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their father's hardware store. When they could no longer fulfill orders in the basement, they moved to a factory in an old schoolhouse. In 1911, they outgrew the schoolhouse and built a new two-story factory next to the Santa Fe railroad line in
Roanoke. After two years, sales of the new power washer were in the thousands. They called the machine the
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The brothers first created a power clothes washer after watching their sisters and mother hand-washing piles of clothes. It was basically a wooden tub mounted to a bench with wooden "fingers" to wash the clothes, and attached to a gasoline engine. The brothers invented the machine in the basement of
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brand. The factory in
Roanoke was expanded in 1912. The Roanoke factory was destroyed by fire on February 12, 1914; in March, the company announced it would rebuild on the original foundation. On March 24, 1914, the company purchased 20 acres (8.1 ha) in
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In the mid-1930s, ABC introduced a spin dryer model which eliminated the wringer and added a spin dryer to the conventional washing model. ABC filed patents for a swinging wringer. ABC also used case-hardened steel parts and precision manufacturing.
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to construct a factory. The company built a new factory on West
Washington Street in East Peoria, and the wooden tub was replaced with a metal tub. In 1927, ABC produced the first
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92:. Clyde Ulrich, the director of manufacturing at ABC, tested shells that could pierce the armor of the German tanks. The company also manufactured shells during the
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On May 15, 1943, the factory produced its last appliance and nine months later, began to produce armaments for
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166:"Looking back: Altorfer Bros. Co. made shells to pierce German tanks during World War II"
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311:"Altorfer Bros Co. to build two new factories (Reprinted article from 1914-03-10)".
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69:, which was producing washing machines for the Insull utilities company founded by
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brand exclusively for them. In August 1931, Altorfer signed a contract with
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228:. East Peoria, Illinois: East Peoria Centennial Commission. p. 58.
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brand as well. The East Peoria plant was destroyed by fire in 1957.
73:. ABC became Insull's supplier and made washing machines under the
326:"Buy site for factory (Reprinted article from 1914-03-10)".
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manufacturer founded by brothers A.W. and Silas
Altorfer in
500:"Treasures of the past abound at Wheels O' Time Museum"
134:
ABC washing machines from the 1900s can be seen at the
468:"Mason Sees Excellent Year for Nash-Kelvinator Corp".
99:
In 1952, Altorfer Bros. Company was purchased by the
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company, and began manufacturing products under the
243:"Early History of Kelvinator and the Subsidiaries"
570:Home appliance manufacturers of the United States
595:Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1952
429:"Altorfer Signs Contract with Westinghouse".
385:"Porcelain Enamels: Past, Present and Future"
81:to produce three models of washing machines.
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585:Companies based in Woodford County, Illinois
204:"First Washing Machine Built 27 Years Ago".
555:Manufacturing companies established in 1909
116:Rice Leaders of the World Association, 1935
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274:: Peoria Public Library. Archived from
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61:-lined tub. In 1928, ABC took over the
48:and its appliances were sold under the
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575:Defunct companies based in Illinois
600:1952 disestablishments in Illinois
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226:Centennial History of East Peoria
224:LaKemper, Daniel A., ed. (1984).
342:"East Peoria History - Industry"
164:Kendall, Jeanette (2015-02-16).
44:The company became known as the
590:1909 establishments in Illinois
414:"The ABC Porcelain Companion".
63:Federal Washing Machine Company
1:
525:"A Little Bit O' Everything…"
416:Redwood Falls Redwood Gazette
498:Panetta, Gary (2009-08-17).
453:"ABC Washers and Ironers".
616:
504:The State Journal-Register
125:Army-Navy Production Award
523:Lynn, Greg (2015-05-26).
487:. 1943-02-11. p. 15.
457:. 1935-05-23. p. 17.
330:. 1999-10-14. p. 10.
315:. 1999-10-14. p. 10.
266:Swain, Tim (2008-04-18).
208:. 1936-04-26. p. 50.
472:. 1953-01-03. p. 5.
433:. 1931-08-03. p. 3.
418:. 1930-07-09. p. 8.
372:. 1919-06-08. p. 4.
346:www.cityofeastpeoria.com
300:. 1912-04-12. p. 5.
383:Hutt, Glenn A. (1955).
328:Woodford County Journal
313:Woodford County Journal
368:"ABC Super Electric".
122:Seal of Approval, 1935
18:Altorfer Bros. Company
483:"ABC Flies the "E"".
298:The Weekly Pantagraph
136:Wheels O' Time Museum
79:Westinghouse Electric
39:Roanoke Power Machine
470:Kenosha Evening News
389:The Analysts Journal
206:The Virginian-Pilot
170:Peoria Journal Star
46:ABC Washer Company
120:Good Housekeeping
67:Chicago, Illinois
26:Roanoke, Illinois
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580:Peoria, Illinois
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71:Samuel Insull
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90:World War II
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565:Nash Motors
296:"Roanoke".
55:East Peoria
28:, in 1909.
549:Categories
534:2023-11-20
509:2023-11-20
351:2023-11-20
282:2008-12-16
249:2008-12-16
175:2023-11-16
142:References
105:Kelvinator
94:Korean War
401:1940-882X
59:porcelain
130:Museums
75:Fedelco
32:History
399:
111:Awards
20:was a
397:ISSN
16:The
65:of
50:ABC
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