Dave Lennox

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An American inventor, businessman, and founder of a company which became worldwide climate control leader Lennox International Inc. (NYSE: LII), Dave Lennox developed the first riveted-steel furnace in 1895. His furnace design was a significant step forward in durability and efficiency from the cast iron furnaces commonly in use at the time.

Born in Detroit, Michigan on April 15, 1855, Lennox was the son of an expert railroad mechanic. His family moved to Aurora, Illinois shortly before the American Civil War, where Lennox’ father enlisted in the Union Army. He was reported missing during the war and was never heard from again. The Lennox family moved to Chicago, where Lennox’ mother ran a grocery store while he worked in various machine shops.

On July 4, 1881, Dave Lennox moved to Marshalltown, Iowa and started his own blacksmith and machine shop. Running into Ed Sears, a local businessman who needed someone to make staples quickly and for a good price, Lennox designed a staple-cutting machine that increased production while lowering costs. Lennox’ reputation as an inventor began to grow as he developed innovative new designs for trowels, heavy-duty shears, and other tools.

In 1895, Ernest Bryant and Ezra Smith, two businessmen from Oskaloosa, Iowa, shared with Lennox their plans for a furnace using riveted steel for the heating surface. The furnaces used to heat homes at that time were made entirely of cast iron, which warped and cracked after extended use and caused smoke and coal gases to seep into houses. Bryant, Smith, and Lennox entered into an agreement in which Lennox made the iron castings used for the grates, fronts, and other parts of their steel furnaces. When Bryant and Smith were unable to pay Lennox for the iron castings because they lost their financial backing, Lennox took over their patents, reworking and improving their original design.

Lennox furnaces quickly became popular. In 1904, Lennox sold his furnace business to a group of local Marshalltown businessmen, led by David Windsor (D.W.) Norris, a well-respected local business and civic leader and owner of the local newspaper.

Dave Lennox’ former blacksmith shop grew into what is today Lennox International Inc., a leading provider of climate control and indoor air quality solutions for heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration markets around the world. Dave Lennox died quietly at his home in Marshalltown in 1947, at the age of 92. Since 1972, actors have portrayed Dave Lennox in advertising campaigns for Lennox-branded air conditioners, furnaces, and indoor air quality products. For more information on Lennox-branded residential and light commercial comfort systems, visit www.lennox.com. For more information on Lennox International Inc., visit www.lennoxinternational.com.