W.R. Sweatt
| William R. Sweatt | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1867 Iowa |
| Died | USA |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Nationality | American |
William R. Sweatt (1867–?) was an American industrialist.
William Sweatt was the son of Charles Sweatt, a Vermont banker and hardware merchant. Charles sought greater opportunities in the West, hence the family moved to Iowa.
William R. Sweatt arrived in Minneapolis in 1891. He started the Sweatt Manufacturing Company, building wooden wheelbarrows, grocery boxes, and wooden washing machines at a factory in Robbinsdale, Minnesota.
In 1892, at the urging of his father-in-law, W.R. Sweatt invested $5,300 in the Consolidated Temperature Control Company, based in Minneapolis. A year later, the board of directors asked him to take over management of the company.
In 1888, Albert Butz's attorneys renamed Butz Thermo-Electric Company to the Consolidated Temperature Controlling Company.
Early in the year 1892, the management of the Consolidated Temperature Controlling Company renamed the company the Electric Thermostat Company.
On August 16, 1892, the stockholders of the Electric Thermostat Company agreed to sell an extensive list of patents to W.R. Sweatt for the sum of $1.00.
On October 5, 1892, the directors changed the name to the Electric Heat Regulator Company and recapitalized it and elected W.R. Sweatt as both Secretary and Treasurer. The stockholders agreed to accept the assets of the Electric Thermostat Company and to assume the liabilities of Sweatt as a trustee.
By 1895, the company showed a profit for the first time.
In 1896, W.R. Sweatt was given a salary of $1200.00 for the year and a retroactive salary of $1200.00 for the year 1895.
At a stockholder meeting February 23, 1898, W.R. Sweatt purchased the entire company from the other stockholders. By 1900, Sweatt held all 400 shares of stock, and by 1902 he had paid off the company's outstanding debts.
Sweatt sold Sweatt Manufacturing Company in 1901.
From the time he began managing Electric Heat Regulator Co. in 1893, it never suffered a losing financial year.
From around 1905 all advertising had introduced the country to the heat regulator called The Minneapolis.
Early thermostats were stamped Electric Heat Regulator Co.. By 1910 the thermostats were actually stamped “The Minneapolis” in bold face across the cover.
Around 1908, W.R. Sweatt and factory supervisor Joel Hersleter began experiments on a new product to further refine the automatic damper-flapper control. The idea was simple:
i) Modify am alarm clock,
ii) Adapt an alarming mechanism in such a way that, instead of ringing a bell, it mechanically changed the setting on the thermostat.
iii) Through a clever arrangement of levers and catches, the clock would be mounted on directly on the thermostat.
iv) The "alarm" could be set to go off, say at 8 o'clock, and when 8 o'clock arrived, the device would turn the thermostat up automatically.
v) The clock thermostat idea was around for some time, so it was natural for Sweatt and Kersteter to develop the new product.
By 1910, Electric Heating Regulator Company employed 12 men. Two types of motors were assembled: the original spring wound motor, which required periodical winding, and a newer gravity type motor, which used an iron weight for power. In addition to the motors, the company assembled thermostats from parts purchased from the Standard Thermostat Company of Boston.
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