The Buffalo Forge Company was formed in 1878 to manufacture blacksmith’s forges. Their product offerings were expanded to include

drilling machine A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a bit, either a drill or driverchuck. Hand-operated types are dramatically decreasing in popularity and cordless battery-powered ones proliferating due to ...

s in 1883, and steam engines and

pumps A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they ...

in 1889.

History

Air Conditioning

In 1902,

Willis Carrier Willis Haviland Carrier (November 26, 1876 – October 7, 1950) was an American engineer, best known for inventing modern air conditioning. Carrier invented the first electrical air conditioning unit in 1902. In 1915, he founded Carrier Cor ...

, an engineer at Buffalo Forge, submitted drawings for what became recognized as the world's first modern

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

system. In 1915, he left the company to form Carrier Engineering Corporation.

Other products

Heating equipment, dust collectors, and a range of metal cutting and forming equipment were also manufactured by the company. In addition to being one of the largest employers in the city of Buffalo (during its heyday), Buffalo Forge operated several other plants in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The Wendt family retained ownership of the company until 1941, when the ownership was broadened by a public stock offering. Buffalo Forge was one of the "big three" that made blacksmith equipment in the United States. Champion and Canedy-Otto companies were the other domestic competition.

Mergers, acquisitions & significant events

References

{{Authority control Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning companies Manufacturing companies based in Buffalo, New York