Louis Upton Emory Upton, and venture capitalist Lowell Bassford founded the Upton Machine Company on November 11, 1911 in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The firm's first products were wringer washing machines powered by primitive electric motor

Electric motor

An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...

s. Louis Upton's younger brother Frederick Upton (1890–1986) then joined the company. Soon afterwards, Frederick and Louis Upton, who were brothers, achieved the status of partner-CEOs of the fledgling firm, which would grow to become the Whirlpool Corporation.

Three keys determined the Upton Machine Company's survival

With many regions of the United States becoming wired for electricity at this time, factories all over the country were springing up to produce kitchen appliances. Three moves helped determine that the Upton Machine Company would be a survivor:

1. When Upton Machine's very first batch of power wringer washers turned out to have a defective part, Louis Upton replaced it at no charge - thereby helping to establish the industry tradition of cost-free repair service for machines in the early stages of their working lives.
2. Soon after helping to found the company, the young Uptons developed a business friendship and partnership with the CEO of Sears, Roebuck and Company
   Sears, Roebuck and Company
   Sears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
   
   , General Robert E. Wood
   Robert E. Wood
   Robert Elkington Wood was a U.S. Army Brigadier General and businessman best known for his leadership of Sears, Roebuck and Company.- Early life :...
   
   . In 1916, Sears began sourcing retail appliances from Upton Machine, and in 1925, the Michigan firm persuaded Sears to make it their sole supplier.
3. The Uptons implemented an aggressive merger policy that led to the combination of many key manufacturing plants and distribution networks. When, in 1929, the Nineteen Hundred Washer Company of Binghamton, New York
   Binghamton, New York
   Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
   
    bought Upton Machine, the merged firm enjoyed a significant market share of the U.S. East Coast market for washing machines. The Nineteen Hundred firm already possessed the trade name Whirlpool, which was to become the name of the entire company in 1950.

During the Great Depression

Appliance sales suffered. The Uptons' friendship with Sears enabled Louis and Frederick to regain complete control of the Nineteen Hundred Corporation in 1932. Their supremacy was not challenged again in the Uptons' lifetime.

Whirlpool innovations

• Paid employee vacations (1917)
• Top-loading automatic washing machine (1948).

Upton's family

Louis Upton's family life was challenged by the birth of a son who was profoundly deaf and a daughter with Down's syndrome.

The Frederick S. Upton Foundation was started in 1954. Frederick and his wife Margaret gave millions of dollars to their communities. The couple had 4 children, 16 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. Grandson Fred Upton

Fred Upton

Frederick Stephen Upton is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1987. He is a member of the Republican Party and Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. The district, based in Kalamazoo, stretches along the Michigan-Indiana border in the southwestern part of the state.-Early life,...

 was elected to the United States House of Representatives and, in the 112th Congress, was chairperson of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.