Remy Electric

Remy International, Inc., formerly Delco Remy, is a company that manufactures electrical systems. It employs over 6000 people, and is the seventh largest privately-held company based in Indiana.

History

Delco Remy had its beginnings in 1896 when Frank and Perry Remy opened a home wiring business in Anderson, Indiana. In 1901 the Remy Electric Company was incorporated. Perry Remy had conducted experiments with a magneto and by 1910 the company was producing 50,000 magnetos a year.

To prove the dependability of their product, the Remy brothers sent two men on a 6,000 mile journey in 1909. They drove a Remy equipped Buick on a ten week trip from the hills of Kentucky to the swamps of Florida.

The Remy brothers sold their firm to Staughton Fletcher, Jr. and the Fletcher Savings and Trust in 1911 for a reputed one million dollars. Fletcher expanded the product line to include cranking motors, generators and distributors.

Remy's competition was Dayton Engineering Laboratories (Delco) under the leadership of Charles F. Kettering. Kettering also manufactured ignition equipment and generators.

The United Motor Company purchased the two competitors in 1916 and incorporated them into their operations. The companies remained separated until purchased by General Motors two years later in 1918.

References

* Anderson: A Pictorial History by Esther Dittlinger, copyright 1990, page 104.
* [http://www.delcoremy.com/AboutUs.aspx Delco Remy website] . Accessed 2007-11-21.