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When Industrial Equipment News was founded in 1933, one of industry’s premier companies, Ingersoll Rand, was just 13 years shy of its own 75-year milestone.

Launched as the Ingersoll Rock Drill Co. shortly after founder Simon Ingersoll patented a steam-powered rock drill in 1871, the company merged with the Rand Drill Co. in 1905 and the name was changed to Ingersoll Rand.

William Saunders, who became president of the still-new Ingersoll Rand Co., is regarded as the person perhaps most instrumental in putting the business together, bringing innovative ideas to the forefront. Saunders was an engineer by training, and a marketer at heart — indeed, a rare combination.

First known for its rock drills, Ingersoll Rand in contemporary terms is certainly best known for its air compressors and pneumatic tools. The company introduced the ubiquitous, air-powered Impactool in 1934, a year after IEN was born.

Even with a stunning track record in terms of firsts, innovative engineering, and resulting profits, a company simply can’t exist for 100 years without going through some tough times. For Ingersoll Rand, those tough times were the 1980s. Following the oil price shocks of the 1970s, the recession of the early 1980s caused tremendous struggle for IR — as it did for most companies.

It was the first time in modern history that that company faced such adversity. It took a loss. It uncharacteristically reduced its workforce by a considerable amount. The company had to get its finances in order, also involving cost reductions corresponding with market and industry conditions. It needed to adjust its portfolio so that it wasn’t so heavily exposed to the energy industries. For example, in 1974, Ingersoll Rand acquired Schlage — a company that, within IR, was an anomaly for more than a decade.

Interestingly, the guiding light for the ills of the early 1980s was already in-house, represented by Ingersoll Rand’s acquisition of Schlage a decade earlier.

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The Schlage acquisition provided the needed foundation for Ingersoll Rand to diversify, while increasing its focus on the security sector. This pursuit helped to successfully lead the company out of the 1980s turmoil, setting the stage for modern-day growth and development. Ingersoll Rand’s Security Technologies business now accounts for $2 billion in revenues.

Another unique highlight of the company was celebrated just about this time last year. In November of 2006, Ingersoll Rand Company Ltd. marked 100 years of continuous listing and trading of its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: IR). Its initial common stock offering was on October 11, 1906. With only a few years of exception, Ingersoll Rand is one of the very few companies in the U.S. that has declared quarterly cash dividends every year since 1919 — even during The Great Depression.

In contrast to many companies that were started with nothing more than human spirit and an idea, Ingersoll Rand was not a typical family company. Executives worked their way up through the ranks at Ingersoll Rand, typically from the position of sales engineer.

It wasn’t until 1999 that “an outsider,” according to Dickard, took the helm at Ingersoll Rand. Still chairman, president, and CEO today, Herb Henkel brought on a “day-night transformation of Ingersoll Rand,” says Dickard. Under Henkel, who continues restructuring the company’s portfolio for long-term growth, lean manufacturing in combination with Six Sigma have been implemented to improve repeatability and, thus, quality — leading to higher levels of customer satisfaction as well as profitability.

Development of innovative products remains at the forefront of Ingersoll Rand’s efforts. In recent years, the company has introduced Nirvana,  said to be the world’s first true, variable speed air compressor; the TriPac System to eliminate the need for over-the-road truckers to idle their rigs just to power cabin-centric creature comforts during rest periods; and even an award-winning residential security device.

Click here for YouTube Video: Ingersoll Rand Oil-Free Nirvana Compressor

Click here for YouTube Video: Ingersoll Rand Nirvana HPM (Hybrid Permanent Magnet) Motor

Present-day and down the road, Ingersoll Rand is poised to lead three markets: industrial, climate control, and security — markets that the company believes will continue to offer substantial growth opportunities over the coming decade and beyond. Says Dickard, “I don’t think you’ll see Ingersoll Rand deviate from those particular markets; it’s just a matter of how fast we can grow and respond to the customer.”

The success and staying-power of Ingersoll Rand hasn’t conformed to a magical formula. Quite the opposite, it comes down to a very simple approach. In Dickard’s words, “We live and die by the ability to serve our customers."

"Our growth over the past century testifies to our ability to unleash the potential of people and technology to help our customers operate more profitably. It also reflects our resilience and capacity to evolve with changing market dynamics. These characteristics have long differentiated our company and are the primary drivers of our continuing market leadership and growth." Herbert L. Henkel, chairman, president, and chief executive officer.

FUN FACTS

• The Panama Canal (1904) was started using IR rock drills.
• The company invented the first Jackhammer (which started out as a trade name).
• IR’s jackhammer drills and air compressors helped form Mount Rushmore.
• IR joined General Electric and American Locomotive Co. (ALCO) to develop the first successful diesel-electric locomotive engine (1925), sold to Central Railroad of New Jersey.
• At the beginning of the nuclear age, Ingersoll Rand in 1954 provided boiler-feed pumps and compressors for the world’s first atomic submarine.