Foster Wheeler

Whether it's fueling transportation, lighting cities, warming homes, or protecting the environment, Foster Wheeler is at the forefront: helping developing nations utilize their natural resources to improve their standard of living; helping to produce cleaner fuels for transportation and home heating; providing the energy to light up cities around the world; helping to protect the environment and the world's natural resources. This is Foster Wheeler&mdash-gineering to help the world run better. Although Foster Wheeler was incorporated in 1927, the origins of the enterprise date several decades earlier to the founding of two manufacturing companies: Wheeler Condenser & Engineering Company and Power Specialty Company. In 1891, Wheeler Condenser and Engineering Company was created with offices in New York City and a plant in Carteret, New Jersey. Its steam condensers, pumps, and heat exchangers were bought primarily by the power and marine industries. During the Spanish-American War the U.S. Navy contracted with the company for condensers for a number of vessels, beginning what would later be a long and important relationship for Foster Wheeler with the armed forces. In the ensuing years, the Wheeler Condenser & Engineering Company became a primary equipment supplier to the growing electrical utility industry. Power Specialty Company, founded in New York City in 1900, followed a pattern of growth similar to that of Wheeler Condenser & Engineering. The company began by marketing waterworks equipment but was soon designing and manufacturing boiler components in its Dansville, New York, plant. Primarily building superheaters, Power Specialty also expanded to serve the new electrical power industry. Like Wheeler Condenser & Engineering, Power Specialty developed an affiliation with the armed forces early in the company's history. During World War I, the company used its engineering expertise to design an advanced marine boiler for the U.S. Merchant Marines. In the 1920s Power Specialty diversified its operations by entering the industry of petroleum refinery equipment--designing and manufacturing--including crude oil distillation units and fired heaters. In 1927 the two companies merged, forming the Foster Wheeler Corporation, and established their headquarters in New York City. The same year, a former Power Specialty office in London was incorporated as a Foster Wheeler subsidiary. In 1928, Foster Wheeler Limited (Canada), another former Power Specialty office, was incorporated, with a manufacturing plant and offices in Ontario, Canada. Two years after the merger, the New York Stock Exchange offered Foster Wheeler common and preferred stock. The new corporation's first goal was expanding its product line, which was initiated through the production of feedwater heaters, evaporators, and cooling towers. The company also acquired the D. Connelly Boiler Company in 1931, enabling them to design and produce all steam generator system components. Foster Wheeler had another burst of expansion during World War II, when engineering expertise and manufacturing were in demand from the armed forces. The establishment of Foster Wheeler France, S.A. in 1949 opened an era of international expansion for Foster Wheeler. Operations were begun in Milan in 1957 with the organization of Foster Wheeler Italiana, S.p.A., Foster Wheeler Iberia was established in Madrid in 1965, and Foster Wheeler Australia Pty. Ltd. was established in Victoria, Australia, in 1967. The company also created a subsidiary to handle international construction. Although the company was expanding internationally, several engineering crises hurt Foster Wheeler's reputation and bottom line in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Former corporation president Frank A. Lee told Forbes writer Geoffrey Smith, "When you're talking about a 600-megawatt boiler that looks like a 14-story apartment house, and some tubes begin to rupture, you're talking about a tremendous amount of money. A c