Before the Great Recession, American Standard was an extremely successful company with three profitable businesses that held first or second position in their respective markets. The company’s operating income increased by 43 percent and sales increased by 24 percent in the first quarter of 1995. The company was globally diversified, and management was held in high regard for its successful adoption of demand flow technology. However, the company’s decline came at the worst time for the economy. In this article, we explore what made American Standard so successful and what his legacy is today.

Clarence Mott Woolley

Known for his iconic automobile, the American Standard, Clarence Mott Woolley was born in Detroit, Michigan. He was the son of Maria Richardson Smith Rensselaer Woolley, and a prominent member of the city’s business community. He was also the grandson of Universalist minister Edward Mott Woolley, and nephew of Lucia Fidelia Woolley Gillette, the first woman to be ordained in the Universalist ministry.

In the postwar years, the company’s income rose to $10 million annually, and Woolley built a new Manhattan headquarters that would become an architectural landmark. Before the Depression hit, Woolley had already planned a merger of four major building-products companies. The companies, which include Otis Elevator, American Radiator, and Standard Sanitary, would have become the consolidated American Radiator, with Woolley as president.

Clarence Mott Woolley’s career

While the Great Depression crippled construction and new home construction in the United States, the Great Recession fueled a surge in demand for building products. Woolley, an industrial salesman by training, was able to sweet-talk corporate executives and win their support. Master plumbers were key to American’s sales, and Woolley’s sales force was well aware of their complaints. His fourth great strength was his ability to predict economic conditions. He correctly predicted the impending panic in 1907, and managed to keep inventories at zero.

In addition to his work at American Standard, Clarence Mott Woolley was an active member of many civic organizations. He was a member of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, the Pan-American Society, the American Chamber of Commerce in France, and the Pilgrims Society, which promoted British-American ties. Woolley was a friend of Universalist businessman Owen D. Young. They served together on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank in New York and other government commissions.

Clarence Mott Woolley’s legacy

The project Ur of the Chaldees: A Virtual Vision of Woolley’s Excavations will digitize the legacy materials of the 1922-1934 joint excavations at Ur. As part of the growing Linked Open Data movement, this project will organize all available information about the ancient city of Ur. Through this, we will be able to compare and contrast earlier and current understandings of the ancient Near East.

Clarence Mott Woolley is the founder of the American Radiator Company. In 1892, he founded the American Radiator Company and joined forces with American Sanitary, a leading heating equipment supplier. The combination helped them grow as a company, providing single sources for craftsmen and driving demand for heating products. By 1900, American Standard was the leading plumbing supplier in the world. It was manufacturing 150 bathtubs a day. In the process, the American bathroom began to move indoors.