Hercules Corporation

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Hercules Corporation
legal form Corporation
founding 1894
resolution 1957
Seat Evansville , Indiana , USA
Number of employees 7500
Branch Engines , bodies
Status: 1920

Hercules Corporation was an American manufacturer of engines and car bodies .

Company history

William Harvey McCurdy founded the Brighton Buggy Company in Cincinnati , Ohio , in 1894 . He made carriages . In 1900 the factory became too small. McCurdy began building a major facility in Evansville , Indiana . The move to the factory followed in 1902. The company name was now Hercules Buggy Company . In 1905 the Hercules Body Company was founded, which manufactured bodies for motor vehicles. Other companies included Hercules Wheel Company , Hercules Surrey and Wagon Company for larger carriages, Hercules Warehouse Company as a warehouse and distribution warehouse, and Hercules Paint Company . Between 1906 and 1909, Sears produced motor vehicles .

On November 8, 1912, the Hercules Gas Engine Company was founded. Customers were Ajax, Arco, Atlas, Champion, Economy, Erren, Hercules, Jaeger, Keystone, Reeco, Rohaco, Thermoil and Williams. Around 400,000 gasoline engines had been built by the time engine production was stopped in 1934 .

1919 was electric car manufactured, the Hercules Electric was called, but a prototype remained.

In 1920 there were 7500 employees.

On November 23, 1920 McCurdy merged his individual companies to form the Hercules Corporation . William H. McCurdy was President, John D. Craft Vice President and Manager, Lynn McCurdy Second Vice President, Treasurer and Sales Director, and Frank G. Cowan Secretary.

In 1920, Lynn McCurdy, the founder's son, attended the Indianapolis Automobile Show . There he became aware of a prototype of Garde Gale. He took over the project, hired Garde Gale as general sales manager for his automotive division, and announced production for 1922 in December 1921. The brand name was now McCurdy . Production ended in the same year. A total of between two and seven vehicles were built. At least two were sold.

Much more important for the company was the production of carriages, gasoline engines and bodies for commercial vehicles and passenger cars . For example, 84,000 carriages, 62,000 gasoline engines and 40,000 bodies have been handed down for the year 1920 or 1922.

In 1930 William H. McCurdy died.

In 1957, George Caddick took over the company and carried out a reorganization. The successor company was called Hercules Manufacturing Company and was based in Henderson , Kentucky .

vehicles

The Hercules Electric electric car from 1919 remained a one-off.

Garde Gale's prototype was the Gale Four with a four-cylinder engine . The McCurdy , however, had a six-cylinder engine from the Continental Motors Company . Parts for the chassis were also purchased. The wheelbase was 323 cm. The vehicles were bodied as open touring cars . Both US $ 2095 and US $ 2500 are named as new prices .

literature

  • Beverly Rae Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr .: Standard catalog of American Cars. 1805-1942. Digital edition . 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola 2013, ISBN 978-1-4402-3778-2 , pp. 698 and p. 947 (English).
  • George Nicholas Georgano (Ed.): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile . Volume 2: G-O . Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , pp. 988 (English).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Beverly Rae Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr .: Standard catalog of American Cars. 1805-1942. Digital edition . 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola 2013, ISBN 978-1-4402-3778-2 , pp. 947 (English).
  2. ↑ a b c George Nicholas Georgano (Ed.): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile . Volume 2: G-O . Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , pp. 988 (English).
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Mark Theobald: Coachbuilt (English, accessed on April 21, 2018)
  4. ↑ Beverly Rae Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr .: Standard catalog of American Cars. 1805-1942. Digital edition . 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola 2013, ISBN 978-1-4402-3778-2 , pp. 698 (English).