Background
Feb 2000
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Background Feb 2000 |
A History of Hammond Manufacturing Electronics Group
Hammond Manufacturing Electronics Group
Manufacturers of Racks, Enclosures, Transformers & Power Bars
1917 - Hammond Manufacturing traces it's roots back to a small basement shop set-up during the years of the First World War by Oliver S. Hammond - tool & die maker by day and amateur inventor by night.
The company was re-named O.S. Hammond & Son and soon included sons Len, Roy, Ken and Fred. Later Oliver's first "shop" was a 20 by 30 foot facility behind the family home. The shop was powered by a boiler that burned just about anything. The steam from the boiler powered a small steam engine, which turned the main shaft and pulleys.
1920 - The company began to build early radio sets, just as the first radio stations began to spring to life one by one around the United States. Starting out with a single tube and progressing to 5 and 6 tube models in 1926.
1926 - The company was forced to stop production of radio's due to the famous patent/royalty "radio wars" of the 20's.
1927 - The company was incorporated as Hammond Manufacturing. During this time, the Hammond's started to manufacture radio battery chargers and battery eliminators which resulted in the production of transformers and metal cases for the first time. These, more than 70 years later, still represent the core of Hammond's business.
1930's - The Company continued to grow in spite of the turbulent economic times, building a variety of transformers for electric radio transmitters and audio amplifiers.
1940's - Their years of experience was to put Hammond in the forefront in the manufacture of magnetic components during World War II for communication transmitters and very specialized transformers.
1950's - A time of expansion for Hammond into even more specialized transformers as well as the initial launch of catalog transformers and metal cabinetry.
Events in Korea and the beginning of the Cold War once again thrust upon the Company significant volumes of military transformers, especially as a result of the construction of extensive early warning radar systems across Alaska, Canada and Greenland.
1960's - 1970's - The prosperous decades of the 60's and 70's saw the Company expand into an even broader range of specialized and catalog transformers and cabinetry for the electrical and electronic industries.
In 1978, Rob and Bill Hammond acquired control of the company and thereby ensured passage of the business into the third generation of the Hammond family. The Company was then re-organized into three separate profit centers for transformers, cabinetry and power supplies. A Corporate service group was also established for the sale, marketing and distribution of catalog products.
1986 - Hammond took another step in Corporate evolution by trading its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange (Symbol HMM.A).
1996 - Hammond Manufacturing joins the World Wide Web!!! See their website at http://www.kwarc.on.ca/hammond/ for more information.
2000 - Hammond Manufacturing charges into the next century and millennium!!! Since its modest beginnings in the basement of the family homestead 83 years ago, Hammond has grown into a medium-sized company of over $166 Million in sales with 1,200 employees located in 12 facilities around North America and the UK. We see a future bright with promise and opportunity.
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