1944 Onan Booklet
The first comprehensive history of the company, it was widely distributed to customers and friends. An example of industrial photography and layout of the time. Click to view PDF
Continue readingStern Drives & Outboard Motors
NOT EVERY IDEA WAS WONDERFUL In the days of the Safty Saw sales decline Dave was looking for new things to sell. Out of the Prohibition bootlegging era came a technology of high powered boat engines for the rum runners. The Auto Engine Works of St Paul MN made engine conversions, and marine transmissions under […]
Continue readingSafty Saw
This one product propelled D. W. Onan ahead economically further and faster than anything else to date. It is my guess this was somewhat of a surprise. The saw had many uses in construction and manufacturing. It could be powered by an engine or electric motor so there were no limits to where it could […]
Continue readingPayday for Experimentation
When World War II began the government had a large demand for small, lightweight, generator sets. This 1939 promotion sheet has the answer in the bottom right-hand corner. The 1500 watt unit is powered by a two-cylinder opposed aluminum engine. Called the OTC, it was lightweight, smooth, and too costly for the civilian market of […]
Continue readingThe Motor Car
Still somewhat of a curiosity, but emerging into the mainstream, it was a device of considerable mystery and no little derision. In 1906 he took a job with P. J. Downes Company of Minneapolis, distributor of Rambler automobiles. When an auto was sold frequently someone had to be taught how to drive and service it. […]
Continue readingGenerators
ELECTRIC PLANTS GENERATOR SETS POWER PLANTS or simply, an ONAN The story of how the first generator set came about is good enough for me. Given what Dave had in hand and his experience it is reasonable to see how he put a purchased Briggs-Stratton engine and a generator on a common base and connected […]
Continue readingRelated Subjects Introduction
The preceding Onan Company History 1983 described David Onan as a mechanical genius. It certainly is true that his abilities were in his genes because he had little education. At age 16 he was working for the Niagara Falls Street Railway Company. His return to Minnesota and his active business days are described there. What […]
Continue readingEditor’s End Note
My part in the company As a toddler, I was paid in cookies for modeling with the product. At age nine I worked in the shipping department pasting labels on crates and made $25 for a summer. Dad, Bud Onan, let me come to the shop after school whenever I wanted and then go home […]
Continue reading13) The Future
While the Onan Company’s past success has been traced to capable people following a sound strategy of sticking to products they know about, what about the future direction of the company? On September 1, 1981, a new president and chief executive officer was appointed at Onan, and although S. A. “Tony” Johnson is a man […]
Continue reading12) Growing Product Line
Although Onan’s product line today is varied it would take another book just to describe the different items available nearly everything manufactured by the company falls into the category of energy conversion and control devices. It’s been that way almost from the very beginning. The company was started, of course, as a producer of equipment […]
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