At the turn of the (last) century, people tinkered in makeshift shops, turning good ideas into great inventions. Vermont blacksmith Thomas Davenport was a perfect example. Using the principles developed by Michael Faraday and Joseph Henry, and silk from his wife's wedding gown, he built the first electric motor in 1834. Fifty years later the electric motor had revolutionized American industry.

Carl and Paul Bodine were also natural tinkerers. As children in Loomis, Nebraska, the two Swedish immigrants were fascinated by the town's first electric generator. And they began to send away for every available catalog and pamphlet to find out more about this exciting "new" source of energy. But their interests weren't confined to electricity. They tinkered with just about everything, eventually building a hot air balloon which exploded and rattled every window in town.

With the promise of jobs in Chicago - and the memory of rattled windows in Loomis - the Bodines set off for the thriving prairie metropolis, and just in time. Chicago had discovered the wonders of electricity.

While working at jobs in the electrical field, the brothers spent their spare time refining their talents in a bedroom workshop at Mrs. Johnson's boarding house.

General purpose fractional horsepower motors were relatively new when Carl and Paul produced their first 1/20 - 1/12 hp "D-type" motors in 1905. At the time, many manufacturers still pirated their small motors from electric fans. But fan motors were often unreliable in other applications and unable to work consistently under a variety of conditions.

Just two years after they opened for business, their first "custom" job came in. An Iowa dentist, tired of his foot treadle drill, approached the Bodines during the 2nd annual Chicago Electrical Show in 1907, and asked for their help. He was so satisfied with the modified "D" motor they provided that he recommended the young men to a major dental equipment company. The Bodines had found their first "big" customer, somebody who could really get things moving!

The 1920s were a time of hope and prosperity in America. Lindbergh braved the Atlantic in 1927, Babe Ruth hit 467 home runs in the decade, and the automobile came of age.

The electrical industry flourished in a decade of unprecedented growth. By 1927, 63% of American households had electrical power, and by 1929, it powered three-fourths of American industry.

Bodine was in tune with the times - especially with the music industry. The first consumer radios were introduced in 1920, and within a decade found a place in more than 12 million homes. A revolution in mass communications had begun. For the first time, people across the country could be in on distant events "as they happened." The world was as near as your radio dial.

Bodine entered the booming radio market in 1924 with a specially designed loop aerial. They improved it a year later, creating a product that resulted in better reception in densely populated cities.

Phonographs represented another breakthrough in communications. The great symphony orchestra concerts, the popular operas, and new jazz sensations were now available on records. But the early phonographs had several drawbacks: cranking the old Victrolas was a chore, and the new electric turntables were continually breaking down. After extensive testing, Bodine engineers developed a quiet, dependable turntable which maintained a constant speed. Within a year of its introduction, Bodine's RC-10 motor claimed a fifth of the company's sales, with many going to the growing new audio industry.

While Americans listened to their favorite songs on the radio and phonograph, another "music machine" made its appearance during the decade. In 1928, Seeburg purchased Bodine motors for their first commercial phonograph - the jukebox. This new device created a culture - now you could hear the latest "hits" in neighborhood soda fountains and meeting places everywhere.

Black Thursday, Gloomy Sunday. The crash of the stock market in October of 1929 had a devastating impact on American life. Never had an economy crumbled so completely. Poverty became the way of life for millions.

While production and incomes sank to record lows, American resourcefulness and ingenuity took over. People learned to make do with less, and to make the most of what little they had.

Ingenuity flourished at Bodine Electric too. Although Bodine business fell off more sharply between 1929 and 1933 than did business generally, the company still managed to hold on. Instead of laying off employees, Bodine shifted its production schedule. The plant operated two full days per week instead of four half-days, saving workers' carfare, and enabling them to look for other work. A contract to make "built-in" motor parts for Sunbeam's new food mixers provided jobs for production employees, while the engineering lab began to improve existing motor designs.

The emphasis on product improvements kept engineers employed, and assured Bodine's ability to meet post-depression demands of the late 1930s and early 1940s.

Bodine's "N" motors were designed during the early 1930s, and made a significant contribution to the fractional horsepower field. The new line was particularly useful for driving office machines, scientific instruments and recording equipment. The "N-line" offered several sales advantages then, as Bodine's motors do now. They were quieter, performed better, and, most importantly, were designed with interchangeable frame sizes for both AC and DC operation.

Bodine also introduced its first governor-controlled motors in the 1930s. These new motors were particularly valuable to the office machine industry because they could withstand frequent starting and stopping, and could accelerate rapidly to constant speed. The new products, and the ability to adapt existing motors to different uses, enabled Bodine to meet wartime demands during the next decade.

World War II provided America, and the American economy with a new sense of purpose. America was, indeed, the arsenal of democracy, and satisfying the need for armaments and supplies created a booming economy. And, coming on the heels of the Great Depression, increasingly large government orders meant a whole new challenge for Bodine.

Electric motors were critical to America's war effort. Over 40,000 different kinds of motors were required for planes, tanks, ships and other equipment. But, unfortunately, magnet wire, ball bearings, steel, copper, and aluminum were all in short supply.

People were also in short supply. Few draft boards recognized the importance of keeping America's production workers on the job, and meeting deadlines became increasingly difficult.

Like other manufacturers, Bodine turned to women for the answer. Wives took over their husbands' jobs, single women went to work, and by 1945, women represented 45% of the company's employees.

While the employment of women was essential to meeting production demands, hiring them for factory jobs had a long-range impact. Women proved themselves capable workers - even at jobs that traditionally belonged to men.

Although it required long hours, Bodine continued to expand during the war years. The "AC" series, introduced in 1940, was particularly important to the aircraft industry. These explosion-proof motors were designed for RAF bomber fuel pumps and represented 30% of Bodine production in 1942. Bodine motors powered many other war products too. Gun sights, beacons, and propeller control mechanisms were all powered by reliable, well-built Bodine motors.

Of course, not all Bodine motors went to war. The early 1940s were a time for scientific advances too. Bodine motors were part of the 8 million volt atom smasher at Notre Dame, and the advanced astronomical equipment at the Fremont Pass observatory station in Colorado. All through the 1940s, the company planned for peace, and for new small motor applications.

The end of World War II marked the beginning of an automated America. People had money to spend, goods that were scarce became plentiful, and people were fascinated by new gadgets and machines.

The most popular new product of the late 1940s and early 1950s was, of course, the television set. Although people were skeptical at first, television revolutionized entertainment. Entire families crowded around the TV to see Milton Berle, I Love Lucy, and Ed Sullivan. The fare wasn't always what it might have been, but it was fun.

Not surprisingly, as television and other machines and appliances became part of everyday life, commercial electrical energy use increased dramatically: 333% between 1940 and 1954. Bodine was ready. Much of the technology the company developed for the war was applied to peacetime uses. The "KLI-2" series was one of several postwar products. These low-inertia motors were designed for quick response from a limited power supply, and were particularly valuable in electronically controlled instruments like chart recorders and electrocardiographs. The "NCH" line, designed for magnetic tape recorders, was also important in the early 1950s.

Bodine expanded with the office equipment industry after the war. One of the most significant introductions was the "K-4" motor, used in the first Royal electric typewriter. Again, Bodine provided a motor that eliminated problems manufacturers had experienced with other designs. The "K-4" series was quieter, and it gave off no radio interference to affect neighboring machines. Bodine also supplied motors for calculators, duplicating equipment, and adding and mailroom machines.

Perhaps the most exciting development in office equipment came in the late 1950s when the then Haloid Corporation approached Bodine for a motor for a new kind of copying machine. Bodine supplied the motor for the first of what was to be called the "Xerox®" machine, and continues to make special motors for many of the large copier manufacturers.

As always, the company moved with the times - and the times were really about to move. In the 1950s experiments were already underway to develop a new kind of switching device, eventually called the "transistor."

The 1960s have been described as a decade of rebellion. Students became activists. Civil rights became a prominent issue. Skirts got shorter and hair got longer. And while many changes were sociological, technology advanced at an equally rapid pace.

In the late 1960s, Bodine entered the rapidly developing electronics field with a new line of silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) motor speed controls. These electronic devices converted AC line current to non-pulsating DC current, and permitted more precise speed control. These controls have been used widely in medical equipment and photographic processors.

The early 1970s saw the introduction of Bodine's permanent magnet (PM) field motors. These efficient new motors and gearmotors met industry demands for a smaller and more powerful DC motor, especially in applications like welding apparatus and elevator door openers.

Bodine has also played a role in some major medical breakthroughs. The shunt wound "NSH-33R" gearmotor became part of new radioisotope "body scanners," which make "maps" of specific organs or areas of the human body. Bodine motors also power kidney dialysis machines and blood pumps.

In the 1980s Bodine manufactured stepper motor systems designed for advanced digital technology. These high speed incremental motion devices were ideal for minicomputer-controlled products requiring precise and reliable positioning.

Metric motors and gearmotors were another 1980s product line. Bodine was the first American manufacturer to produce motors to international standards. Equipment makers could then use American-made motors in their products for export overseas, and rely on Bodine's expertise and distribution network all over the world.

Bodine was in on solar energy too. Special Bodine motors were used to track the movement of the sun, making the most of this "new" inexhaustible energy source.

Assessing the future is always risky. During the 1920s, people scoffed at experiments with television, and "a man on the moon" was the impossible dream. But for Bodine Electric one thing is certain: the commitment to quality that the Bodine brothers made in 1905 still stands today, and will continue to guide us in the future.

Being the biggest small motor manufacturer has never been the company's concern. But being the best has always been important. Whether it was the first motor sold for an electric dental drill in 1905, aircraft motors during World War II, or the first copier motor in the 1950s, Bodine has helped to define the problems, develop the solutions, and deliver high-quality, reliable products.

Maintaining a reputation for craftsmanship is a great challenge. We must continually evaluate each aspect of our work, and continue to develop new and better ways to put our products to use in a variety of industries. We'll also keep exploring the techniques and procedures that mean progress for tomorrow. We're proud of our past performance, and we look forward to the future.