[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 103 (Tuesday, June 18, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S4148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    150TH ANNIVERSARY OF A.O. SMITH

  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate A.O. Smith 
Corporation on the occasion of their 150th anniversary.
  In 1874, A.O. Smith began in Milwaukee, WI, as a small family 
business. Over the past century and a half, they have grown from their 
humble roots. They began by specializing in the fabrication of metal 
hardware specialties and have emerged today as an industry leading 
global water technology manufacturer producing residential and 
commercial water heaters, boilers, and water purification equipment. 
Today, they employ more than 12,000 people across the world and conduct 
business in over 60 countries.
  The company was instrumental in helping to usher in the automobile 
revolution, developing a new, lightweight steel car frame--a 
development that caught the interest of major car companies including 
Peerless, Cadillac, Packard, Oldsmobile, and Ford. Ford's initial order 
of 10,000 frames led A.O. Smith to develop the world's first mass 
production process for assembling frames, later introducing the world's 
first automated frame production line. This first fully automated frame 
assembly plant came to be known as the Mechanical Marvel due to the 
line's ability to make a frame every 8 seconds--10,000 frames a day. 
A.O. Smith was also a large component manufacturer that supplied parts 
to another early Wisconsin pioneering manufacturer, Harley-Davidson.
  A.O. Smith engineers discovered an improved method for welding, 
allowing for the production of a wide range of steel products. This 
included the pressure vessel for oil refining and large diameter steel 
pipe, important components in the oil and natural gas industries.
  One of the company's most important and enduring innovations was the 
process of fusing glass to steel. By perfecting this process, the 
company developed a range of new products, including glass-lined beer 
kegs, glass-lined brewery tanks, and glass-lined residential water 
heaters. Glass-lined water heaters rapidly became an industry standard 
that endures today and led to A.O. Smith's growth as a global leader in 
water heating products. These products now include industry leading 
models that are consistently among the most efficient in the market 
according to the ENERGY STAR program.
  In recent years, A.O. Smith has emerged as an industry leader in 
developing technologies that address drinking water quality challenges. 
A cofounding member of the Water Council, A.O. Smith has helped ensure 
Milwaukee's place as a global water technology hub, while supporting 
economic development in Wisconsin. The Water Council helped bring about 
the creation of the Global Water Center, which houses water-related 
business accelerators and research facilities where engineers conduct 
controlled testing on water purification products sold around the 
world. Bringing together their work has helped transform Milwaukee into 
a world hub for water research, education, and economic development.
  I am proud to recognize A.O. Smith as an industry leader, and I share 
my best wishes with the company and their employees for their continued 
success.

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