RACINE, WI – More than 75 years ago, tinkering with an idea and some sheet metal, an architect in Racine, WI., named John W. Hammes invented the first food waste disposer. To this day, InSinkErator’s headquarters remain in Racine where his disposal was first invented. In honor of its American roots, InSinkErator has created a website - http://madeintheusa.insinkerator.com - to celebrate its workforce and the products they make.
Today, InSinkErator employs over 1,000 people at its facility in Racine, and the company expects to expand to its Kenosha, Wis., facility by the middle of this year. InSinkErator is the only garbage disposal made in the USA, and its disposers are manufactured with over 80% domestic content.
“As a company born in the U.S., we value the American worker and believe in the importance of keeping jobs in the United States,” said Tim Ferry, president of InSinkErator.” We created this website to better tell the story of the people and the company behind the product.”
Among the engaging features on the new website are videos that show a day in the life with four of InSinkErator’s veteran employees: Wally (manufacturing supervisor, 33 years), Shelley (manufacturing floater, 29 years), Yolanda (assembly line cell operator, 13 years) and Anna (electrical apprentice, 10 years).
“Our employees take great pride in making products for the rest of the world,” said Ferry. “Many of our employees are second and third-generation InSinkErator employees. Their parents and grandparents had a tremendous work ethic that they passed on to children and grandchildren.”
The website tells the story of InSinkErator’s journey over the years, from its humble beginnings to the American icon it has become, holding 300 worldwide patents and producing more than 150 million disposers since the company’s inception. Historical photos bring this story to life, illustrating interesting events in the company’s past, like the time in the 1940s when the war was on, and to support the effort, InSinkErator manufactured defense parts in addition to disposers for hospital ships.
“We’re proud of our past,” said Ferry. “We estimate that disposers have diverted 77.3 billion pounds of food waste from landfills, and that makes us feel good about the work that we’ve done, but we also look to the future and how we can build on our success.”