Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today we're taking
aim at a company that is quite literally foundational
to modern homes and industry. Yet its 150 -year
history is filled with these corporate pivots
that are so radical they almost defy belief.
We are diving into A .O. Smith Corporation. Yeah.
And this is a deep dive into an organization
that has just mastered industrial reinvention.
Right. For context, we are talking about an S
&P 500 company, which, you know, as of 2024 is
reporting nearly $4 billion in revenue, $3 .82
billion to be precise. Wow. They are the biggest
name in North American water heating, but their
journey to that point, I mean, it involved building
everything from baby carriages to massive industrial
weaponry. That is the core of our mission today,
isn't it? Reconciling those two identities. Exactly.
We're tracking a century and a half of this relentless
evolution. Our sources take us from C .J. Smith
and Sons, a manufacturer known for bicycle parts,
through this breathtaking, almost necessary period
of heavy war production. And then finally, you
know, establishing itself as a global specialist
in water technology. Heating, boiler systems,
purification, the whole lot. The sheer dissonance
between where they started and their ubiquitous
presence in your home today is the central...
fascinating challenge here. What's truly astonishing,
I think, is how efficiently they utilized core
engineering skills, this mastery of steel, to
facilitate entirely different industrial demands.
Yeah. It's not just a story of gradual change.
It's a story of radical strategic realignments
driven by, you know, available technology and
just massive market shift. Okay, let's unpack
this with the initial hook fact. Yeah. Because
this is the detail that consistently blows people's
minds. It really does. When you see the A .O.
Smith logo today, you think reliable, efficient
hot water. Sure. But by the time World War I
concluded, this organization, using its high
-speed steel -forming expertise, was recognized
as the largest bomb maker in the entire United
States. The largest. And if that doesn't put
the sheer scale of their industrial capacity
into perspective, just consider this. During
World War II, they didn't just resume bomb production.
No. They were ranked 74th among all U .S. corporations
for the value of their military contracts. And
critically, their engineering capacity was so
high level that they were chosen to produce highly
specialized components for the most complex scientific
undertaking of the era, the atomic bomb project.
So why should you, the listener, care about the
industrial history of your water heater well
because their expertise in forming treating and
protecting steel developed for these incredibly
high stress critical applications like rapid
fire weapon casings and ultra high pressure oil
vessels that is the exact foundational technology
that ensures the glass lining inside your residential
water heater doesn't corrode and fail prematurely
so we're talking about core innovations industrial
strength just applied directly to home comfort
exactly that's what fun It fundamentally defines
reliability in your plumbing today. Let's wind
the clock way back then. Let's settle in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin in 1874. The company was started by
Charles Jeremiah Smith and initially named C
.J. Smith & Sons. It sounds like a humble, very
19th century kind of operation. What were they
focused on beyond just generic carriage making?
Well, their original focus was actually quite
specific and for the era, technically challenging.
They were manufacturing baby carriages and bicycle
parts. And this wasn't just... a side gig I mean
by 1895 about two decades in they had established
themselves as the largest bicycle parts manufacturer
in the United States the largest so what was
that initial technical skill that set them apart
it was the ability to take flat sheet metal and
form it into robust yet lightweight steel tubing
If you think about bicycle frames, they need
to be strong enough to withstand road stress,
but light enough to actually be functional. Of
course. Achieving that kind of accuracy and consistency
in forming steel tubing from sheet metal and
doing it on a mass scale was not trivial at all.
It established their expertise in precision steel
manipulation, and that really laid the groundwork
for everything that came next. And what came
next was the automobile. The automobile. It was
the founder's son. Arthur Oliver Smith, the AO,
who gave the company its enduring name, who recognized
that their precision steel skills were just perfectly
suited to revolutionize the new auto industry.
Arthur Oliver Smith was the visionary. Absolutely.
He orchestrated that pivotal leap. In 1899, he
developed the world's first pressed steel vehicle
frame. And that wasn't just like a small improvement,
was it? No, this was a fundamental shift. It
moved away from the traditional, complex, heavy,
and often unreliable wood or forged steel frame
assemblies. So the significance of that move
is hard to overstate. What engineering advantage
did a pressed steel frame really offer over what
they were using at the time? Well, before A .O.
Smith, frames were often pieced together. They
involved multiple rivets, castings, sometimes
even wood components. Right, which means inconsistent
quality. inconsistent quality, heavy weight,
and susceptibility to failure under stress. Press
steel allowed for large, singular components
to be stamped out with incredible consistency
and structural integrity. Which would enable
rapid, reliable assembly for automakers. Exactly.
It was cheaper, it was lighter, and it was stronger.
And that innovation immediately catapulted them
from being a leading bicycle parts maker to a
foundational industrial supplier, right? Absolutely.
They quickly cornered the market. They were supplying...
the earliest major automotive players, the peerless
automobile company Cadillac, and most importantly,
Ford Motor Company. Wow. This innovation didn't
just give them a new product line. It established
their capability for large -scale, high -volume,
precision steel processing. This production capability
became the industrial engine of A .O. Smith for
the next 90 years. But A .O. Smith was a company
of... restless engineers, it seems. Very restless.
Because while the car frame business was booming,
the sources show they were constantly tinkering
with these sideline projects, looking for the
next big application of steel and combustion.
Their willingness to innovate, even on items
they would quickly discard, is really a marker
of their R &D culture. Right. Take the Smith
motor wheel, which they introduced in 1914. This
was a really early attempt at making personal,
motorized transportation accessible. Describe
that for our listeners. It sounds like something
out of a steampunk novel. It, uh, it... Essentially
was. It was a complete gasoline powered wheel
unit engine gas tank drive mechanism all in one.
And the idea was? It was designed to attach directly
to the side of a conventional bicycle, converting
it into this crude motorized vehicle. It just
shows their early interest in propulsion and
internal combustion, an area pretty far removed
from stamping steel frames. And they even briefly
manufactured a complete automobile, right? The
Smith Flyer. The Smith Flyer, yeah, which was
fascinating. It was one of the cheapest and simplest
cars on the market. Basically a light wooden
box on wheels powered by that same motor wheel
concept attached to the back. It was like a very
early go -kart. Pretty much. And it was quickly
sold off to Briggs & Stratton of Milwaukee. These
short -lived diversions are key because they
demonstrate a willingness to enter and exit markets
quickly, testing their core tech skills in new
ways. This expansion naturally demanded a more
formal corporate structure to handle the scale,
I'd imagine. It did. In 1904, they formally incorporated
in Milwaukee as the A .O. Smith Company, acknowledging
Arthur Oliver's contribution. But the really
strategic move came later in 1916. What was that?
They reincorporated in New York. And that was
a move that placed them closer to major financial
markets, strategically positioning the company
for the massive capital demands and industrial
scaling that would come with America's entry
into World War One. So A .O. Smith enters 1917
as this industrial powerhouse, a master of high
volume precision skill forming. Right. And as
the world shifts to war, their expertise is suddenly
rerouted from. you know, peaceful transportation
to defense manufacturing. It's one of the most
drastic corporate image shifts imaginable. The
transition was almost instantaneous. The moment
the U .S. entered World War I, A .O. Smith began
manufacturing bomb casings. Just like that. Their
high speed presses and their ability to handle
large quantities of steel made them ideal for
high volume munitions production. The war ministry
didn't want bespoke. They wanted rapid, reliable
scale. And the numbers they achieved were just
staggering. By the time the Great War was over,
they had ascended to the rank of the largest
bomb maker in the U .S. Yes. How did they achieve
that scale compared to competitors? Was it purely
automation? It was automation coupled with specialization.
They weren't just forging rough shapes. They
were precision forming the complex casings, the
aerodynamic shells and fins. Stuff that required
their signature expertise. Exactly. Their mastery
of efficient mass production allowed them to
outpace manufacturers who were relying on. older,
slower forging methods. And as intense as World
War I was, World War II forced them into an even
more massive mobilization. We mentioned their
ranking as 74th among all U .S. corporations
in military production. It's hard to wrap your
mind around that. It fundamentally redefined
their purpose for almost five years. What were
the numbers like? By 1945, the tallies are phenomenal.
4 .5 million bombs built. And beyond munitions,
they leveraged their expertise in structural
components. We're talking 16 ,750 sets of aircraft
landing gear, 46 ,700 propeller blades, and critical
parts like the nose frames for the B -25 bomber.
They weren't just producing standard materials
either. They were involved in complex systems.
Torpedoes, air flasks, and, as we highlighted,
components for the atomic bomb project. What
specific engineering challenge did their involvement
in the Manhattan Project solve? The sources indicate
their role was primarily in manufacturing these
ultra high pressure vessels and specialized piping
system. Which were required for. For handling
and separating the corrosive materials used in
the enrichment process. This demanded absolute
precision, flawless welding and material integrity
far beyond normal industrial standards. This
requirement for perfection under extreme stress
further honed their materials science prowess,
which is a key through line for the company.
This is where it gets really interesting. That
wartime pressure didn't just require them to
build more. It forced these fundamental industrial
breakthroughs that still underpin modern manufacturing
today. Yes, exactly. So what were the key innovations
born out of this period? Well, the pressure for
reliability and speed drove revolutionary leaps
in how you join materials together. In the 1920s,
their engineers developed the coated welding
rod. Okay, what did that do? Before this, welding
was often messy and inconsistent. The coated
rod, it's essentially a protective flux around
the metal core, shielded the weld pool from contaminants
in the air. Creating a much stronger, more reliable
joint. A much stronger joint. And A .O. Smith
used this key advancement for 40 years, until
1965, giving them the sustained competitive advantage
in high pressure construction. And then there's
the automation achievement. The idea of mass
production today is common, but A .O. Smith basically
wrote the book on post -assembly line automation.
They didn't just automate a factory. They created
the world's first fully automated automobile
frame factory. This was an industrial miracle.
It used a complex choreography of presses, robots,
and conveyor systems, producing a finished automobile
frame every eight seconds. Every eight seconds.
Think about that pace. A high -stress, custom
-engineered component rolling off the line faster
than you can pour a cup of coffee. And that speed
and efficiency were maintained until 1958. What
was the impact of that level of automation on
the automotive industry? It drastically lowered
the cost of producing reliable chassis, which
in turn enabled the massive post -war expansion
of the American auto industry. It proved that
complex, non -standard manufacturing could be
handled by machines at a speed previously thought
impossible. And they also pioneered something
with oil refining. Yes, the first arc welded
high pressure vessel used for oil refining. It
replaced the older, heavier, riveted designs.
They produced these vessels, which were critical
for the growing energy sector until 1963. So
we have this industrial titan master of steel,
welding, automation, defense contracting. How
does that incredibly high tech, aggressive industrial
entity pivot toward the everyday task of heating
water? Where does plumbing even fit into this
picture? This is the definitive strategic pivot
of the company. It's a move from sheer strength
and volume to durability and corrosion resistance.
And the key was a breakthrough in material science.
The process of fusing glass to steel. Fusing
glass to steel. They had mastered precision steel.
Now they needed to master protecting it. That
sounds like an incredibly complex high temperature
process. Why did they even attempt it? Where
did they first apply it? Well, they needed to
solve the problem of corrosion in steel storage
vessels, which could ruin contents or compromise
structural integrity. And glass, when it's formulated
and infused correctly, is chemically inert and
completely corrosion -proof. So they first applied
this science in 1933 to create large, single
-piece, glass -lined brewery tanks. Brewery tanks,
okay. This required incredibly high temperatures
and precise glass formulation to ensure the glass
and steel expanded and contracted at the same
rate without shattering the lining. And the market
immediately validated this technology. Immensely
so. Over the next 32 years, they produced over
11 ,000 of these massive brewery tanks. This
proved that they could apply this highly technical
coating process on an enormous industrial scale.
So from beer tanks, it's a strategic move to
residential water heating. But wait. The temperature
and pressure requirements for a massive brewery
tank are radically different from a small high
-pressure residential unit. How difficult was
that scaling process? It was still highly complex,
but the foundational science was sound. The water
in a residential tank, especially when heated,
is highly corrosive. Of course. So the glass
lining solved the premature failure problem that
was so common in unlined tanks. In 1936, just
three years after the brewery tank success, they
patented the concept of the glass -lined water
heater. And the mass production followed quickly.
It did. By 1939, they were mass producing residential
water heaters. However, that entire production
capacity was immediately shifted to military
use during World War II. Which, again, just reinforces
how easily they could reallocate their entire
industrial machine based on national need. Exactly.
So once the war ended, A .O. Smith focused that
newly freed, massive production capability squarely
on the residential market, aiming for immediate
market share. That's when the infrastructure
really went up. In 1946, they opened a massive
400 ,000 square foot residential water heater
plant in Kankakee, Illinois. And this wasn't
just about their own branding, was it? No, they
were already positioning themselves as the industry's
manufacturing backbone. They were making water
heaters that carried the Kenmore name for major
retailers. This move signaled they were ready
for mass market domination. And their growth
wasn't limited to residential plumbing. they
immediately targeted the commercial market. A
critical move. In 1948, they acquired the Berkey
Company, which immediately gave them a strong
foothold in commercial water heating and the
specialized knowledge needed for large facilities,
schools, hospitals, apartments. And to really
solidify that glass fused to steel was their
new defining core technology, they applied it
to agriculture. Of all things. So far afield
from bombs and cars. The harvest store silos
introduced in 1949 are the perfect physical manifestation
of their new strategic focus. What are they?
These were massive glass fused to steel silos
targeted at dairy and livestock operations for
storing feed, specifically addressing the corrosive
environment of fermented silage. So this one
technology, perfected under the demands of high
pressure oil refining and wartime manufacturing,
became the reliable foundation for... beer tanks,
water tanks, and even farm storage. It's an incredible
trajectory. As we transition into the 1950s and
60s, A .O. Smith is now a leader in automotive
frames and a rapidly growing force in water heating.
But we have to discuss their powerful yet often
forgotten division that enabled the entire HVAC
and refrigeration boom of the mid -century, the
electric motor business. And the motor division
wasn't exactly a startup. It was built through
strategic acquisition. Right. Precisely. They
had acquired Sawyer Electric back in 1940 and
then consolidated operations by acquiring Whirl
-A -Way Motors in the 1950s. And what was the
critical technical achievement that made them
so indispensable to the air conditioning market?
The invention of the hermetic motor. Hermetic
motor. It became the standard for modern HVAC.
What was the core engineering challenge A .O.
Smith solved with it? The challenge was leakage
and maintenance. Older compressors required external
shafts and seals, which would inevitably fail,
leading to refrigerant leaks and expensive repairs.
The hermetic motor solved this by being sealed
inside the compressor shell, submerged in the
refrigerant and oil. This eliminated the external
seals entirely, making air conditioning and refrigeration
units vastly more reliable and cheaper to operate.
So without the A .O. Smith hermetic motor, mass
market. dependable HVAC systems would have been
significantly delayed. Oh, absolutely. They had
secured their position as essential suppliers
to the residential and commercial HVAC world.
This sounds like a high volume, potentially high
margin business because every single air conditioner
and refrigerator needed one. It was a huge driver
of corporate growth operating in parallel with
the water heater business. And they continue
to refine motor technology, even targeting specialized
difficult environments like swimming pools. Right.
Swimming pools require special... motors because
of the moisture and chemicals. What innovation
did they introduce there? In 1965, the Motor
Division developed the enclosed canopy two compartment
motor. This was a dedicated design solution for
pool pump reliability. How did it work? It physically
separated the sensitive switching mechanisms
from the motor windings in their own enclosed
compartment. This isolation protected those critical
components from the corrosive moisture, dirt,
and chemicals of the pool environment, and it
drastically extended the motor's lifespan. Giving
them a substantial competitive edge in that market.
A huge edge. And this motor expertise wasn't
limited to the domestic market either. It provided
their first major global footprint. Really? By
1976, they understood the... international demand
for reliable hermetic motors. They opened a plant
in Bray, Ireland, specifically designed to supply
the European and international refrigeration
and air conditioning markets. So while water
heaters were still primarily focused on North
America, the electric motor division was already
a powerful, globalized entity. Shifting back
to the core business, water heating, what were
the key milestones during the 1960s and 70s?
This era was about product refinement and demonstrating
market saturation. Following the Berkey acquisition,
they launched the first glass -lined commercial
water heater, the A .O. Smith Berkey B65. And
on the production side? The scale was truly impressive.
By 1969, they celebrated the production of their
10 millionth residential water heater. That is
a massive volume of reliable units being installed
across the country. And as the energy crises
of the 1970s hit, they demonstrated an important
responsiveness to efficiency. That's a theme
that remains absolutely central to their products
today. Absolutely. In 1974, they introduced the
conservationist line of residential water heaters.
This wasn't just a marketing name. It represented
new designs focused on improved insulation and
burner efficiency to reduce standby heat loss.
It positioned them as innovators in energy management.
And it's important to note that they were no
longer just a steel company. They began diversifying
their material science beyond that. Classic glass
fuse to steel combo. They moved into polymer
and composite technologies. They established
a glass fiber division aimed at replacing steel
in applications where corrosion was extreme or
weight was critical, like oil field pipe and
service station pipe. Right. Handling highly
corrosive or flammable liquids. Exactly. This
division eventually became Smith Fiberglass Products
in 1986. They recognized that while steel was
their heritage, the future required mastering
advanced corrosion. resistant materials. We should
also mention the continued stability and leadership
during this period. Yes. Loy B. Smith, a fourth
generation family member, was elected chairman
and CEO in 1967. And he ensured continuity of
purpose and long -term planning. which likely
facilitated these major decades -long industrial
shifts. That stability, coupled with their initial
European expansion in 1972, really set the stage
for the dramatic strategic realignments of the
1990s. As we enter the 1980s, A .O. Smith is
this massive, highly diversified industrial conglomerate.
You've got the largest producer of car frames,
a global leader in electric motors, and a domestic
titan in water heating. What true giant. But
this diversification, while powerful, led to
a crossroads and a crucial strategic decision
that would redefine their identity forever. The
scale of their automotive business right up to
the end is almost incomprehensible today. By
the early 1980s, their automotive products unit
in Milwaukee had manufactured over 100 million
passenger car frames and 50 million truck frames.
100 million. To shed that part of the business
was, I mean, it was akin to tearing out the company's
heart. But they did it. In 1997, After 90 years
in the automotive business, A .O. Smith sold
the automotive products company to Tower International.
This was more than just a divestiture. It was
a clear signal to the market. If you look at
the financial logic, this pivot suggests that
A .O. Smith recognized that by the late 20th
century, the automotive frame business had become
a high volume, low margin, capital intensive
commodity business. The margins were shrinking.
And the capital expenditure required to keep
up with automotive demands was just massive.
So instead of being a major but struggling supplier
in a competitive sector, they chose to focus
on the one business that offered stable, growing
and defensible market leadership, water technology.
Exactly. The reliable glass -lined water heater
provided better margins and intellectual property
protection. Maximizing shareholder value in the
modern industrial context meant focusing expertise.
They were preparing to double down. They were
preparing to double down on water heating and
the specialized manufacturing skills they had
perfected. Those skills were far more valuable
in the highly regulated world of eating and plumbing
than in the cutthroat global auto supply chain.
And while shutting that domestic auto legacy,
They were simultaneously starting their global
manufacturing push, particularly toward key growth
markets in Asia. The expansion started regionally
with electric motor assembly operations in Mexico,
in Ciudad Juarez and Ciudad Acuna. But the real
strategic push where the future lay was Asia.
What was the first move? In 1995, they entered
joint ventures for fiberglass pipes in China
and, critically, a venture with Yuhan Water Heater
to introduce residential water heaters to the
growing Chinese middle class. And their dedication
to China wasn't a tentative exploration. It became
a core investment. Oh, by the end of the 1990s,
the water products company bought out its joint
venture partner and established a dedicated,
wholly owned manufacturing plant in Nanjing,
China. They recognized early that the rising
economic power and urbanization of China represented
the single largest untapped market for reliable
home comfort products. But before becoming the
pure play water company we see today, they spent
a good decade aggressively expanding their motor
division, almost as if preparing it for a grand
exit. That's a sharp observation. They consolidated
their position in the motor market with a series
of massive acquisitions in the late 90s and 2000s.
They bought UPPCO Inc., which made them the world's
leading manufacturer of C -frame sub -fractional
horsepower motors. Wow. Then they acquired General
Electric's domestic compressor motor business
and the electric motor division of Magnatech,
instantly becoming a dominant force in HVAC supply.
So they bulked up the motor division, made it
as valuable and market dominant as possible.
And then they executed the... final strategic
move. In 2011, A .O. Smith sold its entire electric
motor business to Regal Beloit. The defining
final step. This was it. They shed their motor
and automotive past, dedicating 100 % of their
focus, capital, and R &D resources to water heating,
treatment, and purification. They transitioned
from a diversified conglomerate to a highly focused,
specialized water technology company. And with
the auto frames and motors gone, their acquisition
strategy broadened the scope of water technology
well beyond just the simple glass line tank.
Yes, they moved into high efficiency heating
and purification. The first step was consolidating
the core heating market. They acquired State
Industries Inc. and its subsidiary, APC Inc.,
which significantly increased their domestic
market share and distribution network. And then
Lock and Bar. Then they targeted the high efficiency
commercial space by acquiring Lock and Bar Corporation,
which specializes in high efficiency condensing
boilers for hot water and hydronic heating. That's
the modern gold standard for commercial water
heating. But the most profound strategic change
in this period was the explicit move into water
purification. They realized that clean water
might be a larger, more pressing global commodity
need than just hot water, especially in Asia.
This strategic choice defines their current trajectory.
In 2009, they formally entered the purification
sector with A .O. Smith Shanghai water treatment
products. This dedicated focus on purification
signaled a massive strategic shift toward addressing
water quality, not just temperature. Because
in some regions, purification is a necessity,
not a luxury. Exactly. The global push continued
aggressively, focusing capital on India and acquiring
key filtration technology in North America. Right.
They bolstered their tankless offerings by acquiring
Takagi's North American operations in 2010. Crucially,
they simultaneously opened a new manufacturing
plant in Bengaluru, India. And quickly expanded
it. Very quickly. They expanded that facility
to 297 ,000 square feet, explicitly ensuring
it had capacity for water purification product
manufacturing, mirroring their dual strategy
in China. And domestically, they added sophisticated
filtration expertise. In 2016, they acquired
Aquasana, a major Austin -based water filtration
company, for $87 million. Aquasana specializes
in whole house. house filtration. Whole house
systems and reverse osmosis drinking water filters.
This acquisition gave A .O. Smith immediate access
to cutting edge filtration tech and a direct
to consumer brand, which let them address the
growing North American concern over water quality.
And that commitment to the Asian market and purification
continues to this day, culminating in a major
acquisition in late 2024. That's right. In November
2024, A .O. Smith finalized the acquisition of
Purite, the water purification business of Hindustan
Unilever. for about $72 million USD. And Purite
is a huge player in India. A massive player,
specializing in affordable, high -volume purification
systems. This move just cements A .O. Smith's
transformation from a bomb and car frame manufacturer
into a true global water stewardship enterprise,
heavily invested in the vast purification markets
of Asia. So after this incredible 150 -year journey,
shedding its foundational businesses to focus
entirely on water, what does the modern, specialized
A .O. Smith look like today? Well, they are a
thoroughly globalized, integrated technology
company. Their scale is enormous. They operate
27 locations worldwide with major manufacturing
facilities strategically placed, not just in
North America, but in the key growth engines
of the global economy. Bengaluru, Nanjing and
in Veldhoven in the Netherlands. And domestically.
the scale of their original core business water
heating is still unmatched. Absolutely. The legacy
of industrial efficiency perfected during the
early 20th century remains. The Ashland City,
Tennessee location is home to the world's single
largest water heater factory. The largest in
the world. That facility operates with the same
level of automated precision first achieved back
in the 1920s with the car frame factory. It confirms
that even while shifting focus to purification,
the core heating business remains dominant. Let's
detail. the product portfolio. It's far more
comprehensive than just the basic water tank
in your garage. On the residential side, their
heating portfolio is exhaustive. It covers every
major energy source and efficiency standard,
traditional gas and propane, high efficiency
hybrid units, electric models, tankless heaters
and solar assisted systems. They are positioned
to meet every regulatory and consumer preference.
And for the commercial sector, where the heating
demands are exponentially larger and more complex.
For commercial uses, the product line is robust.
They manufacture heavy duty oil fired gas. and
electric water heaters, large condensing boilers,
thanks to lock and bar specialized storage tanks,
and these large -scale modular heating solutions
known as skid systems. These are crucial because
they offer pre -assembled, integrated heating
solutions for massive facilities. And the strategic
emphasis on water treatment and purification
continues to grow. It does, particularly for
the Asian consumer market, where they are betting
big on future revenue. The average consumer often
doesn't recognize the name A .O. Smith. but they
definitely recognize the stable of brands that
fall under their ownership. It's a comprehensive
multi -brand strategy. That multi -brand strategy
is essential for market penetration and managing
different distribution channels, like plumbing
wholesalers versus retail home improvement stores.
So who do they own? The stable includes major
names like State Water Heaters, Lock and Var,
Takagi. Giant Factories, GSW, John Wood, American
Water Heaters, and Reliance Water Heaters. When
you factor in brands like Aquasana and Purate
for purification, A .O. Smith just dominates
a vast spectrum of water -related home and industrial
necessity. Finally, their commitment to the communities
that built them has been a consistent feature
for almost 70 years. The A .O. Smith Foundation,
a private nonprofit, was established in 1955.
It's an example of enduring corporate commitment.
The foundation has contributed nearly $50 million
to charitable, educational, scientific, literary,
and civic organizations, focusing primarily on
the communities where A .O. Smith has facilities.
It demonstrates a reciprocal relationship with
the industrial basis that sustained them through
those incredible periods of war production and
industrial transformation. To bring this narrative
full circle, we've tracked a truly remarkable
history. The complexity of A .O. Smith's journey
reveals a fascinating pattern. Which is? The
industrial mastery required to build the world's
first automated car frame factory and to handle
the extreme technical demands of chemical weapon
casings proved to be the exact prerequisite for
mastering the mass production of the reliable
glass -lined water heater. So their mastery of
steel. Their initial mastery of steel and that
breakthrough in fusing glass to that steel. allowed
them to shed low -margin, high -capital businesses
like auto frames and motors and ultimately pivot
to the global, highly defensible market of water
stewardship. So what does this deep dive mean
for you, the listener? This history demonstrates
a profound industrial lesson. That fundamental
materials science and manufacturing prowess,
the ability to achieve that perfect, corrosion
-resistant fusion of glass and steel, is incredibly
portable and resilient. That core expertise was
successfully applied across wildly different
high -value and essential industries, from high
-tech defense and precision engineering for cars
to agriculture with the harvest store silos.
And now providing reliable home comfort and clean
drinking water across the globe. Right. If we
look forward, A .O. Smith's major strategic shift
into water purification, highlighted by the acquisitions
of Aquasana and Purate and their massive investments
in Asian purification plants, shows where they
believe the future growth lies. It's a clear
signal. It is. So the question for you to consider
is this. Is the next 150 years of this corporation
defined less by heating water and more by the
rapidly escalating global demand for cleaning
it? What critical commodity facing scarcity or
quality issues will drive the next great industrial
pivot for the largest manufacturers of our time?