Early life
William Sweatt was the son of Charles Sweatt, a Vermont banker and hardware merchant. Charles sought greater opportunities in the West, hence the family moved to Iowa.Arrival in Minnesota
William R. Sweatt arrived in Minneapolis in 1891. He started the Sweatt Manufacturing Company, building wooden wheelbarrows, grocery boxes, and wooden washing machines at a factory in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. In 1892, at the urging of his father-in-law, W.R. Sweatt invested $5,300 in the Consolidated Temperature Control Company, based in Minneapolis. A year later, the board of directors asked him to take over management of the company.Electric Heat Regulator Company
In 1888,The Minneapolis Heat Regulator Company
In 1912 the company was renamed The Minneapolis Heat Regulator Company. In 1913, W.R. Sweatt named his 22-year-old son, Harold, vice-president of his heat regulator company. In 1920, W.R. announced that his second son, Charles "C.B." Sweatt would be the advertising manager and treasurer of the Minneapolis Heat Regulator Co. At this time, there were 250 employees in the home office and factory with 100 more in sales and distribution throughout the country. By 1926, there were branch offices in 9 cities, complemented by 15 authorized distributors. The control system ranged in cost from $60 to $180, which might include a clock thermostat, a limit control (which provided a safety valve to prevent accidental overheating) and a damper motor. The Company's products were starting to cross international borders: such as the diamond mines of South Africa and the Chinese National Museum. In 1938, a letter from London reported news of royal significance "...the King of England sleeps in comfort at his Balmoral Castle, his Scottish residence." For 35 years, W.R. Sweatt and his company developed and sold his damper-flapper for hand fired coal furnaces. But by the twenties, oil and gas became viable options as technology made their use more practical. In 1927, Minneapolis Heat Regulator and Honeywell merged.Mark Honeywell
Honeywell Heating Specialty Company was established in 1906 at Wabash, Indiana by Mark C. Honeywell, and manufactured water-heating equipment. The firm was reorganized and its name changed to Honeywell Heating Specialties Company in 1916, and it began to produce automatic temperature controls. By 1927, company sales were more than $1.5 million and 450 people worked in the Wabash factory. Mr. Honeywell's competitor was W.R. Sweatt and his Minneapolis Heat Regulator Company.Minneapolis Honeywell Regulator Company
In 1927 the Minneapolis Heat Regulator Company, then a manufacturer of automatic controls for coal-fired furnaces, and Honeywell Heating Specialties Company, a manufacturer of oil burner controls, merged to form the Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company. The two companies had patents which blocked each other from further growth. The headquarters of the new firm was established in Minneapolis, with W.R. Sweatt chairman of the board and Mark C. Honeywell president. Manufacturing was continued in both Minneapolis and Wabash.Continued growth
In 1934 the product range for industrial applications is substantially increased by the acquisition of the Brown Instruments Company which had been established in Philadelphia in 1859. Brown Instruments produced display and writing control units for industrial processes. The Brown Instruments Company also operated internationally.Honeywell
The corporate name was changed in 1964 to Honeywell Inc.Sweatt Legacy
Between W. R. Sweatt and his son Harold, they would provide 75 years of uninterrupted leadership for the company. It was W.R. Sweatt who survived a couple of rough spots and turned an innovative idea - thermostatic heating control - into a thriving business. Harold, who took over in 1934, led Honeywell through a phenomenal period of growth and global expansion that set the stage for Honeywell to become the global technology leader that it is today.Further reading
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