Founded in 1904 by W.E. McCorquodale as a plumbing business in Orange, Texas, Little Giant Manufacturing Company, Inc. stands as one of the city's oldest continuously operating enterprises. The company's trajectory shifted dramatically in 1927 when McCorquodale invented and patented the "Hotomatic," the world's first thermostatically controlled instantaneous gas water heater. Utilizing heavy copper coils and an array of impinged gas jets, this innovative device used local water pressure to force cold water up through the system, immediately heating it to 180 degrees and delivering hot water safely and conveniently on demand. Following World War II, the founder’s son, Alan
McCorquodale, joined the family business and launched an expansion program
that significantly accelerated the company's growth. Continuing the legacy of
innovation, Alan secured additional patents, including a 1986 improvement for
automatic temperature-sensing cold water injection. Today, the company
produces instant gas water heaters ranging from 40,000 to 180,000 BTUs,
alongside electric immersion and circulation models. During his tenure, Alan
also discovered a massive niche market for the Hotomatic: churches. The
instantaneous heaters proved perfectly suited for warming the hundreds of
gallons of water required for total immersion baptisms as the pools filled.
This success led to the 1980 creation of TMRX, a subsidiary named after
Alan's sons, Timothy and Rex, which expanded the business into manufacturing
fiberglass steeples, baptistries, crosses, and fishponds. Now in its third generation of family ownership,
Little Giant’s products have reached international markets, with equipment
sold to organizations in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi
Arabia, and beyond. The incredible versatility of the Hotomatic has led to an
array of surprising commercial and industrial applications. The heaters have
been used by the McIlhenny Company to circulate warm water and protect
Tabasco pepper plants from winter freezes, and even deployed to eradicate
fire ant mounds in the southern United States. In freezing climates, they
provide hydronic heating for commercial buildings and circulate heated water
through concrete foundations to prevent cracking. Heavy machinery
manufacturers like Caterpillar utilized Little Giant heaters to keep tractor
fluids flowing during the construction of the Alaskan pipeline, while other
units are installed on earth-moving equipment to maintain engine warmth
overnight for reliable morning starts. From generating steam for carpet
cleaners and providing remote decontamination showers for asbestos removal
crews, to supplying super-heated water for sanitizing animal shelters and
cleaning commercial vessels during the Alaskan oil spill, Little Giant has
spent over a century engineering the rugged thermal power required to solve
highly specialized industrial challenges. |
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Year
Founded: 1904 |
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Main
Products: Water Heating Products |
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Brand: Little Giant |
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Country of
Origin: USA |
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Facebook
Account: N/A |
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Website: https://little-giant.com/ |
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Address: 105 Donnell St, West Orange, TX
77630, United States |
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Contact No.:
+14098834246 |
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