Wagner Electric Corporation was founded by Herbert Appleton Wagner and Ferdinand Schwedtmann (aka Francis Charles Schwedtman) in 1891. The company manufactured electric engines,
electric motors and
electric starters for early
automobiles. They also made
electric lights and many other electric-related products. In 1909, Wagner Electric started manufacturing their first automotive
headlamp bulbs. The International Association of Machinists held a strike at the Wagner Electric Company in
St. Louis, Missouri from June 4 to October 7, 1918. Before it became part of a conglomerate, Wagner had three main divisions. It had the automotive division where it made brake parts and systems for autos and trucks. It had the motor division which made small and large electric motors and it had the transformer division where it manufactured small and medium power transformers plus liquid-immersed distribution transformers. The transformer division ended up as part of the Cooper Power Systems division. In 1967 Wagner Electric was merged with
Studebaker and
Worthington Corporation to create
Studebaker-Worthington, a diversified American manufacturer. The combined company included profitable divisions from Studebaker such as Onan generators and STP engine additives, brake and electrical automobile component manufacturing from Wagner Electric, and diverse operations from Worthington that included manufacture of construction equipment, valves and power generation plant. ==Wagner brands today==