The White Sewing Machine Company was a

sewing machine A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with Thread (yarn), thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. ...

company founded in 1858 in Templeton, Massachusetts, by

Thomas H. White Thomas H. White (April 26, 1836 – June 22, 1914), was an American industrialist and philanthropist. In 1876 he founded the White Sewing Machine Company in Cleveland, Ohio, predecessor of White Consolidated Industries. He was also an automotive p ...

and based in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

, since 1866.

History

Founded as the White Manufacturing Company it took the White Sewing Machine Company name when it was incorporated in 1876. White Sewing Machines won numerous awards at international expositions, including the 1889 Universelle Exposition in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. White began supplying sewing machines to Sears Roebuck and Co in the 1920s. By the 1930s, all Sears sewing machines were Whites rebadged as Kenmore, Franklin, Minnesota, and other house brands. A White Rotary Electric Series 77 machine was placed in the Crypt of Civilization.A photo of the machine inside Crypt of Civilization can be see
here
A rare White Gem (USA) from about 1887

White Motor Company

In 1900, Thomas White's son,

Rollin Rollin or Rollin' may refer to: Music Albums * ''Rollin (Bay City Rollers album), 1974 * ''Rollin (Freddie Hubbard album), 1982 * ''Rollin (Texas Hippie Coalition album) or the title song, 2010 * ''Rollin (B1A4 EP) or the title song, 2017 * ' ...

, developed a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be ...

, using a corner of one of his father's factories to start building automobiles. In 1906 the automotive venture was spun off as its own company, the

White Motor Company The White Motor Company was an American automobile, truck, bus and agricultural tractor manufacturer from 1900 until 1980. The company also produced bicycles, roller skates, automatic lathes, and sewing machines. Before World War II, the comp ...

. By 1923, the White Sewing Machine Company had divested all side ventures to focus solely on sewing machines and accessories.

Later History

By the early 1950s, however, White was losing money amid a flood of cheaper imported sewing machines and the loss of a supplier contract from

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 a ...

, which had represented 40 percent of White's business. Edward Reddig became company president in 1955, and he led an aggressive campaign of shifting manufacturing overseas, slashing domestic manufacturing and diversification. White moved heavily into appliances, tools and machinery, acquiring appliance brands such as Kelvinator (from

American Motors American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 1954. At the time, it was the ...

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

Philco Philco (an acronym for Philadelphia Battery Company) is an American electronics industry, electronics manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia. Philco was a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production. In 1961, the company was purchased ...

(from

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

/ GTE) and Franklin (private label supplier, from

Studebaker-Worthington Studebaker-Worthington was a diversified American manufacturer created in 1967 through a merger of Studebaker-Packard Corporation, Wagner Electric and Worthington Corporation. The company was in turn acquired by McGraw-Edison in 1979. Origins F ...

). To reflect this, the company renamed itself name White Consolidated Industries (WCI) in 1964. WCI purchased Westinghouse's major appliance business in 1975, which resulted in creation of the White-Westinghouse brand name. In 1979, WCI bought the

Frigidaire Frigidaire Appliance Company is the American consumer and commercial home appliances brand subsidiary of multinational company Electrolux. Frigidaire was founded as the Guardian Frigerator Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and developed the first s ...

appliance line from

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

. WCI was acquired by

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 ...

in 1986. In 2006 Electrolux spun off a number of its lines under the Husqvarna (including variations of the Husqvarna) brand name. The White line of sewing machines was consolidated into the lower end Husqvarna Viking brand after this spinoff. The White-Westinghouse brand name remained with Electrolux and that name is the only remnant of the "White Sewing Machine Company" name, however the brand line included no sewing machines. New White-branded sewing machines models have not been manufactured since the Husqvarna spinoff in 2006. Singer, Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff brands are now all owned by

SVP Worldwide SVP Worldwide is an American private company that designs, manufactures, and distributes consumer sewing machines and accessories around the world under three brands: Singer, Husqvarna Viking, and Pfaff. The company's corporate headquarters is ...

. Though not advertised, SVP provides all of their user manuals for all of their brands including the "White" brand through the Singer brand website.

Notable Sewing Machine Models

White Sewing Machine The White Sewing Machine was the first sewing machine from the White Sewing Machine Company. It used a vibrating shuttle bobbin driver design. For that reason, and to differentiate it from the later White Family Rotary that used a rotary hook ...

(also known as the White Vibrating Shuttle or the White VS) * White Family Rotary (later called the White Rotary)

Notes

References

External links

*
History of White Consolidated Industries

The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, WHITE CONSOLIDATED INDUSTRIES, INC.
Electrolux brands Home appliance manufacturers of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Cleveland History of Massachusetts History of Ohio Sewing machine brands 1858 establishments in Massachusetts White Consolidated Industries {{manufacturing-company-stub