Murray was an American company whose assets are now owned by

Briggs & Stratton Briggs & Stratton Corporation is an American manufacturer of gasoline engines with headquarters in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Engine production averages 10 million units per year as of April 2015. The company reports that it has 13 large facilit ...

and

Pon Holdings Pon Holdings BV is a Dutch conglomerate in the transport sector. It was founded in 1980 by Ben Pon, Jr., a former racing car driver and son of Ben Pon, Sr., who became the importer of Volkswagen in the Netherlands in 1947. Activities Tra ...

. The corporate brand is a descendant of the Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company, which manufactured bicycles and lawn and garden equipment. The company went bankrupt in 2005 selling most of its assets to Briggs & Stratton and Pacific Cycle.

History

Bicycle manufacturing

Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company was founded in 1919 to make fenders, fuel tanks, and other automobile parts.http://www.tennessean.com/business/archives/03/07/36646191.shtml?Element_ID=36646191 The company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Cleveland factory was unionized by the

United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico ...

(UAW) and

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...

. In the mid-1930s, the company began production of bicycles, mostly for the youth market. Other products included

pedal car A quadracycle is a four-wheeled human-powered land vehicle. It is also referred to as a quadricycle, quadcycle, pedal car or four-wheeled bicycle amongst other terms. Quadracycles have been in use since 1853 and have grown into several fami ...

s and electric fans. Until 1939, Murray manufactured all of its products for branding and sale by other manufacturers, especially

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began ...

, Roebuck & Co. From 1939 through 1942, Murray made the body parts for the Crosley automobile. In 1939, Murray introduced its Pacemaker Series ''Mercury'' bicycle at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Pur ...

. Styled by the industrial artist and designer, Viktor Schreckengost, the streamlined machine, with an elaborate diecast metal headpiece, was finished in black, chrome, and polished aluminum, the deluxe version of the Mercury Pacemaker line. However, the ''Mercury'' was an expensive bicycle, and sales were few. It was produced only in limited numbers until 1942, when

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

stopped consumer bicycle production. After the war, Murray became known as a manufacturer of low-cost bicycles, and placed its own brand on some products. Since the 1930s, Murray had been producing bicycles that, while stylistically different, imitated designs by other U.S. manufacturers, including

Schwinn The Schwinn Bicycle Company is an American company that develops, manufactures and markets bicycles under the eponymous brand name. The company was originally founded by Ignaz Schwinn (1860–1948) in Chicago in 1895. It became the dominant manuf ...

and AMF. This occasionally brought Murray into legal conflict with competitors, as when Schwinn filed against Murray for duplicating a Schwinn knurling and machining process on its rims. Most Murray bicycles were for the youth market, often featuring one-piece steel

Ashtabula Ashtabula ( ) is a city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States, and the center of the Ashtabula micropolitan area. It is located at the mouth of the Ashtabula River on Lake Erie, northeast of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city had ...

cranksets and internally brazed frames using inexpensive seamed or straight-gauge steel tubing. These low-cost parts and materials undercut the prices of Murray's competition, selling millions of bicycles (often with retailer names) to department stores, hardware stores, and general retailers. Schrekengost styled more than 100 mostly youth bicycles for Sears, Western Auto, Firestone Tire, and other retailers, including the ''Spaceliner'', ''Western Flyer'', and ''Firestone''. By modifying chain guards, luggage carriers, lighting, handlebars, and truss rods, Schrekengost gave each bicycle a distinctive look while retaining the same welded tube frame design. Like its competitor, American Machine and Foundry (AMF), Murray left Cleveland in the 1950s and moved its factory and assembly plant to the American South, choosing a factory site in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, with corporate headquarters located in Brentwood, Tennessee. Originally a non-union plant, the Lawrenceburg facility began operations in 1956, and over the next few decades, the complex grew to become one of the largest facilities of its type in the United States: under roof. There was a failed effort by the Teamsters to win a NLRB election in March 1965. The Teamsters charged unfair labor practices and proceeded to lead a 46-day strike that halted production. On April 12 50 workers were arrested as the company resumed production. Police locked arms as they protected 1350 workers who drove into the facility. Two picketers were hospitalized, one struck by the car of a non-union worker, one injured by the police. A court declared their pickets illegal, and Tennessee state troopers were brought to the factory to stop picketing by striking workers on April 19. The company was unable to resume production that day because an electrical transformer was sabotaged by a sniper. The next day the state troopers were initially rebuffed by striking workers, before moving against them again and then clearing a path for the replacement workers. Nine picketers were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Two hundred marched from the factory to the jail singing "we shall not be moved" after the arrests. The next day approximately 60 workers were arrested by state troopers. There were still scores of state troopers guarding the facility on May 12 when two explosions went off near the facility that reporters linked to the conflict. Some of those arrested were transported to jail in a state highway department dump truck. It later became a UAW plant (1991), and produced both bicycles and lawn and garden equipment. One of its more famous former employees is former Senator Fred D. Thompson. Youth bicycle production received a boost with the 1965 introduction of Murray's version of the small-tired, banana-seat, wheelie bike pioneered by Schwinn, the Murray ''Wildcat''. The ''Wildcat'' was also styled by Schreckengost, who gave it his own interpretation of a chopper motorcycle, with high-rise handlebars, a tall sissy bar, and a flared rear fender. A series of models followed, including the ''Eliminator'', ''Firecat'' and ''Hotshot''. In 1977, again following a youth trend, Murray introduced its

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

model. During the 1980s, in an attempt to overcome declining sales, Murray began selling its bicycle line in lower-cost mass market stores and discount chains such as

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

, K-Mart, Woolworth, and

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarte ...

. While the practice enabled the company to increase sales of overall units, profits failed to meet expectations as a result of reduced margins imposed by mass retailers. Additionally, many independent bicycle dealers (IBDs) resented the new competition, and in retaliation some dealers refused to stock or promote Murray bicycles. In June 1988, the Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company was acquired by the British investment group Tomkins plc. In 1996, Murray Inc., the last major U.S. bicycle producers with Huffy Bicycle and Roadmaster (formerly AMF), received a major blow when U.S. courts ruled that imports from China were not a "material threat" to U.S. companies. Within three years, Huffy, Roadmaster and Murray ceased manufacture of bicycles in the United States. In 1998, Murray moved bicycle production from Lawrenceburg to a non-union factory in Mississippi. Production of all U.S.-made bicycles halted in 1999. In 2000, the Murray brand was acquired by Pacific Cycle, a U.S. distributor of bicycles produced in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

and the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...

. Murray has since been used as a brand for imported Chinese bicycles sold by Pacific Cycle. Pacific Cycle was later acquired by Dorel Industries, and then

Lawn and garden equipment

Murray also manufactured lawn and garden equipment. In June 1988, Murray was acquired by Tomkins plc of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. In 1993, the new company purchased the Noma brand of lawn and garden equipment. It manufactured under a variety of brands, including for other companies. Murray made all "502" and "536" model prefix product that was sold under the Craftsman name at Sears. (AMF and Western Tool made "536" product as well, but they were absorbed by Murray). Murray licensed the Stanley brand and produced lawn and garden mowers and snow blowers sold at

and other retailers. The machines were built at the former bicycle facility in Lawrenceburg. The Murray brand was acquired by

in 2004. On August 30, 2005, Lawrenceburg produced its last lawnmower, closing on September 30, 2005.

Brands owned by Murray

*AMF ( American Machine & Foundry)Brands: Lawn & Garden Tractors by Murray
Retrieved September 3, 2012. *Dynamark **Dynamark Plus *Murray **Murray Classic **Murray Performance (Sold at Mills Fleet Farm and AAFES ( Army & Air Force Exchange Service)) **Murray Pro **Murray Select **Murray Ultra **Murray 2000 *Noma **Noma Cady Plus **Noma Performance **Noma Signature Series *Sentinel (sold in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

) *Stanley (under license) *TurfMaster (sold in Meijer stores) *Ultra *Yard King **Yard King Elite **Yard King Performance

Brands built by Murray

*Agway *AL-KO *Bertsche *Bestgreen *Cast *Dynastar *Eaglestar *Ering *Eumot *Flandria *Granja *Hako *JardiPro *

JC Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Girl ...

*Lawn General *

Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. (), often shortened to Lowe's, is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States and Canada. A ...

*Masport *NESI *PowerPro (for Kmart) *Quality (for Quality Farm & Fleet) **Quality Pro *Ronz *Scott's (sold at Home Depot) *Sentar (fo
Univert
*Statesman (for

Southern States Cooperative Southern States Cooperative is an American farmer-owned agricultural supply cooperative headquartered in the Richmond, Virginia area. Southern States Cooperative supplies small, medium, and large commercial farmers with livestock and animal feed ...

) *Tempo-Trac *Texas *TTI *Turbogreen *Unilux *Uniropa *Victa *Wizard (for Western Auto)

Financial status

*1986: Murray was purchased by Tomkins PLC of

. *2000: purchased by Summersong Investment, a Chinese-backed company. *2004: Filed bankruptcy, whereupon engine manufacturer

acquired the Murray brand name for use on lawn equipment. Briggs & Stratton also owns

Simplicity Outdoor Simplicity Manufacturing Company is an American company based in Port Washington, Wisconsin that builds lawn and garden equipment under various brands. The company was founded by William J. Niederkorn in 1922, and started building walk-behind tw ...

.Murray, Inc

References

External links

* http://murrayeliminatormusclebikes.yuku.com/directory#.Tt1ObXqO2So
Murray web-siteBriggs & Stratton web-site1968 - 1973 Murray Eliminator
{{Briggs & Stratton Cycle manufacturers of the United States Lawn and garden tractors