F. L. Maytag

F. L. Maytag

F. L Maytag was born near Elgin, Illinois, the eldest son of Daniel W. and Amelia (Toeneboehn) Maytag, natives of Germany, who were married at Independence, Iowa, in 1856. The family moved to Marshall County, Iowa, in 1868, settling on a farm that remains under Maytag ownership.

F. L. started working on the family farm at an early age and had only minimal public education. About 1880 he left the farm and started working in a Newton implement business; a year later he was half-owner. He sold his interest in that endeavor and bought a lumberyard in Newton. In 1893 he became a partner in the Parsons Band Cutter & Self Feeder Company. The first washing machine was added to the company's line in 1907. In 1909 the Maytag Company was organized to produce washing machines. F. L., who stressed that quality was more important than low prices, served as president of the company for about 12 years.

In 1882 F. L. married Dena Bergman, and they had four children: Elmer H., Louise "Polly" (Smith), Lewis B. "Bud," and Freda "Kit" (Sparey). In 1921 F. L. turned the presidency over to his second son, Lewis Bergman Maytag, but continued as chairman of the board of directors until his death.

F. L. was a major investor and officer in the Maytag-Mason Automobile Company, the South Dakota Railway Co., the Iowa Mausoleum Company, and other ventures. He represented Jasper County in the Iowa Senate for 10 years, served one term as Newton's mayor, and was Iowa's first director of the budget.

F. L. gave Newton a park, complete with swimming pool and band shell; provided for buildings for the Salvation Army and the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA); and contributed generously to Newton churches. He died in 1937 in Los Angeles, where he had a winter home. He provided bequests to many of his employees in his will.

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Birth: Jul. 14, 1857

Death: Mar. 26, 1937

Business Magnate. He founded the Maytag Appliance Company's, and was its first president.

Family links:

Spouse:

• Conradena Wilhelmina Bergman Maytag (1859 - 1934)*

Burial: Newton Union Cemetery Newton Jasper County Iowa, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Frederick Louis Maytag I (July 14, 1857 – March 26, 1937) also known as F. L. Maytag, founded the Maytag Company, which eventually became the Maytag Corporation which was acquired by the Whirlpool Corporation in 2005.

F.L. Maytag was born July 14, 1857 in Newton, Iowa. The eldest of 10 children born to German/Jewish immigrants, Amelia Tarebun (1837–?) and Daniel William Maytag (1831–?) [the original spelling of their name was "Maitag" prior to immigrating to the United States, and was "Americanized" to "Maytag" upon arrival]. The full set of children were: Frederick Louis Maytag I (1857–1937);Lewis R. Maytag (1859–?); Martha M. Maytag (1862–?); Theodore Henry Maytag (1864–1931); Jacob B. Maytag (1867–?); Emma Maytag (1869–?); Daniel C. Maytag (1872–?); Helena Maytag (1875–?); Anna A. Maytag (1878–?); and Viola Maytag (1880–?).[3] When ten years old F.L. traveled in a covered wagon with his family to a small farm near Laurel, Iowa, in 1867. Education

F.L. Maytag attended North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, in 1872-73. Business

In 1893, F.L., his two brothers-in-law, and George W. Parsons each contributed US$600, for a total of US$2,400, to start a new farm implement company named Parsons Band-Cutter & Self Feeder Company. This company produced threshing machines, band-cutters, and self-feeder attachments invented by Parsons.

F.L. Maytag eventually took sole control of the firm and renamed it the Maytag Company. As Maytag grew, F.L. forayed into other businesses. In the 1910s, F.L. left the day-to-day company operation in the hands of sons Elmer Henry Maytag and Lewis Bergman Maytag, to concentrate on other business areas including innovations of a washing machine with a gas powered motor branded as the Multi-Motor and a washing machine with an agitator that forced the water through the clothes branded as the Gyrafoam. These inventions proved extremely valuable as by 1927, Maytag was producing more than twice the washers of its nearest competition and had outperformed the industry with growth doubling for five consecutive years.

Even after Elmer Henry Maytag became Maytag's president in 1926, F.L. was active in promoting Maytag products, and ensuring worker happiness and often greeted employees by asking, "Is everybody happy?"

Mr. Maytag was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1995.

F.L. married Dena Bergman, and they had two sons and two daughters.

To the city of Newton, Iowa, F.L. donated a 40-acre (160,000 m2) park and swimming pool, now named Maytag Park and Maytag Pool. He built and donated the Maytag Hotel and spearheaded a theater and a water plant. F.L. also built hundreds of houses for his workers, selling them on easy terms. Death

In 1937, Frederick Maytag died of a heart ailment at Good Samaritan Hospital, near his winter home in Beverly Hills, California. He left a US$10 million estate (equivalent to $165 million today).

A special train brought mourners from the east coast to Newton, Iowa, and an estimated 10,000 factory workers and salesmen formed a line five blocks long to observe the casket processional. Those who could not fit into the First Methodist Church were taken to four other churches and two halls.