About Us

This information excerpt from "Made In Illinois-A Story of Illinois Manufacturing" -Arlof Achilles
Copyright 1993, Illinois Manufacturers' Association

It was also the post war years that brought us the concept of suburbs on a large scale and along with it the mass production of the private home. Each of these homes had to have its own, self contained heating unit, most of which operated on oil, a cheap resource at the time. To burn the oil efficiently, specially designed burners were required. Lloyd Aldrich was a pioneer in the manufacture of the oil burner, facilitating the conversion from coal to oil fired heating equipment, such as boilers, furnaces, water heaters and other power generators. Beginning with crude designs in the 1920s, Aldrich made his first burner in his basement in the town of Wyoming and sold it on May 1, 1935; over the next seven months he manufactured 250 Aldrich Heat Pak burners.

With the assistance of the small town of Wyoming, the Aldrich factory was built and by 1941 burner production reached 26,000 units annually. Soon the Aldrich Company considered itself the "World's Largest Oil Burner Manufacturer." As the use of coal for home heating waned, so did the need for converters and Aldrich started producing boilers and water heaters fired by the company's burner. These developments made the oil burner much more reliable and most important, serviceable in place. Aldrich's other inventions include the elimination of high tension transmission of high voltage between the transformer and electrodes by using contact springs; the use of slip friction of the running contact providing the safe operation of switches; development of the double universal joint between the motor and bump. These developments had a profound effect on the industry and are still in use.

Today the Aldrich Company is still locally owned and manufactures a wide variety of hydronic heating equipment. Most notable are their indirect fired water heaters and primary/secondary modular boiler systems. The indirect heaters are known world wide for their longevity and ease of maintenance. Their newest introduction of primary/secondary modular boiler systems is fast becoming the model for efficient hydronic space heating. This is accomplished by an innovative multiple vessel concept run by a computerized control technique.

A Letter From The President Of Aldrich Company

We would like to thank you for visiting our web site.

The Aldrich Company is a small family owned firm. To give you a little background, the company was established in 1936 by Lloyd Aldrich. Lloyd was a local man, well known as a tinkerer and inventor. He is recognized as an early pioneer of the oil burner. He not only contributed to the innovation of many of the components which went into the burner's operation, but also successfully established the company to mass produce them. Even the motors and transformers employed on the burners were built here. During this time there was a strong demand for oil burners to convert heating systems from coal fired to oil fired. For many years, Aldrich Company maintained the reputation as the world's largest oil burner manufacturer.

Mr. Aldrich retired in the mid-forties divesting his assets to a corporation with diverse interests. As the conversion burner market became saturated and demand waned, the company began to design and manufacture hydronic heating boilers and water heaters to employ their oil burners. Much of the design and development of these products was done through the efforts of Ned Howard and others upon their return from WWII. During the 1960's the Aldrich Company was a major producer of residential oil fired equipment; primarily water heaters.

In 1972 the company was purchased by Ned Howard, who was joined by his son Fred in 1973. Early on, the Howards shifted their focus towards the commercial hydronic market. Their emphasis was soon directed solely to the commercial market and residential water heaters were phased out. The manufacturing of oil burners also ceased.

The forte of the Aldrich Company has always been to only manufacture products of the highest quality and design, by using the finest materials available and employing loyal craftsmen with the skills and aptitude necessary towards this end. We outsource no sub-assemblies and we procure only domestic steel and tubing to fabricate our pressure vessels. All Aldrich boilers and water heaters are constructed and stamped to Section IV of the ASME code and registered with the National Board of Pressure Vessel Inspectors.

Our ownership and management are one and the same. Our administration and production staff are all local folks of the utmost dedication. Working side by side with Fred is wife Suz Howard, Vice President. Our long time factory superintendent is Suz's brother Ed Foglesonger. More recently, son Jason Howard has come aboard, now acting as head of computer systems with responsibilities in other key phases of the operation.

Our products are distributed through jobbers, wholesalers, and directly to contractor and industrial accounts throughout the United States and worldwide. Export sales have long been a significant percentage of our business; both to commercial accounts and in support of United States military installations. Along with our standard production line we are most capable of providing custom built units to meet all insurance codes, local building codes, C.O.E. requirements, and Military specifications. Another significant aspect of our activity is name branding for others.

The 80's and 90's have been dominated by the rapid growth and pre-eminence of the gas fired market and vast technical advances in heating system control packages. Aldrich has always recognized the importance of these advances in order to maintain its stature in providing the best possible systems for its customers. Efficiency and safety are now synonymous with quality. The term we like to use around here is "rugged quality". Longevity of a product's service life is a vital characteristic of true value for your money, and we pride ourselves on ensuring that every Aldrich unit will outlast as well as outperform all others.

Again we appreciate your visit to our website and hope you found it to be of value to you. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments.