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| George Westinghouse |
George Westinghouse, Jr., was the son of the founder of agricultural and sawmill machinery maker Westinghouse Co. The younger Westinghouse showed inventive talent from an early age, and he coupled it with entrepreneurial ability as well. In 1886, at age 40 and having already enjoyed considerable business success, he founded the Westinghouse Electric Co. to manufacture electric lighting. By 1891 the company had absorbed a couple of competitors and expanded its offerings and the name was changed to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co. Under this name the company enjoyed enormous success as an innovator and manufacturer of electric motors, generators, and electrical transmission equipment, becoming, with arch-rival General Electric Co. one of the two largest manufacturers of electrical equipment in the world. By the time George Westinghouse, Jr., died in 1914, his company employed over 22,000 people.
Besides the parent company, there were also subsidiaries such as Canadian Westinghouse Co., Ltd. of Hamilton, Ontario, and British Westinghouse Co. of Manchester, England.
Westinghouse Motors
We do not yet have complete information on decoding Westinghouse serial numbers. Motors manufactured in their Lima plant used a two-digit "serial number" code. The first letter gives the month of manufacturing, using M for January, N for February, etc. The second letter gives the year, A=1955, B=1956, etc. Thus, serial "NC" means that the motor was manufactured in February 1957.
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