Carrier
Field Study Trip Essay
By: Caman de Vaudreuil
Carrier says the innovation that changed the world happened in 1902. In 1902 Willis Haviland Carrier designed the first modern air conditioning system. On July 17, 1902, a young research engineer initialed a set of mechanical drawings to solve a production problem at the Sacket and Wilhelm’s Lithography and Printing Company in Brooklyn, New York. In 1915 Willis carrier and six other courageous entrepreneurs launched an independent company. In 1915 Carrier Engineering Corporation was providing to over 200 industries with an unmatched promise of “the whole job, the whole responsibility, and the contract for results. In 1922 Willis carrier launched modern air conditioning from the factory into movie theaters, office buildings and department stores, and treating the general public to its first taste of cool, clean and comfortable “Manufactured Weather.” In May 1922, Willis Carrier unveiled his single most influential innovation, the centrifugal refrigeration machine. Over the next decade, the chiller would extend the reach of modern air conditioning from textile mills, candy factories and pharmaceutical labs to the revolutionary work of ensuring human comfort in theaters, stores, offices and homes. Other elements of modern air conditioning evolved to keep pace. Carrier partnered with three large fan manufacturers in May 1923 to found the Aerofin Corporation. Aerofin offered a lightweight, brass and copper alternative to bulky cast-iron heat exchangers. Powered by these innovations; Carrier launched its own version of "the Roaring Twenties" in 1924 with the first in a series of historic installations. In 1928 the company installed two 76-ton chillers in the Morro Velho Gold Mine in Brazil, an installation destined to improve the working conditions of miners all over the world. Carrier also planted offices in Sydney, Paris, Bombay, Johannesburg and Stuttgart throughout the decade. Successful large installations created demand in smaller places. In 1926, the Capital Theatre in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, became the first installation of Carrier refrigeration using the "ejector system" a boon to small theaters unable to install overhead ductwork. As the company grew Carrier and Lyle emphasized the care and education of employees. In October 1925, Carrier University was founded with six professors, 20 students and Willis Carrier as president. The following year, the company launched a Safety Organization which included seven safety inspectors. "No safety device has yet been invented," the inspectors reminded employees, "to take the place of the one just above the ears."
1930-1940 despite the Great Depression Carrier Corporation never stopped investing in the art and science of air conditioning in railroad and marine applications, and pioneering the creation of efficient systems for business and home. The company extended its reach to markets in every corner of the globe. The first demonstration of the possibility of cooling a railway passenger car was made at the Baltimore and Ohio shops in 1929. In 1941-1950 Carrier Corporation provided throughout World War II even as it prepared to meet the needs of a postwar world. In his final decade, Willis Carrier successfully completed one of the most satisfying projects of his storied career before becoming Chairman Emeritus and turning his company over to a new
