Western Products is an American brand name for snow plows and other professional snow removing equipment manufactured by Western Welding and Manufacturing. The company also manufactures a variety of truck-mounted sand and salt spreaders, snowplow replacement parts and snow removal accessories.
 | |
| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| NYSE: PLOW | |
| Industry | Auto Parts |
| Founded | 1952 |
| Founder | Douglas Seaman |
| Headquarters | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States |
Key people | Michael W. Wickham Chairman of the Board |
| Products | Snowplows Spreaders |
| Parent | Douglas Dynamics |
| Website | www.westernplows.com |
Western Products employs approximately 250 people at its manufacturing facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the company is a division of Douglas Dynamics group (NYSE:PLOW), which also owns the Blizzard and Fisher Engineering brand names.
History
editOn September 5, 1950, Douglas Seaman purchased Western Welding & Manufacturing, a small machine shop in Milwaukee that was founded in 1943. Western mainly handled small, one-off welding jobs for large manufacturers. A friend suggested to Seaman that he should start manufacturing snowplows as a way to diversify his business, which he did. In 1952, Western Welding introduced its first snowplow at a time when the U.S. population was shifting toward suburb settings, which increased the market for light trucks. This increased the demand for snowplows.[1]
Growth
editSuburban areas continued to thrive through the 1950s, and the light-truck market continued to grow.[2] The demand for snowplows continued rising, allowing Western Products' sales to double between 1961 and 1968. The 1970s also proved to be a profitable time for the company, as its share of the national market for the type of snowplows mounted on light trucks rose from 33 percent in 1968 to 40 percent a decade later.[1] In 1977 Douglas Seaman incorporated as Douglas Dynamics Incorporated, which he placed as the parent company for Western Welding & Manufacturing.[3] In 1984, Douglas Dynamics expanded, purchasing Fisher Engineering, a well respected competitor in the snow plow business.[3]
Expansion
editIn November 2005 Douglas Dynamics purchased Blizzard Corporation, including their complete line of snowplows and snowplow patents. Among the patents was a patent for an "adjustable-wing snowplow" that allowed the blade to extend from 8 feet out to 10 feet. Douglas Dynamics incorporated that technology into both its existing snowplow brands.[4]
In the 3rd Quarter of 2012, Douglas Dynamics' profits declined considerably due to a record low snowfall.[5]
References
editNotes
- ^ a b Gurda, John (2000). Built By Seaman: Four Generations of Family Enterprise. p. 65. OCLC 48645043.
- ^ Jackson, Kenneth T. (1985). Crabgrass frontier: The suburbanization of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-504983-7. OCLC 11785435.
- ^ a b "Douglas Dynamics Incorporated time line". Douglas Dynamics Incorporated. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
- ^ "Douglas". The Business Journal. The Business Journal. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ "Douglas Dynamics 3Q earnings fall more than 40%". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
