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Geiser Manufacturing Company was an early 
Geiser Manufacturing Company was an early manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...
company in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
Waynesboro is a borough in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, on the southern border of the state. Waynesboro is in the Cumberland Valley between Hagerstown, Maryland, and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. It is part of Chambersburg, PA Micropolitan Sta ...
. Geiser Manufacturing was incorporated in 1869 by Peter and Daniel Geiser. The company built grain separators, threshers, plows, and steam traction engines. The company's brand name was Peerless. The main building was 334 ft long and 3 stories in height, and had a 34 ft cupola. In January 1891 its total monthly payroll amounted to over 10,000 US dollars ($239500 in 2010 dollars) and employed 162 people.
In 1899 the company expanded outside Waynesboro and bought the Crowell industrial park in Greencastle, Pennsylvania
Greencastle is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, Franklin County in south-central Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,996 at the 2010 census. Greencastle lies within the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylv ...
, and began producing its Geiser's first gasoline engine
A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ''E ...
s there. Up to this point, all its products had been steam-powered.
In March 1912, Geiser's Waynesboro plant was hit by a strike involving over a thousand employees after "a new superintendent had new ideas concerning the manner in which the place should be run." Other plants were not affected by the dispute.
In 1912 Geiser Manufacturing was purchased by the Emerson-Brantingham Company of Rockford, Illinois, which had gone so far in August 1912 as to issue over 22 million dollars ($490 million in 2010 dollars) in stock in order to raise the capital to purchase the company along with Reeves & Co
Reeves & Co. was an American farm tractor builder for thirty years, based in Columbus, Indiana. It built some of the largest steam traction engines used in North America.
Hoosier Boy Cultivator Company
Marshal Reeves was the inventor of a two ...
of Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
, Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
and Gas Traction Company of Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
. In 1936 Geiser became bankrupt and was forced to sell everything. On August 21, 1940 while removing equipment, a fire leveled the plant which was thought to have been started by a welders torch. It had been said the glow of the fire could be seen from almost forty miles away. Currently, only the main office building stands, and the main property is now occupied by a funeral home, parking lot, NAPA Auto Parts Store, Bowersox Memorial Stone's and church as well as a post office, .
References
{{Reflist Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Agricultural machinery manufacturers of the United States Defunct manufacturing companies based in Pennsylvania