Lennox International Inc. is an American provider of climate control products for the

heating, ventilation, and air conditioning Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC ) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. H ...

(HVAC) and

refrigeration Refrigeration is any of various types of cooling of a space, substance, or system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient one (while the removed heat is ejected to a place of higher temperature).IIR International Dictionary of ...

markets. Based in

Richardson, Texas Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 119,469. Richardson is an inner suburb of the city of Dallas. It is home to the Universit ...

, the company is 9.8% owned by John W. Norris, III, a descendant of DW Norris, who acquired the company in 1904. The company's largest production facilities are in Saltillo, Mexico,

Marshalltown, Iowa Marshalltown is a city in Marshall County, Iowa, and is the county seat of the county. With a population of 27,591 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the 16th largest city in the state. Marshalltown is home to the Iowa Vetera ...

, and

Orangeburg, South Carolina Orangeburg, also known as ''The Burg'', is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population of the city was 13,964 according to the 2020 United Stat ...

History

The company was founded in 1895, in Marshalltown, Iowa, by Dave Lennox, the owner of a machine repair business for railroads. Inventors Ezra William Smith and Ernest Bryant brought their idea for a riveted steel coal-fired furnace to his machine shop to build parts for a prototype. In lieu of payment, Lennox accepted their patent, obtaining rights to the idea and founded the Lennox Furnace Co. In 1904, DW Norris acquired the company. He managed the company until his death in 1949. From 1964 to 1965, Lennox produced a small crawler tractor and mower called the Lennox Kitty Track 600. It featured a

Briggs & Stratton Briggs & Stratton Corporation is an American manufacturer of small engines with headquarters in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Engine production averages 10 million units per year as of April 2015. The company reports that it has 13 large faciliti ...

engine and a 32" mower deck. In 1999, the company became a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of share capital, stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) co ...

via an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

Acquisitions and divestitures

In 1971, the company sold its low pressure gas cylinder business to Worthington Industries. In 1973, Lennox acquired Heatcraft, including the Larkin, Bohn, Chandler, and Climate Control brands. In 1998, the company acquired Pyro Industries, a manufacturer of

pellet stove A pellet stove is a stove that burns compressed wood or biomass pellets to create a source of heat for residential and sometimes industrial spaces. By steadily feeding fuel from a storage container (hopper) into a burn pot area, it produces a c ...

s. In December 2010, the company acquired Kysor/Warren from

The Manitowoc Company The Manitowoc Company, Inc. is an American manufacturer which produces cranes and previously produced commercial refrigeration and marine equipment. It was founded in 1902 and, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, markets ...

for $138 million. In September 2023, the company sold its European commercial HVAC and refrigeration businesses to funds managed by Syntagma Capital. In October 2023, the company acquired AES.

Brands

The company operates the following brands:

Home Comfort Solutions

* Lennox * Dave Lennox Signature Collection * Armstrong Air * Ducane * AirEase * Concord * MagicPak * ADP Advanced Distributor Products * Allied * Elite Series * Lennox Merit Series air conditioner * Comfort Sync * Healthy Climate * Healthy Climate Solutions * iComfort * ComfortSense * Lennox Stores

Building Climate Solutions

* Lennox * Model L * CORE * Enlight * Xion * Energence * Prodigy * Strategos * Raider * Lennox VRF * Lennox National Account Services * Allied Commercial * Elite * AES Industries * AES Mechanical * ES Reclaim * Heatcraft Worldwide Refrigeration * Bohn * MAGNA * Larkin * Climate Control * Chandler Refrigeration * Frigua-Bohn * IntelliGen * Interlink

Legal issues

In 1998, the company paid $6.2 million to settle an age discrimination lawsuit brought by 11 former employees and the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

, after the employees, who were 41 to 58 years old, were fired or demoted.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1895 establishments in Iowa 1999 initial public offerings American companies established in 1895 Companies based in Richardson, Texas Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Electronics companies established in 1895 Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning companies