See Frigidaire on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
A father of the refrigerator in City was home for many inventions by Michael Hawfield from the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper published December 13, 1993.
December 8, 2021 post about the sale to General Motors and name change to Frididaire and again February 2, 2025 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.
1916 - Alfred W. Mellowes Fort Wayne, Ind. Guardian Frigerator Company patent No. 111,468
Article from Jul 18, 1916 Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office (Washington, District of Columbia) Guardian frigerator company1916 - Alfred W. Mellowes Fort Wayne, Ind. Guardian Frigerator Company patent No. 111,468 Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, Washington, District of Columbia, Tuesday, July 18, 1916, Page 344.
Mellowes, Alfred W. Fort Wayne, Ind., assignor to The Guardian Frigerator Company, Detroit. Mich. Refrigerators and refrigerating apparatus. No. 111.468 : July 18 vol. 228 : p. 1088.
1962 - 40-Millionth Product Rolls Off Frigidaire Line Today
Article from May 2, 1962 The Journal Herald (Dayton, Ohio) 1962, Frigidaire, Dayton ohio1962 - 40-Millionth Product Rolls Off Frigidaire Line Today The Journal Herald, Dayton, Ohio, Wednesday, May 2, 1962, Page 17.
40-Millionth Product Rolls Off Frigidaire Line Today
By Brainard Platt
Journal Herald Business Editor
The 40-millionth, product manufactured by Frigidaire division of General Motors--a yellow frost proof 15-cubic-foot Imperial refrigerator--will roll off the line this afternoon.
And the company will start a worldwide celebration marking this significant milestone in the major appliance industry with an open house at Plant Two Moraine City, tomorrow.
Doors to the large building on Springboro pike will be open to the general public from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. until 9 p.m.
The open house will be the first at Frigidaire since 1956 and will give visitors an opportunity to see a refrigerator manufactured from start to finish.
Another highlight of the open house will be a display of produets tracing the evolution of the household refrigerator from early production units to today's sleek models.
Early electric ranges will be part of the display. Three idea kitchens will be shown along with actual operation of engineering product testing equipment.
The story of Frigidaire will be in 10,000 booklets of 21 pages to be distributed to visitors to the plant this month and mailed to the field.
It pays tribute to Alfred Mellowes, working in a backyard washhouse in Ft. Wayne in 1915, who made an electric refrigerating unit and installed it in the bottom of a wooden cabinet.
The Guardian Frigerator company, organized in 1916 to make and sell Mellowes' refrigerator, became Frigidaire corporation (Michigan) in 1919.
The company was acquired by General Motors in 1918, and the first Frigidaire was produced in Dayton in 1921.
A 40 Millionth Frigidare tape measure was post March 7, 2021 on History Of The Daytonians on Facebook.
1965 - From Ice Boxes to Modernized Refrigeration - Death of Ice Box by Engineer in Backyard House
Article from Aug 8, 1965 The Morning Union (Springfield, Massachusetts) 1965, Ice boxes, Modern refrigeration, Alfred mellowes1965 - From Ice Boxes to Modernized Refrigeration - Death of Ice Box by Engineer in Backyard House The Morning Union, Springfield, Massachusetts, Sunday, August 8, 1965, Page 72.
FROM ICE BOXES TO MODERNIZED REFRIGERATION
Death of an Ice Box Begun by Engineer in Backyard House
The Guardian refrigerator, forerunner to Frigidaire, led the parade of 50 million products manufactured by the company since 1915.
Alfred Mellowes. working in backyard wash house in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, engineered and made an electric refrigerating unit. He installed in the bottom of a wooden cabinet, thereby spelling the demise of an American symbol of better living of the day the ice box. The Guardian Frigerator Company, organized to manufacture and sell Mellowes' refrigerator, became the Frigidaire Corporation (Michigan) in 1919.
The Guardian company's Detroit operations were modest. The company's "factory" was a rented loft of another factory which manufactured organs. With little equipment and no capital to buy more - less than 40 refrigerators had been produced when Guardian was purchased by WV. C. Durant, then president of General Motors.
The Frigidaire name, soon to become a houschold word, was and the first refrigerator bearing the Frigidaire nameplate was built in Detroit in 1918. Applying the mass - production techniques of the auto industry to the building of refrigerators, Durant was able to improve manufacturing methods company also manufactures and open additional sales offices.
Production continued in Detroit until 1921 when the business was moved to Dayton, Ohio under the Delco - Light Company, a subsidiary of General Motors engaged in the manufacture of individual eloctric light plants for farm homes. Manufacturing facilities were set up in what is now a part of Frigidaire's plant one. The product was improved further and the first Frigidaire refrigerator produced in Dayton was completed on October 10, 1921.
It took almost 10 years to produce the first million units, mostly household refrigerators. By contrast, more than half of Frigidaire's 50 million production record was set during the past decade. Today, the company also manufactures food freezers, room air conditioners, washers and dryers, dishwashers, electric ranges and a wide variety of builtin appliances.
1967 - Frigidaire Historical Background - 1915 Alfred Mellowes refrigerator
Article from Oct 25, 1967 Saint John Times Globe (Saint John, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada) 1915, Alfred mellowes, Guardian frigerator company1967 - Frigidaire Historical Background - 1915 Alfred Mellowes refrigerator Saint John Times Globe, Saint John, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, Wednesday, October 25, 1967, Page 76.
Frigidaire Historical Background
Frigidaire Products of Canada Limited is situated on an 86-acre tract of land in Scarborough, Ontario. In its modern premises with 540,000 square feet of floor space, the company manufactures refrigerators, food freezers, electric ranges, automatic clothes washers, electric clothes dryers, automatic dishwashers and a wide variety of automotive parts.
However, the story of frigidaire goes back to 1915 when the Guardian refrigerator, forerunner to Frigidaire, led the parade of the millions of products manufactured by the company in Canada and the United States since that time.
In 1915, Alfred Mellowes, working in a backyard wash house in Fort Wayne, Indiana, engineered and made an electric refrigerating unit. He installed it in the bottom of a wooden cabinet thereby producing the very first self-contained electric refrigerator.
The Guardian Frigerator Company was organized to manufacture and sell the Mellowes' refrigerator. The company's operations in Detroit were modest; the "factory" was the rented loft of another factory engaged in the manufacture of organs. With little equipment - and no capital to purchase more - the first "assembly line" Guardian was turned out on August 17, 1916. The struggling company produced a quality product but in no great quantity. Less than 40 refrigerators had been manufactured when, in 1918, Guardian was purchased privately by W. C. Durant, then president of General Motors. That same year, the name "Frigidaire", soon to become a household word, was coined and the first refrigerator bearing the Frigidaire nameplate was built in Detroit.
In 1919; General Motors acquired the company from Mr. Durant and it became the Frigidaire Corporation (Michigan). Durant was able to improve manufacturing methods and to open additional sales offices. Production continued in Detroit until 1921 when the business was moved to Dayton, Ohio under the Delco Light Company, a subsidiary of General Motors engaged in the manufacture of individual electric light plants for farm homes.
Frigidaire products were first placed on the Canadian market in the early 1920's. At that time, the name "Frigidaire" appeared only on household and commercial refrigeration products imported from Dayton and marketed through Delco Light farm lighting equipment distributors. Later, distribution in Canada was carried out by company-operated sales offices and warehouses in Saint John, Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, London and Winnipeg.
In 1932, an assembly plant with warehouse facilities was established at 35 Fraser Avenue in Toronto. By 1937, the demand for Frigidaire products made further expansion necessary. Frigidaire moved to the Toronto suburb of Leaside to premises of 130,000 equare feet in floor area, then regarded as very large. In 1945, space, of necessity, was increased to 350,000 square feet.
With the ever expanding line of Frigidaire products and the increasing demand for them, additional manufacturing space became essential. To gain greater production and administration facilities, the company acquired 86 acres of land on what is now known as Scarborough's "Golden Mile". In 1950, ground was broken for construction of Canada's most modern appliance manufacturing plant in which production commenced in 1952.