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Preserving Arvin

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Arvin Industries (1950 - 2000)

In 1950, both the country and the company were energetically embarking on an exciting journey for the latter half of the 20th century.

Arvin, which saw a $53 million of sales during 1950, would become a $3 BILLION multi-national corporation by the end of the century.  Neither the new millennium nor the over-hyped Y2K scare could derail the progress.  But, in the middle of the year 2000, some would argue that something else did.  In July, Arvin merged with Meritor, Inc,. to form ArvinMeritor.  We'll discuss the short history of that portion of the company's story on the ArvinMeritor  page.

Some of the many highlights of "The Arvin Years" include:

• Hitting the ONE BILLION DOLLAR sales plateau in 1987! (and subsequently $2 billion and $3 billion marks)
  
• Establishing first manufacturing locations outside Indiana
  
• Establishing first manufacturing locations out the U.S.
  
• Entering the automotive replacement (aftermarket) business
  
• Celebrating their 50th anniversary in 1969 in grand fashion
  
• Reigning as the number one supplier of original equipment exhaust systems
  
• Establishing a joint venture, Arvin Sango, Inc., with Sango Company, Ltd.  This is significant because at the time this page is being created, it is (unfortunately) the ONLY business (to our knowledge) that still displays the name A-R-V-I-N.
  
• Being named the "Hoosier Company of the Year" in 1978
  

Many new products were developed and delivered during the "Arvin Years".  Among them:

• Heater-fan combos
  
• Military items for the Korean conflict
  
• Automatic coffee percolator
  
• Clock radio with timer-controlled outlet for things like the coffee percolator above
  
• Color TV sets
  
• Outdoor barbecue grills (The Charky!)
  
• Prismatic rear-view mirrors (Flip Flops)
  
• Portable phonographs
  
• Portable AM/FM radios
  
• Room humidifiers
  
• Arvinyl (and many products containing it)
  
• Hair dryers
  
• Portable clothes dryers
  
• Catalytic converters
  
• Heat exchangers for fireplaces
  
• Security systems for nuclear power plants
  
• Wind turbine home attic ventilators
  
• Component stereo systems
  
• Industry's first cordless electric heater -- the Wall Hugger
  
• And many more!!
  

Coming soon - More history & many photos!