POD 1/14/2010

I advertised for ABC's in the Peoria area. One day I got a call from an elderly gentleman. He said he had some for me!
He also said his name was Bill Altorfer.
He invented the ABC washer along with John Castricone & Doc Evenger?? I think,must check that name again.

So off I went with a U Haul to Peoria Ill with my friend Jim.

We had a wonderful time with the Altorfer Bros, Hank & Bill. They filled us in on all the details.
When the factory was sold Hank & Bill had set themselves up with a parts warehouse so they could always keep there machines going. Unfortunately one night the warehouse caught fire and burned to the ground. That forced Hank to have to go buy another washer. He said " It was a sad day when an Altorfer had to go buy a Maytag, I can tell you!"
ABC at the turn of the century was bigger than Maytag.

The 1952 sale date is pretty close.
Bill Altorfer told me the sale went through the end of 1952 begining of 1953. It took a couple years to retool for Kelvinator models to be produced and that wasn't until they moved the plant from Peroia, ILL to S Bend Ind. So Kelvy made only ABC models until then.

The Altorfer's decided to sell after the war because they realize to compete in the new markets they would need a complete line of appliances , DW, STOVES, DISPOSALS, Esp FRIDGES. And they didn't want to take on the debt and development.

Bill and Hank stayed on for several years after the sale , their father and uncle retiring after the sale.
The Altorfers finally left and opened several large warehousing operations and now warehouse appliances for maytag ( or at the time I visited them) and WP and Amana.

They made scads of money just warehousing! A lesson there, but I think in talking to them , they did miss the daily challenge of the factory floor!


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Post# 405996 1/14/2010 at 06:16 (5,212 days old) by polkanut (Wausau, WI )
Checkrate/Likes Is the washing action in the ABC the same as a Kelvinator of the same era? Also, I like the idea of a timer on the machine to enable one to take advantage of off-peak electric rates. This is also a great time saving feature, allows you to have laundry ready to be dried when you get home from work, etc.

Post# 406032 , Reply# 1 1/14/2010 at 10:28 (5,212 days old) by autowasherfreak ()
Checkrate/Likes I didn't realize that delayed start went back this far. I very interesting machine. It would be great to come across one of these.

Post# 406036 , Reply# 2 1/14/2010 at 10:48 (5,212 days old) by appliguy (Oakton Va.)
Checkrate/Likes *Nash Kelvinator BOUGHT ABC* which stands for Altrofer Brothers Co., in 1952. Before that Kelvinator did not make an automatic washer or dryer.....PAT COFFEY

Post# 406067 , Reply# 3 1/14/2010 at 13:03 (5,212 days old) by peteski50 (New York)
Checkrate/Likes *ABC!* This is a awsome machine. I didn't realize they had a clock installed. Also does anyone know what the button on the right is for? Peter

Post# 406085 , Reply# 4 1/14/2010 at 14:33 (5,212 days old) by stainfighter (Columbia, SC)
Checkrate/Likes *button on right?* It looks like this POD is the suds back model? I think that is what the script states with a switch/lever from 'on' to 'off'

Post# 406093 , Reply# 5 1/14/2010 at 15:12 (5,212 days old) by lebron (Minnesota)
Checkrate/Likes Has an ABC w/ a clock ever been found?

Post# 406104 , Reply# 6 1/14/2010 at 16:12 (5,212 days old) by dishwashercrazy (West Peoria, IL)
Checkrate/Likes *Tim:* Yes, the ABC Automatic Washer has the orbital agitation. Ben has an early Kelvinator Washer and has told me that it is virtually the same machine as the ABC. The original factory is about 1 mile from where I live. Fortunately the same buildings are still standing but there are no references to ABC any longer. I need to go take some photos of the buildings and add here. I sure would love to have and ABC automatic in my collection.

Post# 406402 , Reply# 7 1/16/2010 at 08:24 (5,210 days old) by jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers)
Checkrate/Likes *Way back in 1996* I advertised for ABC's in the Peoria area. One day I got a call from an elderly gentleman. He said he had some for me! He also said his name was Bill Altorfer. He invented the ABC washer along with John Castricone & Doc Evenger?? I think,must check that name again. So off I went with a U Haul to Peoria Ill with my friend Jim. We had a wonderful time with the Altorfer Bros, Hank & Bill. They filled us in on all the details. When the factory was sold Hank & Bill had set themselves up with a parts warehouse so they could always keep there machines going. Unfortunately one night the warehouse caught fire and burned to the ground. That forced Hank to have to go buy another washer. He said " It was a sad day when an Altorfer had to go buy a Maytag, I can tell you!" ABC at the turn of the century was bigger than Maytag. The 1952 sale date is pretty close. Bill Altorfer told me the sale went through the end of 1952 begining of 1953. It took a couple years to retool for Kelvinator models to be produced and that wasn't until they moved the plant from Peroia, ILL to S Bend Ind. So Kelvy made only ABC models until then. The Altorfer's decided to sell after the war because they realize to compete in the new markets they would need a complete line of appliances , DW, STOVES, DISPOSALS, Esp FRIDGES. And they didn't want to take on the debt and development. Bill and Hank stayed on for several years after the sale , their father and uncle retiring after the sale. The Altorfers finally left and opened several large warehousing operations and now warehouse appliances for maytag ( or at the time I visited them) and WP and Amana. They made scads of money just warehousing! A lesson there, but I think in talking to them , they did miss the daily challenge of the factory floor!

Post# 406478 , Reply# 8 1/16/2010 at 12:07 (5,210 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)
Checkrate/Likes *What a great story, Jon. Thanks for telling it.* How OLD are those dudes? And they're still tickin' ! And the lesson there: The love and care of washers is a key to longevity AND wealth. The name ABC always fascinated me because it was so simple for such an unusual machine. Thought it meant something like the ABC's of washing, or the first/early washers, or the basic washer, etc. No clue that it actually stood for the two founding brothers. I wonder how they ever dreamed up such a unique agitation style, what could have suggested it! Anyone have a theory? Stirring? Hand-whipping?

Post# 407302 , Reply# 11 1/19/2010 at 01:03 (5,207 days old) by abcomatic (Bradford, Illinois)
Checkrate/Likes *Thanks Mike, I shall.* I just got home from Wisconsin this afternoon and saw the post. I spoke with Bill's daughter last winter. She told me pretty much the same story about her family. She said that ABC was once the 3rd. largest maker of washing machines in the US. Her mother told her that she should never buy a Maytag;however, if no parts avaliable any longer she did and of all things, her mom drove by when they were delivering the set. I sure wish I had an ABC-o-matic. I have two ABC wringers but the adgitation is like any other wringer machine. Gary

Post# 406527 , Reply# 9 1/16/2010 at 15:01 (5,210 days old) by dishwashercrazy (West Peoria, IL)
Checkrate/Likes *Jon, I agree with Mike - what a great story.* I'm glad that there are ABC automatics still out there. I sure wish that I had been into collecting back in the 90's and had met these gentlemen myself. Gary (Abcomatic): You need to add additional comments.

Post# 406631 , Reply# 10 1/16/2010 at 21:25 (5,210 days old) by tlee618 ()
Checkrate/Likes Wow Jon, what a fantastic story. Thanks for sharing that information with us.