 |
Our
Company History |
1917 -
Hammond Manufacturing traces it's roots back to a small basement shop set-up during
the years of the First World War by Oliver S. Hammond - tool & die maker by
day and amateur inventor by night. (Yep...Fred's dad!!! For those who knew Fred
- famous radio amateur VE3HC) The company became O.S. Hammond & Son
and soon included sons Len, Roy, Ken and Fred. Later Oliver's first "shop"
was a 20 by 30 foot facility behind the family home. The shop was powered by a
boiler that burned just about anything. The steam from the boiler powered a small
steam engine, which turned the main shaft and pulleys. Remember, there was no
electricity service yet! Steam power, human power, light of day or lantern was
a fact of life!
1920
- The company began to build early radio sets, just as the first radio stations
began to spring to life one by one around the United States. Starting out with
a single tube radio (link here to a local 1923 Guelph,
Ontario newspaper article) and progressing to 5 and finally 6 tube models
in 1926.
Below,
one of only three known remaining Hammond "Model 12" 5 tube receivers
(built between 1923 -1924).
One unit is on display at the HAMMOND
MUSEUM OF RADIO another is on display at the Edinburgh Rd (Guelph,
Ontario) facility.
(click
to enlarge)
1925 - Oliver
Hammond passes away - his sons Len, Roy, Ken & Fred take over the the company.
1926 - The company
was forced to stop production of radio's due to the famous patent/royalty "radio
wars" of the 20's
1927
- The company was incorporated as Hammond
Manufacturing. During this time, the Hammond’s started to manufacture audio
power amplifiers, radio battery chargers and battery eliminators which resulted
in the production of transformers and metal cases for the first time. Link to
pages covering these products from one of our early distributors, Aikenheads
Radio Catalog (1929-1930) (PDF file - 934K).
These products,
more than 80 years later, represent the core of our business. Check out the "Classic"
section of our site for more history on our audio, R.F. & current day products
dating back to these roots.
| 1930's -
The Company continued to grow in spite of the turbulent economic times, building
a variety of transformers, racks and components for radio transmitters and audio
amplifiers. | 
(5.1 MB PDF) |
| Our
oldest surviving catalogue
(G-48) from 1935, 18 Pages
- 1 page of 19" racks & panels
- 14 pages of transformers
& chokes
- 1 page of variable condensers
- 1 page of
wirewound resistors
(Thanks to Bruce MacMillan & SPARC
for finding & scanning this) |
1940's -
Our previous years experience put Hammond in the forefront of the manufacture
of magnetic components during World War II for communication transmitters and
very specialized transformers for radar.
1950's -
a time of expansion into even more specialized transformers & enclosures for
defense, communication, industrial, TV/Radio and amateur applications. Interested
in a travel back in time, probably at the peak of the radio era? Download our
1950's Catalog #65, we even gave transformers their own names!!! Transformer
Section (25 pages) of Catalog65.pdf
(6.2 MB) Events in
Korea and the beginning of the Cold War once again thrust upon the Company significant
volumes of military transformers, especially as a result of the construction of
extensive early warning radar systems across Alaska, Canada and Greenland.
1960's - 1970's
- The prosperous decades of the 60's
and 70's saw the Company expand into an even broader range of specialized and
catalog transformers and cabinetry for the electrical and electronic industries.
It is during this time that the company expands into the U.S. and World markets.
In 1978, Rob and Bill
Hammond acquired control of the company and thereby ensured passage of the business
into the third generation of the Hammond family. The Company was then re-organized
into three separate profit centers for transformers, cabinetry and power supplies.
A Corporate service group was also established for the sales, marketing and distribution
of catalog products.
1986
- Hammond took another step in Corporate evolution by trading its shares on the
Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)
- (Traded under the symbol HMM.A).
1996 -
Hammond Manufacturing joins the World Wide Web! A user friendly, low bandwidth,
specifier site is created. Our design theme continues to this day.
1999 -
Sadly, both Fred Hammond (VE3HC)
and his brother Roy Hammond passed away
this year. In September the Hammond
Museum of Radio was relocated to its new home in the expanded facility
on Southgate Dr. in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
2001 -
On January 1, the Hammond Transformer Group was spun off to form a new independent
public company, Hammond Power Solutions Inc. (Bill Hammond as Chairman and CEO,
www.hammondpowersolutions.com).
Manufacturing a broad range of Dry-Type Electrical Transformers. Traded on the
Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)
under the symbol HPS.A Hammond
Manufacturing Co. (Rob Hammond as Chairman and CEO, www.hammondmfg.com
) continues to produce the original companies other products - Electrical Enclosures,
Racks & Cabinets, Small Enclosures, Electronic Transformers & Outlet Strips.
Trading continues on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)
under the symbol HMM.A
2007
-
Ken
Hammond passed away this year. The last of the four sons from the the original
O.S.
Hammond & Son company (see 1917 notes - above).
Since
its modest beginnings in the basement of the family homestead 100 years ago, Hammond
has now grown into two separate, medium-sized companies with combined annual sales
in excess of $300 Million & thousands of employees located in facilities around
North America, Europe and Australia.
We
see a future bright with promise and opportunity for both companies!
| |
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|
Compliments
of The Kitchner-Waterloo Amateur Radio Club Inc. (KWARC)
& Paul Cassel VE3SY
(SK) |
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URL: http://www.hammondmfg.com
