to build the three-phase AC distribution system
2070-591: The Brush Electric Company . Thomson-Houston was expanding its business while trying to avoid patent conflicts with Westinghouse, arranging deals such as agreements over lighting company territory, paying royalties to use the Stanley transformer patent, and allowing Westinghouse to use its Sawyer–Man incandescent bulb patent. In 1890, the Edison company, in collusion with Thomson-Houston, arranged for
2160-651: The Grand Army of the Republic , a fraternal organization of Union Civil War veterans, held a week-long convention in Pittsburgh. George Westinghouse, being a veteran himself, hosted an evening of dinner and entertainment for more than 5,000 attendees at the newly constructed, but not yet active main buildings of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company in East Pittsburgh. He took on
2250-637: The Rankine Generating Station , also known as The Canadian Niagara Power Generating Station, the Canadians contracted with Westinghouse for eleven 25 Hertz generators of the same Tesla-inspired design, rated for a total generating capacity of 100 MW. That facility opened in 1905 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Despite continuing success in his other businesses, Westinghouse's main interest shifted to electric power. At
2340-595: The United States Army Research Laboratory 's Advanced Displays Federated Laboratory Consortium in the late 1990s. In 2000, the infrared imaging division of the laboratory moved into a new building in Camarillo, California . After Rockwell International's breakup in 2001, the laboratory was spun off as a semi-autonomous company called Rockwell Scientific, half owned by Rockwell Collins and half owned by Rockwell Automation . In 2006,
2430-593: The alternating current system". George Westinghouse was born in 1846 in the village of Central Bridge, New York (see George Westinghouse Jr. Birthplace and Boyhood Home ), the son of Emeline (Vedder) and George Westinghouse Sr., a farmer and machine shop owner. The Westinghouse ancestors came from Westphalia in Germany, moving first to England and eventually emigrating to the US. The family name had been anglicized from Westinghausen. From his youth, Westinghouse displayed
2520-418: The "Westinghouse Electric Corporation". The Westinghouse company installed thirty more AC-lighting systems within a year, and by the end of 1887 it had 68 alternating current power stations compared to 121 DC-based stations Edison had installed over seven years. This competition with Edison led, in the late 1880s, to what became known as the " war of currents ". Thomas Edison and his company joined and promoted
2610-536: The "White City" at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The company went on to install the world's first large-scale, AC power generation plant at Niagara Falls, New York, which opened in August 1895. Ironically, among many other honors, Westinghouse received the 1911 Edison Medal of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers "for meritorious achievement in connection with the development of
2700-968: The "peace dividend" perceived after the fall of the Soviet bloc , led the company to sell its defense and aerospace business, including what was once North American Aviation , the Defense Electronics Division and Rocketdyne , to Boeing in December 1996. In the 1990s, the company spun off its semiconductor products as Conexant Technologies (CNXT), later bought by Synaptics in 2017. Rockwell International also spun off its two automotive divisions (light vehicles division and heavy vehicles division) as one publicly traded company, Meritor Automotive, based in Troy, Michigan , which then merged with Arvin Industries to form Arvin Meritor . That company
2790-1048: The 12th Regiment of the New York National Guard and then in the 16th Regiment of the New York Cavalry. He earned a promotion to the rank of corporal before being honorably discharged in November 1863. A month later he joined the Union Navy. He served as an Acting Third Assistant Engineer on the gunboat USS Muscoota and then on the ship USS Stars and Stripes through the end of the war. These ships were used to blockade Southern port cities. After his discharge in August 1865, Westinghouse returned to his family and enrolled at Union College in Schenectady, but he quickly lost interest and dropped out during his first term. He further developed his skills in his father's company shop. Westinghouse
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2880-478: The British engineer Charles Algernon Parsons began experimenting with steam turbines , starting with a 10-horsepower (7.5 kW) turbine. In 1895, Westinghouse bought rights to the Parsons turbine, and his engineers improved its technology and increased its scale. In 1898, Westinghouse demonstrated a 300-kilowatt generating unit, replacing reciprocating engines in his air-brake factory. The next year, he installed
2970-562: The CEO of Meritor from 2004 to 2013. Under his management, Meritor completed the divestiture of the passenger vehicle business segment in January 2011. This officially categorized this global manufacturer/supplier outside of the automotive industry. With its focus on commercial vehicle system component production, Meritor announced continuous sales loss with total revenue at $ 63 million in 2011 and $ 52 million in 2012. In August 2013, Ivor J.”Ike” Evans
3060-603: The Edison patent design. By the beginning of 1893, Westinghouse engineer Benjamin Lamme had made great progress in developing an efficient version of Tesla's induction motor. In that work he was aided by his sister and fellow Westinghouse engineer Bertha Lamme Feicht . Westinghouse Electric started branding their complete polyphase AC system as the "Tesla Polyphase System", announcing Tesla's patents gave them patent priority over other AC systems and stating their intention to sue any patent infringers. This World's Fair devoted
3150-934: The Gas Products Division of meters and regulators in Dubois, Pennsylvania , the Municipal Water Meter Division in Uniontown, Pennsylvania , the Power Tool Division in Syracuse, New York , Jackson, Tennessee , Tupelo, Mississippi, and Columbia, South Carolina , the Transportation Division in Atchison, Kansas with a large steel foundry of products for the automotive, railway and rapid-transit industry,
3240-768: The Standard Steel Spring Company, forming the Rockwell Spring and Axle Company. After various mergers with automotive suppliers, it comprised about 10 to 20 factories in the Upper Midwestern U.S. and southern Ontario , and in 1958 renamed itself Rockwell-Standard Corporation. Pittsburgh -based Rockwell-Standard Corp. then acquired and merged with Los Angeles -based North American Aviation to form North American Rockwell in September 1967. It then purchased Miehle-Goss-Dexter,
3330-714: The Sterling Faucet Division in Reedsville, West Virginia , and the Engine Division in Pinneberg, Germany (previously ILO-Motorenwerke , founded 1911 and acquired by Rockwell in 1959), manufacturing 2-cycle gas-driven motors for developing nation products including motor tillers , water pumps, sprayers, cement mixers, tampers and mopeds as well as snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle engines for North America. A significantly different direction
3420-701: The Timken-Detroit Axle Company (current Meritor Inc. ) in 1928, rising to become chairman of its board in 1940. Rockwell also drew on the strengths of several of George Westinghouse 's concerns, and Westinghouse is considered a co-founder of the company. In 1945, Rockwell Manufacturing Company acquired Delta Machinery and renamed it the Delta Power Tool Division of Rockwell Manufacturing Company and continued to manufacture in Milwaukee. In 1966, Rockwell invented
3510-1146: The United States. The Meritor business in South America, which was established in Brazil, employed more than 1700 employees as of 2013. There are four manufacturing facilities, one distribution center, two engineering centers, three administrative offices, and one sales office. Also as of 2013, Meritor has administrative offices distributed in France, Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, and United Kingdom, and production facilities in Italy, Sweden, Belgium, United Kingdom, as well as France, and one sales location in Spain. Meritor builds products in Australia and Singapore, as has development joint ventures, distribution centers, and sales locations in China and India. In 2013,
3600-523: The Valve Division, leading to the sale of all divisions and the end of the Rockwell names > Rockwell Manufacturing Company, North American Rockwell, and Rockwell International In 1973, North American Rockwell merged with Rockwell Manufacturing, run by Willard Rockwell Jr., to form Rockwell International. In the same year, the company acquired Admiral Radio and TV for US$ 500 million. In 1979,
3690-719: The Westinghouses leased and then in 1901 purchased the Blaine House mansion in Washington D.C. Marguerite Westinghouse was reputed to host frequent and lavish entertainments there. In 1918, his former Pittsburgh home, Solitude, was razed and the land given to the City of Pittsburgh to establish Westinghouse Park . The house in Erskine Park was sold by the family in 1917 and subsequently demolished. Earlier in 1894,
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3780-837: The World War II-era P-51 Mustang fighter and B-25 Mitchell bomber, the Korean War-era F-86 Sabre fighter jet, America's first truly supersonic fighter, the F-100 Super Sabre , and the B-1 Lancer bomber, as well as the Apollo spacecraft , the Space Shuttle orbiter , and most of the Navstar Global Positioning System satellites. Rocketdyne , which had been spun off by North American in 1955,
3870-621: The aftermath of a collision where engineers on two trains, approaching each other on the same track, had seen each other but were unable to stop their trains in time due to the existing brake systems. At that time, brakemen had to run along catwalks on the top of the cars, manually applying the brakes. Coordinating that process was tricky and dangerous. It also meant trains could not exceed ten cars in length, and thousands of brakemen died or were maimed each year. In 1869, at age 23, Westinghouse first publicly demonstrated his revolutionary new railroad braking system in Pittsburgh. It stopped trains using
3960-719: The airliners which were based in first-world countries. Collins designed and built the radios that communicated the Apollo Moon landings and the high-frequency radio network that allows worldwide communication with U.S. military aircraft. Rockwell's Rocketdyne division designed and built the third stage of the Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile , and the Advanced Inertial Reference Sphere inertial navigation system that provided its navigation. It also built inertial navigation systems for
4050-408: The appliance division was sold to Magic Chef . In 1978, Rockwell released AIM-65 , a one board microprocessor development board based on the MOS Technology 6502 . With the death of company founder and first CEO Willard F. Rockwell in 1978, and the stepping down of his son Willard Rockwell Jr. in 1979 as the second CEO, Bob Anderson became CEO and led the company through the 1980s when it became
4140-418: The brothers Andrew Carnegie and Thomas Carnegie . Their guests included Nicola Tesla , Lord Kelvin , and congressman (and future president) William McKinley . By 1893, they had constructed Erskine Park in Lenox, Massachusetts , which they used as a summer home, in part as a respite from the gritty industrial environment of Pittsburgh. It was named for the family of Marguerite's grandparents. In 1898,
4230-479: The company employed nearly 1800 employees in Asia Pacific region and had been present in the region for close to 30 years. Official website Rockwell International Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate . It was involved in aircraft, the space industry, defense and commercial electronics, components in the automotive industry , printing presses, avionics and industrial products. At its peak, Rockwell International
4320-417: The company moved its headquarters four times: from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where it had been for decades to El Segundo, California to Seal Beach, California to Costa Mesa, California to Milwaukee, Wisconsin . At the end of the 1980s, the company sold its valve and meter division, formerly Rockwell Manufacturing, to British Tyre & Rubber . Although Rockwell was the #1 Defense and NASA contractor,
4410-400: The company to president Donald R. Beall. The completion of the Space Shuttle program and the completion of the B-1 bomber program had led to a decline in revenues, and Beall sought to diversify the company away from government contracts. The end of the Cold War and the perceived " peace dividend ", however, prompted accelerated divestitures and sweeping management reforms. From 1988 to 2001
4500-549: The company's business units. It was famous for its research in: advanced materials, particularly ceramics; for its infrared imagers ; for its research in liquid-crystal displays ; and for its high-speed electronics. The laboratory invented Metalorganic vapour-phase epitaxy (MOVPE), also commonly known as Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD). It also achieved fame in selected areas of information science, notably human-computer interaction, augmented reality, multimedia systems, and diagnostics. Rockwell Science Center led
4590-444: The creation of a whole new energy industry. During this same period, Westinghouse recognized the potential of using alternating current (AC) for electric power distribution. In 1886, he founded the Westinghouse Electric Corporation . Westinghouse's electric business directly competed with Thomas Edison 's, who was promoting direct current (DC) electricity. Westinghouse Electric won the contract to showcase its AC system to illuminate
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#17327809209934680-407: The dignity of man and part of his intellectual property. Westinghouse, unlike Edison, did not put his name on all company patents as co-inventor. Westinghouse was not in favor of labor unionization. He did not reject workers who belonged to a union, but he did not like collective bargaining arrangements where his workers might strike for issues not related to conditions at his own factories. There
4770-413: The early 1880s, Westinghouse's interest in railroad switching and natural gas distribution led him to become involve in the then-new field of electrical power distribution. Electric lighting of streets using arc lighting was already a growing business with many companies building systems powered by either locally generated direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC). At the same time, Thomas Edison
4860-449: The first electric chair to be powered with a Westinghouse AC generator. Westinghouse tried to block this move by hiring the best lawyer of the day to (unsuccessfully) defend William Kemmler , the first man scheduled to die in the chair. The War of Currents ended in 1892 when financier J. P. Morgan forced Edison General Electric to switch to AC power and then pushed Edison out of the company he had founded. Edison General Electric company
4950-402: The first multiple-voltage AC power system in Great Barrington, Massachusetts . The demonstration lighting system was driven by a hydroelectric generator that produced 500 volts AC, which was then stepped down to 100 volts to light incandescent bulbs in homes and businesses. That same year, Westinghouse founded the " Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company "; in 1889 he renamed it
5040-413: The fleet of ballistic missile submarines. In addition to the manufacture of nuclear missiles and bombers, Rockwell also produced key components of the bombs they carried, including plutonium triggers at the Rocky Flats Plant in Colorado. Rockwell ran the weapons plant from 1975 to 1990, and was one of the subjects of the investigation of Special Grand Jury 89-2 into mismanagement of the plant. In 1990,
5130-566: The largest U.S. defense contractor and largest NASA contractor. Rockwell acquired the privately held Allen-Bradley Company for US$ 1.6 billion in February 1985 – US$ 1 billion of which was cash – and became a producer of industrial automation hardware and software. During the 1980s, Anderson, his CFO Bob dePalma, and the Rockwell management team built the company to #27 on the Fortune 500 list. It boasted sales of US$ 12 billion, roughly US$ 32 billion in 2019, and assets of over US$ 8 billion, roughly US$ 21 billion in 2019. Its workforce of over 115,000
5220-498: The largest supplier of printing presses , and in 1973, acquired Collins Radio , a major avionics supplier. In 1968, Sterling Faucet Company was bought by Rockwell Manufacturing Co. and it became a subsidiary of the company. Michael W. Hodges (who had also served as Corporate Director Manufacturing and later as CEO and 'Geschäftsführer' (Managing Director) of the German-based Engine Division) joined Rockwell Manufacturing Company in 1968 as Corporate Director Quality Assurance. He
5310-433: The laws of thermodynamics . Westinghouse replied that might be the case, but it made no difference. If he couldn't build a perpetual motion machine, he would still have a heat pump system that he could patent and sell. After the broader introduction of the automobile , Westinghouse invented a compressed air shock absorber for their suspension systems. The shock absorber was the last of the 362 patents he received, and it
5400-400: The lines kept the brakes disengaged. An air reservoir was also placed on each car. With the improved design, any interruption or break in the line automatically caused the train to stop. During the next decade, building on his earliest inventions, Westinghouse expanded his interest to railway signaling and track-switching systems. Previously, signaling relied on oil lamps and track switching
5490-401: The main laboratory and infrared imaging division were sold to Teledyne Corporation. Teledyne made the laboratory complex in Thousand Oaks into its corporate headquarters. A reduced but active research and development operation continues there, under the name Teledyne Scientific & Imaging, LLC. George Westinghouse George Westinghouse Jr. (October 6, 1846 – March 12, 1914) was
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#17327809209935580-425: The next three years, he developed devices and secured more than 30 patents for this technology. He used the Philadelphia Company to develop gas wells and to promote gas usage both for commercial and residential purposes. By 1886, the Philadelphia Company owned 58 wells and 184 miles of distribution piping in the Pittsburgh area, and by 1887, it served over 12,000 private homes and 582 industrial customers throughout
5670-426: The other used as an AC motor. In May 1892, Westinghouse Electric won the bid to power and illuminate the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago with alternating current, substantially underbidding General Electric to get the contract. To meet the contract's demands, he had to quickly develop a new type of incandescent lightbulb based on the Sawyer–Man patent he had obtained, ensuring it did not infringe on
5760-409: The outset, the available generating sources were hydro turbines where falling water was available, and reciprocating steam engines where it was not. Westinghouse felt that existing reciprocating steam engines were clumsy and inefficient, and he wanted to develop rotating engines that would be more elegant. His first patent had been a rotary steam engine, but it proved impractical at the time. In 1884,
5850-429: The project needed was awarded to General Electric. The early to mid-1890s saw General Electric, backed by financier J. P. Morgan , engaged in costly takeover attempts and patent battles with Westinghouse Electric. The competition was so costly that in 1896 a patent-sharing agreement was signed between the two companies. The agreement stayed in effect until 1911. Following the success of the first Niagara Falls plant,
5940-427: The rights to inventor Nikola Tesla 's brushless AC induction motor along with patents for a new type of electric power distribution, polyphase alternating current. The acquisition of a feasible AC motor gave Westinghouse a key patented element for his system, but the financial strain of buying up patents and hiring the engineers needed to build it meant that the development of Tesla's motor had to be put on hold for
6030-457: The run of what had once been a massive and diverse conglomerate. The split was structured so that Rockwell Automation was the legal successor of the old Rockwell International, while Rockwell Collins was the spin-off. In the end, the result had been four spin-offs and three sales combined from Rockwell's nine divisions. The various Rockwell companies list a large number of technological firsts and historic developments in their histories, including
6120-490: The state. In 1889, as his involvement with the generation and distribution of electricity was surging, Westinghouse resigned as president of the Philadelphia Company, but he remained on its board. Growth in the natural gas business slowed in the 1890s, hindered by supply problems and ongoing safety concerns related to gas distribution in homes and businesses. However, the Philadelphia Company continued to grow, spawning enterprises such as Equitable Gas and Duquesne Light . In
6210-439: The time, especially in contrast to the conditions endured by workers in the nearby steel mills. Westinghouse was broadly admired by his workers. Privately, they referred to him as "the Old Man". An indication of his progressive attitude was that when Westinghouse engineers invented things, they were allowed to keep their names on the patents, though assigning rights to use them to the company. Westinghouse viewed this as part of
6300-461: The top off the derrick. It took Westinghouse a week to devise a method to cap the flow of gas. He was encouraged to develop a system to deliver gas to heat and light area homes and businesses. Eventually, several natural gas derricks towered above his estate's Victorian-era gardens. In modern times there is no above-ground trace left of these derricks. That year, Westinghouse acquired a dormant utility charter for "The Philadelphia Company", and over
6390-555: The world's first power miter saw. In 1981, Rockwell's power tool group was acquired by Pentair and re-branded Delta Machinery . Pentair's Tools group was acquired by Black & Decker in 2005. Since 2011, Delta has been a subsidiary of Chang Type Industrial Co., Ltd. of China. In 1956, Rockwell Manufacturing Co. bought Walker-Turner from Kearney and Trecker . In 1957, Walker-Turner operations were closed down in Plainfield, New Jersey and moved to Bellefontaine, Ohio and Tupelo, Mississippi . Timken-Detroit merged in 1953 with
6480-472: Was No. 27 on the Fortune 500 list, with assets of over $ 8 billion, sales of $ 27 billion and 115,000 employees. Rockwell International's predecessor was Rockwell Manufacturing Company , founded in 1919 by Willard Rockwell . In 1968, Rockwell Manufacturing Company included seven operating divisions manufacturing industrial valves, German 2-cycle motors, power tools, gas and water meters. In 1973, it
6570-409: Was a huge advantage over the low voltage DC systems being marketed by Edison ’s electric utility, which limited generating stations to a transmission range of about a mile due to losses cause by the low voltages and high currents used. Westinghouse recognized AC's potential to achieve greater economies of scale as a way to create a truly competitive electrical system, instead of simply piecing together
6660-692: Was also the headquarters of several companies, particularly Westinghouse Air Brake . Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing was located a mile further down the Turtle Creek valley east of Pittsburgh. The worker houses were outfitted with running water, electricity, gas, and often space for small gardens. Homeownership was facilitated through periodic salary deductions. There was a pension and an insurance system. Factories were well-lit, ventilated, and were outfitted with medical facilities and personnel for treating injuries. All these accommodations, at Westinghouse's expense, were considered highly innovative at
6750-699: Was appointed member of the Board of Directors of Rockwell GmbH Germany and Dikkers Valve Products LLC Netherlands. Prior to Rockwell, Michael Hodges was a physicist with NASA and aerospace management with Martin-Marietta Corp. in Orlando, Florida . During Hodges' seven years with Rockwell there were approximately 90,000 employees in seven divisions: the Valve Division with products for the gas and oil industry with plants located in Barberton, Ohio , Raleigh, North Carolina , Sulphur Springs, Texas , and Kearney, Nebraska ,
6840-497: Was awarded posthumously, four years after his death. Westinghouse was the first industrial employer in the United States to give workers a five-and-a half day work week, starting in June 1881. Saturdays were made half holidays to promote community involvement and personal development. Westinghouse had observed the practice while visiting England. The planned community of Wilmerding , PA was home to many Westinghouse employees, and it
6930-435: Was combined with the aerospace products and renamed Rockwell International. It was split into various companies beginning in the 1980s, including its final split in 2001 into Rockwell Automation and Rockwell Collins . Boston-born Willard Rockwell (1888–1978) made his fortune with the invention and successful launch of a new bearing system for truck axles in 1919. He merged his Oshkosh, Wisconsin -based operation with
7020-539: Was difficult since any slight misalignment would shake the powertrain to pieces. Westinghouse and his engineers invented an automatic self-alignment system that finally made turbine power practical for large vessels. In 1889, Westinghouse purchased several mining claims in the Patagonia Mountains of southeastern Arizona and formed the Duquesne Mining & Reduction Company. He hoped to invent
7110-457: Was filed in July of that year. Although the system was successful, as demonstrated when it prevented a serious mishap in front of assembled witnesses, it was hardly fail-safe. Any rupture or disconnection in the air line left the train without brakes. Over the next two years, Westinghouse and his engineers addressed the problem by inverting the process, designing valves so that constant pressure in
7200-566: Was just 19 when he received his first patent for a rotary steam engine . At age 21, he invented a car replacer, a device used to guide derailed railroad cars back onto the tracks, and a reversible "frog" , a rail junction piece used to switch trains between different tracks. In 1868, Westinghouse moved with his wife to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to access better and less expensive steel for the manufacture of his railroad frogs, and there he began to develop his recently invented railroad air brake concept. During his travels, Westinghouse had witnessed
7290-522: Was launching the first DC electric utility designed to light homes and businesses with his patented incandescent bulb . In 1884, Westinghouse began developing his own DC domestic lighting system and hired physicist William Stanley to help work on it. In 1885, Westinghouse became aware of the concept of an electrical transformer introduced by Frenchman Lucien Gaulard and Englishman John Gibbs. Guido Pantaleoni, an Italian engineer in his employ, alerted Westinghouse to their aready-patented transformer and
7380-568: Was merged with the Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric , a conglomerate controlled by the board of Thomson-Houston. During this period, Westinghouse continued to pour money and engineering resources into the goal of building a completely integrated AC system — obtaining the Sawyer–Man lamp by buying Consolidated Electric Light, and developing components such as an induction meter , and obtaining
7470-787: Was named CEO in August 2022. The business of Meritor consists of axles, brake and safety systems, drivelines, suspensions, trailers, and aftermarket products for defense industries and commercial vehicles including truck, trailer, bus/coach, and off-highway. Meritor engineers a diverse range of products for OEMs, including Daimler, Navistar , and Volvo. Employing more than 4700 employees, the business facilities in North America contain various distribution locations in Canada, multiple production plants in Mexico, and facilities of administration, production, distribution, sales, and technical centers in
7560-431: Was named as the interim CEO of Meritor. He had been a member of Board of Directors of Meritor Inc. since 2005 and had previously served as the president and chief operating officer of Union Pacific Railroad from 1998 to 2004, and as the vice chairman of Union Pacific Cooperation from January 2004 to 2005. In July 2015, Jeffrey "Jay" Craig was named CEO of Meritor; he was succeeded by Chris Villavarayan in 2020. Jennifer Rumsey
7650-581: Was only one strike at any Westinghouse company while he was in charge. It was a 1903 action at Westinghouse Machine Company, which was rushing to illuminate the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair . Westinghouse responded by immediately hiring replacements for those employees who walked out. Despite that action, American labor and union organizer Samuel Gompers is reputed to have said "If all business leaders and moguls treated their employees as well as George Westinghouse, there’d be no need for any labor unions". In 1867, Westinghouse met Marguerite Erskine Walker on
7740-546: Was organized into nine major divisions – Space, Aircraft, Defense Electronics, Commercial Electronics, Light Duty Automotive Components, Heavy Duty Automotive Components, Printing Presses, Valves and Meters, and Industrial Automation. Rockwell International was a major employer in southern California , northern Ohio, northern Georgia, eastern Oklahoma, Michigan, western Texas, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and western Pennsylvania. Anderson stepped down as CEO in February 1988, leaving
7830-486: Was performed manually. Westinghouse's designs changed all that. In 1882, Westinghouse founded the Union Switch and Signal Company to manufacture, market, install, and maintain these innovative control systems, which were eventually adopted by railroads around the world. By 1883, Westinghouse had become interested in natural gas. Gas had recently been discovered in nearby Murrysville , Pennsylvania, and it attracted
7920-403: Was planned starting in 1973 away from the business model developed since 1945 by the founder Willard Rockwell (1888–1978). The founder's son, Willard Rockwell Jr., appeared taking the company in a new direction, replacing the founder's model of strong medium-size manufacturing companies with diverse industrial products with strong industrial engineering and quality control in multiple locations – to
8010-532: Was re-merged into Rockwell, and by that time produced most of the rocket engines used in the United States. Rockwell also purchased the Aero Design and Engineering Company from William and Rufus Travis Amis . Rockwell redesigned the company's Aero Commander aircraft , introducing its new design as the Rockwell Commander 112 and Commander 114. The company developed a desktop calculator based on
8100-683: Was released along with the Logtrak module for DOT log recording for fleets who successfully petitioned the DOT for paper logbook exemptions. Rockwell also built yachts and business jets and owned large amounts of real estate. It was also involved in providing custom electronic intelligence equipment to the Imperial Iranian Air Force as part of Project Ibex and paid bribes to the Shah of Iran in order to secure contracts there. For
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