Federal-Mogul
Encyclopedia
Federal-Mogul Corporation is a global automotive supplier based in Southfield, Michigan
, USA. It is one of the leading engine-parts suppliers in the United States, including engine bearings
, piston
s, piston pins, piston ring
s, cylinder liners
, valve seats and guides
, transmission products
and connecting rod
s. Federal-Mogul employs some 45,000 people in 34 countries with 107 manufacturing locations, 25 distribution centers and 16 technical centers.
made from their own Babbitt metal, an alloy
of tin
, antimony
and copper
, under the trademarks "Mogul" and "Duro". The bearings business proved successful and in the early 1900s became the pair's main concern, with Buick
as one of their earliest customers. Federal Bearings & Bushings Co. was founded in 1915 by a group of Detroit businessmen and manufactured bronze
bearings. Mogul Metal, Federal and Bower Roller Bearing Co. merged in 1924 to form Federal-Mogul-Bower Bearings, Inc.
In 1932 the company developed a new alloy called C-100, the first new bearing material since the discovery of Babbitt metal, which was refined in 1934 as C-50. In 1955 the company acquired National Motor Bearing Co. and the following year was listed as #350 on the Fortune 500
, with total sales of $100 million USD
. The company was renamed Federal-Mogul Corporation following a merger with Sterling Aluminum Products in April, 1965.
In 1981 the company won a claim in the Supreme Court
to patent
a process for curing
rubber based on the mathematical equation
written by Swedish
chemist
Svante Arrhenius
in 1889. The US Patent Office
had initially rejected Federal-Mogul's claim on the basis that neither a formula, as a law of nature, nor a computer program based on such a formula, could be patented.
In 1998 the company acquired Turner & Newall
, a building materials company based in Manchester, UK
which had been responsible for the Armley asbestos disaster in Leeds, UK
.
The Barcelona branch was closed at the end of the year 2010. Twenty five employees were made redundant from a total headcount of thirty three.
Southfield, Michigan
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which 0.04% is water. The main branch of the River Rouge runs through Southfield. The city is bounded to the south by Eight Mile Road, its western border is Inkster Road, and to the east it is bounded by Greenfield Road...
, USA. It is one of the leading engine-parts suppliers in the United States, including engine bearings
Main bearing
In a piston engine, the main bearings are the bearings on which the crankshaft rotates, usually plain or journal bearings.All engines have a minimum of two main bearings, one at each end of the crankshaft, and they may have as many as one more than the number of crank pins...
, piston
Piston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from...
s, piston pins, piston ring
Piston ring
A piston ring is a split ring that fits into a groove on the outer diameter of a piston in a reciprocating engine such as an internal combustion engine or steam engine.The three main functions of piston rings in reciprocating engines are:...
s, cylinder liners
Cylinder (engine)
A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work...
, valve seats and guides
Poppet valve
A poppet valve is a valve consisting of a hole, usually round or oval, and a tapered plug, usually a disk shape on the end of a shaft also called a valve stem. The shaft guides the plug portion by sliding through a valve guide...
, transmission products
Transmission (mechanics)
A machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a...
and connecting rod
Connecting rod
In a reciprocating piston engine, the connecting rod or conrod connects the piston to the crank or crankshaft. Together with the crank, they form a simple mechanism that converts linear motion into rotating motion....
s. Federal-Mogul employs some 45,000 people in 34 countries with 107 manufacturing locations, 25 distribution centers and 16 technical centers.
History
The company began in 1899 as the Muzzy-Lyon Company in Detroit when founders J. Howard Muzzy and Edward F. Lyon went into business together producing mill supplies and rubber goods. Also in 1899, the two formed a subsidiary called Mogul Metal Company to produce bearingsBearing (mechanical)
A bearing is a device to allow constrained relative motion between two or more parts, typically rotation or linear movement. Bearings may be classified broadly according to the motions they allow and according to their principle of operation as well as by the directions of applied loads they can...
made from their own Babbitt metal, an alloy
Alloy
An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...
of tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
, antimony
Antimony
Antimony is a toxic chemical element with the symbol Sb and an atomic number of 51. A lustrous grey metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite...
and copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, under the trademarks "Mogul" and "Duro". The bearings business proved successful and in the early 1900s became the pair's main concern, with Buick
Buick
Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...
as one of their earliest customers. Federal Bearings & Bushings Co. was founded in 1915 by a group of Detroit businessmen and manufactured bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
bearings. Mogul Metal, Federal and Bower Roller Bearing Co. merged in 1924 to form Federal-Mogul-Bower Bearings, Inc.
In 1932 the company developed a new alloy called C-100, the first new bearing material since the discovery of Babbitt metal, which was refined in 1934 as C-50. In 1955 the company acquired National Motor Bearing Co. and the following year was listed as #350 on the Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
, with total sales of $100 million USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
. The company was renamed Federal-Mogul Corporation following a merger with Sterling Aluminum Products in April, 1965.
In 1981 the company won a claim in the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
to patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
a process for curing
Curing (chemistry)
Curing is a term in polymer chemistry and process engineering that refers to the toughening or hardening of a polymer material by cross-linking of polymer chains, brought about by chemical additives, ultraviolet radiation, electron beam or heat...
rubber based on the mathematical equation
Arrhenius equation
The Arrhenius equation is a simple, but remarkably accurate, formula for the temperature dependence of the reaction rate constant, and therefore, rate of a chemical reaction. The equation was first proposed by the Dutch chemist J. H. van 't Hoff in 1884; five years later in 1889, the Swedish...
written by Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
Svante Arrhenius
Svante Arrhenius
Svante August Arrhenius was a Swedish scientist, originally a physicist, but often referred to as a chemist, and one of the founders of the science of physical chemistry...
in 1889. The US Patent Office
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...
had initially rejected Federal-Mogul's claim on the basis that neither a formula, as a law of nature, nor a computer program based on such a formula, could be patented.
In 1998 the company acquired Turner & Newall
Turner & Newall
Turner & Newall was a leading manufacturing business based in Manchester, United Kingdom. At its peak, it was a constituent of the FT30 index of leading companies on the London Stock Exchange.-1871-1920:...
, a building materials company based in Manchester, UK
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
which had been responsible for the Armley asbestos disaster in Leeds, UK
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
.
The Barcelona branch was closed at the end of the year 2010. Twenty five employees were made redundant from a total headcount of thirty three.
