A brief history of Logan Actuator
Co. and Logan Engineering Co.
In
1915, Henry H. Logan, while working as chief mechanic at Anaconda Mining Co. in
Butte, Montana, came into contact with William Lilly. Mr. Lilly had designed a
device to provide safety protection for the Mine Hoist, to help prevent overspeeding and overtravel. Mr. Lilly's device was
designed in such a way that it relied on electrical power being on, which made the
device "Non-Fail-Safe." Mr. Logan redesigned the device and produced
the first "Lilly Hoist Safety Controller."
In
1917, looking to begin production of the Controller, Mr. Logan moved to
Chicago, and eventually connected up with Duro Metal
Products, a producer of hand tools. He made arrangements to manufacture the
Controller from their factory, under the Duro name.
On
January 1, 1935, Mr. Logan moved out of the Duro
plant, and formed Logan Engineering Co. He built a small, but dedicated
workforce dedicated to the belief that a superior product will always win over
the market. Logan Engineering Co. continued to produce the Lilly Hoist
Controller, in several variations, and built a worldwide reputation for
providing a quality product.
The
original plant was on the second floor of a four story
building at 4541 Ravenswood Ave. in Chicago. After about 4 years, as the
business expanded, new space was required and a half city block was purchased,
4901 W. Lawrence Ave., and a manufacturing and office facility was built,
comprising some 14,000 square feet. This was paid for in full, along with
dividends and bonuses within one year.
In
1940, Logan Engineering was approached by a sales organization, representing,
in part, Montgomery Wards to explore the possibility of producing a small metal
cutting lathe, so that Wards could compete with Sears and their Atlas Lathe.
Logan Engineering agreed, and the first Montgomery Wards Power Kraft Lathes
were built. In 1941, Logan decided that in addition to providing the Lathe for
Wards, they could produce a lathe and market it under the Logan name.
The
demand for Lathes was such that the plant was expanded almost immediately to
over 35,000 square feet. By 1949, business had grown to where the plant and
office areas had grown to several buildings comprising over 62,000 square feet,
with approximately 120 employees.
During
the next 30 years, Logan Engineering manufactured many different variations of
the Logan Lathe, all driven by Customer demand. Logan built Lathes of 9", 10",
11", 12", 14" and 15" swing size with bed lengths from
33" to 68". In the 1960's, they built the "Electri-Matic",
a 15" swing Automatic Turret Lathe. From 1940 to 1971, approximately
90,000 Lathes were built by Logan Engineering Co., and sold under the Logan and
Wards names.
During
all this time, part of the operation of Logan Engineering continued to dedicate
itself to the production of the Lilly Hoist Controller. More models were
developed, and options, usually at customers request, were added. Other mine
related products were also developed, including the Logan Hoist Recorder, the
Logan Recording Tachometer, and the Pump. The Logan Aridifier,
a device to remove contaminants from compressed air lines was also
manufactured.
In
1969, the company was sold to Houdaille Industries, and in 1971, the operation
was moved to Tennessee, to consolidate it with other manufacturing plants they
had. At that time, Henry Logan decided he wanted to retain control of the
Controller division, and negotiated a purchase agreement for the assets,
tooling and drawings for that part of the company from Houdaille. He then
formed Logan Actuator Co., and started operations in a different building, only
a few blocks from the previous site of Logan Engineering Co. The
"Actuator" in the name came from a device Mr. Logan had designed,
which was a hydraulic lifting device, intended for the Mining and Steel Mill
Industries. The Logan Actuator was never marketed.
Several
years later, it was discovered that Houdaille had allowed the registration of
the name "Logan Engineering Co." to lapse, and Logan Actuator
registered it as a non-operating company, to protect the long earned, and well
known, family name.
In
1977, Henry H. Logan passed away at the age of 95. He had continued as
President of Logan Actuator Co., and was still very active in the daily
operations of the company, right up until his death. George H. Logan, who had
joined his father in the business after leaving the Army at the close of World
War II, took over the role of President, and Chief Executive Officer, as he
remains today. In 1995, Scott S. Logan, grandson of Henry, who joined the
company in 1978, was named Vice President of Manufacturing.
In 2003, the company
moved it’s operations from it’s “temporary quarters”
in Chicago to Harvard Illinois, about 60 miles northwest of Chicago and home of
Harmilda the cow.
In 2015, at the age of
99, George Logan passed away (4 months after the death of his wife of over 60
years, Adeline) after a long battle through heart attacks and strokes. Scott
Logan continues the operation as President.
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