V. Tecumseh Products Steps In -- "...he said he gave us turkeys for Christmas...because when he was growing up they were poor and they couldn't afford turkeys." - Cordia Ross, Acklin press operator on Raymond Herrick, founder and longtime chairman of Tecumseh Products.

A. Tecumseh's History

The Tecumseh Products Company actually got its start in Hillsdale, Michigan in 1932, 21 years after Acklin was formed. In that year, Raymond Herrick and his friend Charles Floyd Sage formed the Hillsdale Machine Shop and Tool Company, an organization devoted to the manufacture of automotive parts. Prior to 1931, Ray Herrick was a tool and die maker - machinist as well as manager at the Alamo Machine Co. in Hillsdale, Michigan. Charles Floyd Sage was a tool and die maker - machinist at his own company, General Machine Shop and Garage, also in Hillsdale, Michigan. In 1931, Herrick and Sage joined together to create the Hillsdale Machine Shop and Tool Company, which Charles Floyd Sage became President of. Sage also had an idea for better compressors, and in 1934, they purchased a 50,000 square foot plant in Tecumseh, Michigan and changed their name to Tecumseh Products. In 1938 they brought out the first hermetically sealed refrigeration unit, but this line of business was sidelined for War production in the following years. By 1947 Tecumseh was a leader in the refrigerator compressor industry. In November of 1950 they purchased the Universal Cooler company of Marion, Ohio, branching out into the air conditioning business.

In July of 1952, Tecumseh Products announced its purchase of the Acklin Stamping Plant. Tecumseh had originally planned on building a new plant in Michigan and moving Acklin's employees and equipment, but Acklin refused, not wanting to "break a good organization" and the company stayed in Toledo. Initially at least, there were no changes to the companies management structure. Several Acklin executives took positions on Tecumseh's Board of Directors, and Tecumseh's President and Secretary took positions on Acklin's board.