Servel was an American manufacturer of heating and cooling appliances, founded in 1922. Founded by Colonel William McCurdy to produce

refrigerator A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...

s and named National Electric Products Company, the company adapted and shortened the name "Servel" from their slogan, "Serving Electricity." In 1925, the company bought American rights to a Swedish patent for a continuous

absorption refrigerator An absorption refrigerator is a refrigerator that uses a heat source (e.g., solar energy, a fossil-fueled flame, waste heat from factories, or district heating systems) to provide the energy needed to drive the cooling process. The system uses tw ...

and started to focus on the gas refrigeration market. The new model was available to consumers in 1926, and Servel quickly came to dominate the gas refrigerator market, its competition having all but disappeared within a few years. From 1927 until 1956, when it ceased producing them, it was the only American manufacturer of gas refrigerators. In 1939, Servel (then

Electrolux Electrolux AB () is a Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool. Electrolux products sell under a variety ...

-Servel) exhibited its residential gas

air conditioner 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 ...

at the New York World's Fair. The exhibit, called "Magic Caves of Ice", was staged in the "Court of Flame", a building dedicated to promoting the

gas industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The large ...

. As the United States entered

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Servel shifted its manufacturing to support the war effort. In addition to cooking units and munitions, Servel built wings for the

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

. By the end of the war, they'd produced over 6,000 pairs of wings for the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

fighters. Starting in 1949, National Electric started receiving classified

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

contracts for the government, resulting in the production of rockets and guided missiles,

JATO JATO (acronym for jet-assisted take-off) is a type of assisted take-off for helping overloaded aircraft into the air by providing additional thrust in the form of small rockets. The term ''JATO'' is used interchangeably with the (more specific ...

, and sustainer motor bodies for U.S. missiles and rockets, particularly the Nike family of

guided missiles In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...

.National Electric aims high (for the highest quality in the production of rocket motor bodies)
''Missiles and Rockets'', November 29, 1965, v. 17, no. 22, p. 141. In 1991, the company's remaining brands and manufacturing facilities were sold to Robur Group, an Italian manufacturer.

References

{{reflist 1922 establishments in Indiana Electrical engineering companies Manufacturing companies established in 1922 Manufacturing companies based in Indiana Companies based in Evansville, Indiana 1991 disestablishments in Indiana Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1991 Defunct companies based in Indiana