In 1885,
James Trane, a Norwegian immigrant from
Tromsø, opened his own plumbing and pipe-fitting shop in
La Crosse, Wisconsin. He designed a new type of low-pressure steam heating system, Trane vapor heating.
Reuben Trane, James' son, earned a
mechanical engineering degree (B. S. 1910) at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison and joined his father's plumbing firm. In 1913, James and Reuben, along with Stella Jackson (formerly Trane), incorporated The Trane Company. By 1916, the Tranes were no longer in the plumbing business, but instead focused their attention on manufacturing heating products. Reuben's invention of the
convector radiator in 1923, which replaced the heavy, bulky, cast-iron radiators that prevailed at the time, was a major success. Trane's first air conditioning unit was developed in 1931. In 1982, Trane purchased
General Electric's Central Air Conditioning Division. With that purchase came many of the most recognizable traits of Trane's residential air conditioning products. Many of those traits, like the distinctive red "Climatuff" compressors, rotary compressors, the "Spine-Fin" all aluminum spiny outdoor coil and the all aluminum evaporator coil, are still found in Trane's residential equipment lines. In 1984, Trane was acquired by the
American Standard Companies. On February 1, 2007,
American Standard Companies announced it would break up its three divisions. The company sold off its
namesake kitchen and bath division and spun off
WABCO, American Standard's vehicle controls division, while retaining Trane. American Standard then renamed itself Trane Inc. effective November 28, 2007. On December 17, 2007, Trane announced it had agreed to be acquired by Ireland-based
Ingersoll Rand in a cash and stock transaction. The sale was completed on June 5, 2008. In September 2017, the
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and Allergy Standards Limited announced that the Trane CleanEffects whole home
air cleaner earned the
Asthma and Allergy Friendly Certification, the first whole home air cleaner to receive this certification. In 2020, Ingersoll Rand spun off its non-refrigeration businesses and was rebranded as Trane Technologies. ==Gallery==