John Inglis and Company
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John Inglis and Company was a Canadian manufacturing firm which made weapons for the
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and
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military forces during the
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era, then later became a
major appliance A major appliance, also known as a large domestic appliance or large electric appliance or simply a large appliance, large domestic, or large electric, is a non-portable or semi-portable machine used for routine housekeeping tasks such as cookin ...
manufacturer.
Whirlpool Corporation The Whirlpool Corporation is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of home appliances, headquartered in Benton Charter Township, Michigan, United States. The Fortune 500 company has annual revenue of approximately $21 billion, ...
acquired control of Inglis in 1987 and changed the company's name to Whirlpool Canada in 2001. Today the Inglis name survives as a brand under Whirlpool.


History

The company traces its roots to John Inglis who was involved in early enterprises in Dundas and
Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. Inglis was born in 1823 in
Hawick Hawick ( ; sco, Haaick; gd, Hamhaig) is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east of Selkirk. It is one ...
County, Roxburghshire,
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and came to Canada in 1852 setting in first in Dundas and later in Guelph. On 27 July 1859, he, Thomas Mair and Francis Evatt formed Mair, Inglis and Evatt, a machine shop in
Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...
, Ontario, that produced machinery for grist and flour mills. In 1864, they added a steam engine to power the machines. Some time after 1864, Daniel Hunter replaced Thomas Mair, and the name of the business was changed to Inglis and Hunter."Business and History - John Inglis Co. Limited"
, ''Industrial Canada'', May 1967
In September 1881, Inglis purchased a large triangular plot of land near downtown
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, west of Strachan Avenue. He moved the company (and his residence) there, renaming it John Inglis and Sons after five of his sons that worked in various departments. John Inglis died in 1898 and is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Guelph. The business was taken over by one of his sons, William (b. 1868). In 1903, William Inglis led the company into the manufacture of marine steam engines and waterworks pumping engines, and he discontinued production of its previous milling product line. The company produced the engines for the
Canada Steamship Lines Canada Steamship Lines (CSL) is a shipping company with headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The business has been operating for well over a century and a half. Beginnings CSL had humble beginnings in Canada East in 1845, operating river b ...
ships ''Hamonic'' and ''Huronic'', which served until 1950. The company reincorporated in 1913 as the John Inglis Company Limited. During
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, the company turned out thousands of shells and shell forgings, and more than 40 steam marine engines for freighters. Among products manufactured in the 1920s were boilers, grain elevating and conveying machinery, hydraulic turbines, tugs, and reciprocating and
centrifugal pump Centrifugal pumps are used to transport fluids by the conversion of rotational kinetic energy to the hydrodynamic energy of the fluid flow. The rotational energy typically comes from an engine or electric motor. They are a sub-class of dynamic ...
s. The Great Depression seriously affected the company and led to major losses during the 1930s. When William died in 1935, the company went into receivership. A new Toronto Island ferry built by the company was named after him shortly after his death. In 1937, the company was purchased by Major J. E. Hahn of Toronto, owner of British Canadian Engineering Limited, who took on the name John Inglis and Company. In March 1938, the company won a contract with the British and Canadian governments to supply 5,000 Bren machine guns to Great Britain and 7,000 to Canada. Both countries shared the capital costs of creating a factory to produce them. Inglis started production in 1940, and the contracts were extended several times. By 1943, they were producing 60% of the Bren machine guns destined for the British Commonwealth forces, and 30% of the British Army's own requirements. They also produced a large proportion of the
Polsten The Polsten was a Polish development of the 20 mm Oerlikon gun. The Polsten was designed to be simpler and much cheaper to build than the Oerlikon, without reducing effectiveness. Development When Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939, the P ...
20 mm autocannon for the British Commonwealth, as well as the Browning Hi-Power (or High Power) pistol for both the Commonwealth nations and other Canadian allies (primarily the Nationalist Chinese Army). They also produced the machinery for four destroyers. After the war, Inglis entered the consumer products business, producing fishing tackle, house trailers, oil burner pumps and domestic heaters and stoves. In 1946, they licensed production of a wringer washer being manufactured in the US by the Nineteen Hundred Corporation (now
Whirlpool Corporation The Whirlpool Corporation is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of home appliances, headquartered in Benton Charter Township, Michigan, United States. The Fortune 500 company has annual revenue of approximately $21 billion, ...
). A fully automatic washer was added in 1950, and the line continued to expand to include electric and gas dryers, and dishwashers. Early in 1945, the company had acquired a controlling interest in the English Electric Company of Canada in St. Catharines,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, which became a wholly owned subsidiary in 1947. In 1951, they completed a new plant in
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,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
to produce the English Electric Yarrows-100 naval steam turbine under license for Canadian destroyers, including the and es. The plant was purchased by English Electric in 1955 and leased back to Inglis. Inglis later built a new addition to house the former St. Catharines works, which were shut down. In 1962, Inglis purchased the Scarborough plant back from the English Electric. However, three years later, they sold it off to
General Electric Canada GE Canada (or General Electric Canada) is the wholly-owned Canadian unit of General Electric, manufacturing various consumer and industrial Electrical industry, electrical products all over Canada. GE Canada was preceded by the company Canadian ...
, and in 1966 sold off a majority of their shares in English Electric Canada to its UK parent in order to concentrate on the consumer products field exclusively. By 1966, Inglis had become the leading producer of Canadian-built laundry machines. In 1967, a refrigerator plant was opened in Stoney Creek, Ontario, and production of dehumidifiers was added there in 1970. In 1972, Inglis produced its one-millionth automatic washer and began manufacturing and selling appliances under the Whirlpool brand name. A year later, the company began operating under the name Inglis Limited. New operations were opened in
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, in the late 1970s, along with expansions of their Toronto operations. In 1982, Inglis purchased parts of Canadian Admiral Corporation, and sold some of their appliances under that name. In 1981, the company moved its head office to Mississauga, Ontario, and starting the next year, the downtown Toronto operations were slowly sold off. , the former location on Strachan Avenue, along with the nearby
Massey Ferguson Massey Ferguson Limited is an American agricultural machinery manufacturer. The company was established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson Company of the United Kingdom. It was based in ...
plants, were being redeveloped as housing and commercial space. Until July 2014, all that remained was the landmark giant blue and white Inglis billboard, installed in 1975 on a small part of one of the old buildings not demolished. It was aimed at the Gardiner Expressway and frequently flashed inspirational quotes to passing motorists. The sign was removed in July 2014 after Whirlpool and Pattison Outdoor Advertising decided that condo buildings were obscuring the view of the sign and it was no longer viable.


Fate

Whirlpool Corporation The Whirlpool Corporation is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of home appliances, headquartered in Benton Charter Township, Michigan, United States. The Fortune 500 company has annual revenue of approximately $21 billion, ...
acquired a majority interest of Inglis in 1987 and changed the company's name to Whirlpool Canada in 2001. "Inglis" is now a brand of household appliances from Whirlpool marketed primarily in Canada. In the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, Inglis appliances are sold at Best Buy stores."Inglis by Whirlpool"
, bestbuy


References


External links

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* ttp://wholemap.com/historic/toronto.php?neighbourhood=Liberty%20Village City of Toronto Archive photos from the Inglis plant and area {{Home appliance brands Engine manufacturers of Canada Whirlpool Corporation brands Inglis Marine engine manufacturers World War II military equipment of Canada Former defence companies of Canada Defunct manufacturing companies of Canada