The Brand Story
Tecumseh: The Small Michigan Town Whose Name Runs Inside Refrigeration
In the early 1930s, in a former livery stable on Railroad Street in Hillsdale, Michigan, a handful of toolmakers opened a machine shop. Ray W. Herrick and C.F. "Bill" Sage called it the Hillsdale Machine and Tool Company, and its first work was making parts for Ford. The Depression nearly finished it. Then a man named Frank Smith walked in with an idea for a sealed refrigeration compressor, and the little shop found the product that would carry it for the next ninety years.
Chapter 1 · 1934
Twelve thousand dollars and an empty factory
Herrick took control of the business in 1933. A year later, close to bankruptcy, the company scraped together a little more than $12,000 and bought an abandoned 30,000-square-foot building in the town of Tecumseh, Michigan. It took the town's name and became Tecumseh Products. By the company's own account, its first hermetic compressor arrived in 1937. A hermetic compressor seals the motor and pump together inside a welded steel shell, so there is no shaft seal to leak refrigerant, and that design made reliable, affordable home refrigerators possible.
Growth came quickly. By the end of the 1930s Tecumseh was building more than 100,000 compressors a year. During the Second World War its factories turned to producing artillery shells. By 1950 it was making more than two million compressors a year and had become the largest independent maker of refrigeration compressors in the world, supplying the appliance makers rather than competing with them.
Chapter 2 · 1956 to 2009
Engines, the world, and a return to the core
For half a century Tecumseh was also an engine company. It bought Lauson in 1956 and Power Products in 1957, and for decades the Tecumseh name was as familiar on outdoor power equipment as it was on refrigeration. Meanwhile, the refrigeration business went global: a joint venture with L'Unite Hermetique in France in 1985 that later became a subsidiary, a plant in Brazil in 1986 and a facility in India in 1990.
In 2007 Tecumseh sold its gasoline engine and power train business to Platinum Equity, and by the end of 2008 engine manufacturing had ended. The company that remained was focused on what Frank Smith had brought through the door: compressors and refrigeration equipment. Its headquarters left the town of Tecumseh in 2009 for Pittsfield Township near Ann Arbor, where its corporate offices remain.
Chapter 3 · 2015 to today
New owners and new refrigerants
In 2015 Atlas Holdings and Mueller Industries acquired Tecumseh. Under that ownership the company launched its Argus condensing units around 2019 and 2020, and in 2021 began bringing A2L refrigerant and natural refrigerant solutions to market. That timing matters to anyone running a walk-in cooler. Refrigerants such as R-404A, long the standard for commercial refrigeration, are being phased down because of their global warming potential, and replacements such as R-448A and R-449A have become the practical choice for many new and retrofit systems. Tecumseh rates many of its current condensing units for all three, which gives contractors flexibility during the transition.
The Lineup
What Tecumseh builds today
Tecumseh makes hermetic and semi-hermetic compressors for refrigeration and air conditioning, along with condensing units that package a compressor, condenser coil, fan and controls into a single assembly. HVAC365 carries Tecumseh refrigeration condensing units for walk-in coolers, freezers and reach-in equipment:
- ARGUS outdoor condensing units: ARGUS-Small units with reciprocating compressors from 3/4 to 1 HP, and ARGUS-Medium and ARGUS-Large units with scroll compressors from 2 to 6 HP, built for outdoor installation and rated for R-404A, R-448A and R-449A.
- Celseon indoor condensing units: compact reciprocating AK and AE2 models for indoor installation, including 115-volt single-phase units.
- Medium temperature units: for walk-in coolers and other applications holding product above freezing.
- Low temperature units: for walk-in freezers and frozen storage.
- High temperature units: Celseon AK models rated for R-134a and R-513A.
At a Glance
Tecumseh in brief
- Roots
- Hillsdale Machine and Tool Company, early 1930s
- Renamed
- Tecumseh Products, 1934
- Key founder
- Ray W. Herrick
- First hermetic compressor
- 1937
- Corporate offices
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Owners
- Atlas Holdings and Mueller Industries, since 2015
- Product focus
- Compressors and condensing units
Questions
Frequently asked questions about Tecumseh
Who owns Tecumseh?
Tecumseh Products has been owned by Atlas Holdings and Mueller Industries since they acquired the company in 2015.
When was Tecumseh founded?
Tecumseh began in Hillsdale, Michigan, in the early 1930s as the Hillsdale Machine and Tool Company, and took the name Tecumseh Products after moving to Tecumseh, Michigan, in 1934.
Does Tecumseh still make engines?
No. Tecumseh sold its gasoline engine business to Platinum Equity in 2007 and engine manufacturing ended in 2008. The company now focuses on compressors and refrigeration equipment.
What refrigerants do Tecumseh ARGUS condensing units use?
The ARGUS units HVAC365 carries are rated for R-404A, R-448A and R-449A, which lets them serve both existing systems and lower-GWP replacements.
What is the difference between ARGUS and Celseon units?
ARGUS units are outdoor condensing units in small, medium and large cabinet sizes, while the Celseon AK and AE2 units HVAC365 carries are designed for indoor installation.
