Grimes Manufacturing Company

Grimes Manufacturing Company
IndustryAerospace
Founded1933 (1933)
FounderWarren G. Grimes
Defunct1997 (1997)
FatePurchased by Allied Signal
Headquarters
Urbana, Ohio
,
United States
Number of employees
1,250[1] (1977)
Parent

The Grimes Manufacturing Company was an American manufacturer of aircraft lighting systems located in Urbana, Ohio.

History

The Grimes Manufacturing Company was founded by Warren G. Grimes in 1933.[2] Grimes was given the idea after a small plane manufacturer that he visited in 1932 suggested that they would like to have a better light.[3] Grimes used a portion of the Armbruster building before moving to an 1,800-square-foot (170 m2) converted garage on North Russell Street, where the company was started in November 1933.[4][5]

During World War II, the company built an additional building to handle the increased production.[6] At the same time, it built Grimes Field, which it continued to operate until 1987.[7] It again expanded in 1966, when construction began on a new 42,000-square-foot (3,900 m2) addition.[8]

From the 1960s to the 1980s, the company operated a Beech 18 called the Grimes Flying Lab to test its lights.[9][10][a]

In 1977, Grimes was purchased by the Midland-Ross Corporation.[12] Less than two years later Midland-Ross announced its intention to purchase a building at the Greenwood County Airport in Greenwood, South Carolina for the manufacturing operations of Grimes.[13] Then, in 1981, Midland-Ross acquired the Mansfield Aircraft Products Company and made it a subsidiary of what was by then the Grimes Division.[14] The division was restructured in 1982, with it being split into Grimes Galley Products, Grimes Lighting Products, and Grimes EL Products.[15] The Grimes Galley unit closed two years later.[16] Following a consolidation in 1991, the company reemerged as Grimes Aerospace.[17] In 1992, construction began on a 20,000 square foot expansion of the Greenwood facility.[18]

It was purchased by AlliedSignal in 1997.[19] The sale would later be questioned after it was revealed that AlliedSignal pressured credit ratings companies to ignore the unrated bonds of Grimes investors.[20] AlliedSignal, which would later become Honeywell, maintains as presence at two separate locations in Urbana.[2]

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ After being sold in 1987, the aircraft was reacquired in 1999 for restoration.[11]

Notes

  1. ^ Platt, Brainard (7 September 1977). "Midland-Ross Buying Grimes Manufacturing". The Journal Herald. p. 17. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b Keeran, Joshua (4 October 2015). "Triad students tour Honeywell Aerospace's Urbana facilities". Urbana Daily Citizen. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Urbana Plant Illuminates Planes Around the World". Springfield News-Sun. 12 August 1951. pp. 1A–2A, 6A. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  4. ^ "Boal Secures Factory Space for Business". Urbana Daily Citizen. 10 February 1933. p. 1. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  5. ^ "Size of Grimes Operation Multiplies 110-Fold in Less Than Thirty Years". Urbana Daily Citizen. 23 December 1960. p. 7. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  6. ^ "Then & Now: White-Valentine Broom Factory/Grimes Manufacturing". Champaign County Historical Society. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  7. ^ Allbaugh, Dave (15 November 1986). "Questions Surround Small Urbana Airport as Lease Nears End". Dayton Daily News and Journal Herald. p. 18. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  8. ^ Robbins, Fred (19 August 1966). "Work to Start on Grimes Building". Dayton Daily News. p. 47. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  9. ^ Wood, Janice (4 November 2009). "The Grimes Flying Lab". General Aviation News. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  10. ^ Miller, Alyssa J. (17 May 2012). "UFO a Flying Mistress". AOPA. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  11. ^ Nolte, Barbara (30 December 1999). "Grimes Flying Lab is Back Home". Urbana Daily Citizen. pp. A-1, A-6. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  12. ^ "Midland-Ross Corp. Acquires Grimes Manufacturing Co". Dawson Springs Progress. 22 September 1977. p. 6. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  13. ^ Mansfield, Duncan (2 May 1979). "County Attracts Another Industry". Greenville News. p. 1-B. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Plant which Lost Top Officers in Plane Crash Sold to Cleveland Firm". News Journal. 21 February 1981. p. 3. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Grimes Division of Midland Ross will Restructure into Three Units". News Journal. 24 December 1982. p. 9-B. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  16. ^ Jakubick, Cynthia (30 June 1985). "Catching Up on the Year Since Midland-Ross Closed". News Journal. p. 1-C. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Grimes Announces Consolidation". The Index-Journal. 23 April 1991. pp. 11, 17. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  18. ^ Ellison-Rider, Elaine (1 May 1992). "Grimes Aerospace to Expand Plant at Greenwood Airport". The News. p. 1C. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  19. ^ "AlliedSignal to Buy Grimes Aerospace". Daily Record. AP. 19 June 1997. p. C1. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  20. ^ Klein, Alex (25 November 2004). "Company May Have Pressed Credit Raters". Sacramento Bee. Washington Post. p. D7. Retrieved 11 August 2021.

Bibliography

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