Hoover Auto Content, 1968
Hoover Ball and Bearing Company’s automotive parts business
September 24, 1968 (PD: 201609)
The broad range of Hoover’s plastic and metal automotive parts products can be seen in this illustration from the company’s 1968 annual report (Click image for a larger view)
The September 24, 1968 edition of Hoover News, a Hoover Ball and Bearing Company newsletter included in the company’s 1968 annual report, carried a feature on the company’s automobile parts business.
In 1959, Hoover products for the automotive industry consisted of die cast parts and a limited number of ball and bearing types. However, as the company diversified and expanded through a series of acquisitions in the 1960s, so did its automotive parts lines. Most notable were the acquisitions of Universal Wire Spring, Inc. in 1960 and Stubnitz-Greene Corporation in 1964. Universal Wire Spring made automotive seat springs and backs, while Stubnitz-Greene produced urethane foam automotive seat cushions, head rests, and arm rests. By 1968, Hoover was not only a leading manufacturer of automotive seats, but was a pioneer in the burgeoning market for plastic automotive parts.
When Johnson Controls acquired Hoover in 1985, it continued that company’s business in automotive seating. On October 31, 2016, Adient will inherit the legacy established by Hoover and Johnson Controls when it becomes world leader in the manufacture of automotive seating.
