 |
The Heritage of Our Company
Fisher & Company, Fisher Corporation, and Fisher Dynamics
trace their beginnings to a horse-drawn carriage shop in
Norwalk, Ohio in the late 1800's. The shop was owned and
operated by Alfred J. Fisher's grandfather and it was where
A.J.'s father and uncles learned their trade.
In 1904 and 1905, two of the brothers came to Detroit to work
in the first "horseless carriage" body shops. In 1908 they
decided to go into business for themselves as the Fisher Body
Company.
In the early years of the company, the Fisher Brothers had to
develop new body designs because the "horseless carriage"
bodies did not have the strength to withstand the vibrations
of the new motorcars. By 1913, the Fisher Body Company had the
capacity to produce 100,000 cars per year and customers
included: Ford, Krit, Chalmers, Cadillac, and Studebaker. Part
of the reason for their success was the development of
interchangeable wooden body parts that did not have to be
hand-fitted, as was the case in the construction of carriages.
This required the design of new precision woodworking tools.
In 1916 the Company became the Fisher Body Corporation. Its
capacity was now 370,000 bodies per year and its customers
included Abbot, Buick, Cadillac, Chalmers, Chandler,
Chevrolet, Churchfield, Elmore, EMF, Ford, Herreshoff, Hudson,
Krit, Oldsmobile, Packard, Regal, and Studebaker.
The rest of the seven Fisher brothers, including our
Chairman's father, came to Detroit and joined their brothers
at various times as they came of age.
From its beginning in the "horseless carriage shop" in
Norwalk, Ohio, to its sale in 1919 and 1926 to General Motors,
the Fisher Body Company was built by the Fisher brothers into
one of the World's largest manufacturing companies.
The company owned 160,000 acres of timberland and used more
wood, carpet, tacks, and thread than any other manufacturer in
the world. It had more than forty plants and employed more
than 100,000 people, and pioneered many improvements in
tooling and automobile design including closed all-weather
bodies.
Fisher Body's contribution to the war effort in both World War I and
World War II included both the production of airplanes and
tanks. Alfred J. Fisher was Aircraft Director for Fisher Body.
On August 14, 1944, the Fisher brothers resigned from General
Motors to devote their time to other interests, including the
magnificent Fisher building on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit.
On January 19, 1972, the last of the Fisher brothers died. The
seven brothers left a legacy that will long be remembered.
They donated millions of dollars to schools, churches, and
other charitable causes and were active in directing those
endeavors.
Alfred J. Fisher, one of the seven Fisher brothers, had three sons:
Alfred J. Fisher, Jr., Robert C. Fisher, Walter W. Fisher. In
1947, with the help and encouragement of their father, they
started a new business. They began to manufacture metal
stampings at a plant located in Ferndale. The business was
called Alrowa Metal Products from the names of the three
brothers.
Early customers included Cadillac, Detroit Transmission,
Chevrolet, Inland, Fisher Body, Ford and Chrysler Among the
products made at that time were transmission components, ash
trays, outside trim parts, brake bands, and metal fasteners.
During the Korean war, the company made parts for rocket
launchers.
In 1953, the growing business needed additional space.
Property was purchased on Maple Road in Troy and construction
of a new building began. In 1956 the company moved all
operations from Ferndale to Troy. The name was changed from
Alrowa Metal Products to Fisher Industries. In the years that
followed, the business continued to grow.
One of the most challenging projects of the early years was
the design and construction of new custom high speed stamping
presses. These "Fisher Presses" greatly increased our speed to
produce metal fasteners that our customers wanted.
Another
major project was the installation of "heat treat" furnaces.
We found that doing it ourselves gave us greater control over
the quality of the finished product.
Through all those years, A.J., Bob, and Walter Fisher insisted
on, and got the best from everybody in the organization. As a
result, everyone gained.
In the early 60's there was increasing public pressure for
improvements in automotive safety, which resulted in laws
requiring the installation of seat belts. In 1965, General
Motors needed additional sources to supply the millions of
safety belts required for the driver side and the front seat
passenger side. Because of Fisher Corporation's experience in
the metal stamping and long association as a GM supplier, they
were given the opportunity to bid on a portion of that
requirement. When the business was awarded to us, it was
decided that a new company would be formed...and General
Safety was formed. Our first customer was Cadillac. A plant
was leased on ten mile road in East Pointe, equipment was
purchased, people were hired and trained, and production began
in the summer of 1965.
In 1973, Alfred J. Fisher was discharged from the Army
Paratroopers and became part of the team. In 1980, Michael
Fisher Graduated from Georgetown University and came to work.
Walter and Bob Fisher subsequently sold their interests in the
companies to A.J. Fisher and his family.
As part of the ongoing drive for auto safety, a device was
required to prevent the back of the front seat from flying
forward in crash situations. This resulted in the development
of the seat-back latch and the birth of Fisher Dynamics.
In 1995, General Safety was sold to AlliedSignal. They
maintained the seatbelt operations for a few years as part of
their automotive safety restraint group but AlliedSignal
ultimately sold its entire restraint division to Breed
Technology in 1997.
After the sale of General Safety the Corporate identity was
changed to Fisher & Company, Incorporated. The new Corporation
consisted of Fisher Corporation, and Fisher Dynamics. Al
Fisher, III became President of Fisher & Company, brother
Michael retained the Presidency of Fisher Dynamics and Alfred
J. Fisher, Jr. continued as Chairman of the Corporation.
Moving into the new millennium, Fisher & Company continues to
grow. Fisher Corporation acquired the property next door for
much needed expansion, and welcomed Alfred J. Fisher IV as
Vice President. Fisher Dynamics purchased the property of
three neighboring companies and now has six plants in St.
Clair Shores.
In 2001, Fisher & Company purchased a recliner manufacturing
facility from Johnson Controls. The plant, located in Linden,
Tennessee, brings and additional 100,000-plus square feet of
manufacturing capability and the skills of 500 Linden
employees. Known as TEAMLINDEN, this new facility positions
Fisher & Company as the leading supplier of mechanisms to the
automotive industry.
|
|
