For more than a century the Trane name has identified
products and technology that stretched the world's idea of
what was possible – a tradition that's still very much with us.
In many ways Trane is a classic American success story
that grew into a global one. It began with our founder,
James Trane, a Norwegian immigrant who opened his own
plumbing shop in La Crosse, WI, in 1885.
With the inspiration of cold Wisconsin winters, James Trane
invented a new low-pressure heating system he proudly
called the Trane Vapor Heating System. His son, Reuben,
was just back from college with a degree in mechanical
engineering, so father and son began manufacturing
operations in 1910 and incorporated as The Trane
Company in 1913. It was Reuben's invention of the
convector radiator in 1923 that firmly established the
company's reputation as an innovator, a reputation Trane
people have been building on ever since.
Growth through innovation
The idea of using technology to give people relief from
summer heat was a radical and unproven idea when Trane
became an air conditioning pioneer in 1931.
Trane fundamentally changed the concept of air
conditioning large buildings with the 1938 launch of
Turbovac, the industry's first hermetic, centrifugal
refrigeration machine. This was the beginning of a long
chain of innovations leading to Trane's current CenTraVac
®, the industry standard for large commercial air
conditioning systems. This is the most energy efficient
system available anywhere for large buildings and it has
earned Trane the "Best of the Best" Award from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
Expanding our offer to customers
With the acquisition of Sentinel Electronics in the late
1970s, Trane moved into the important building automation
and management field. The company was the first to offer
integrated controls for all its products and became a leader
in the still new field of energy management, a leadership
position that continues to expand.
Our days as a leader in residential air conditioning began in
1982. That's when we took advantage of an opportunity to
acquire General Electric's Central Air Conditioning Division.
We're proud that over the decades we've enriched the
scope of our products and technology as well as the scope
of the total solutions we can offer each customer.
In 1984 Trane was acquired by American Standard
Companies and remained the largest of its three
businesses: Air Conditioning Systems and Services, Vehicle
Control Systems (WABCO) and Bath and Kitchen.
On Nov. 28, 2007 we successfully completed a plan
announced the previous February to separate the three
American Standard businesses, leaving each free to
concentrate exclusively on the markets it knows best. . Over
the course of the year WABCO was spun off as an
independent corporation and Bath and Kitchen was sold to
Bain Capital Partners. On Nov. 28th American Standard
Companies changed its name to Trane, with its stock
trading under the new symbol "TT". Our new name reflects
our business focus and our leadership in providing
integrated heating, ventilation and air conditioning services
and solutions.
New chapters in our history of growth through innovation
are being written every working day. Our momentum
continues to build because -- as our people have said for
years -- "it's hard to stop a Trane."
products and technology that stretched the world's idea of
what was possible – a tradition that's still very much with us.
In many ways Trane is a classic American success story
that grew into a global one. It began with our founder,
James Trane, a Norwegian immigrant who opened his own
plumbing shop in La Crosse, WI, in 1885.
With the inspiration of cold Wisconsin winters, James Trane
invented a new low-pressure heating system he proudly
called the Trane Vapor Heating System. His son, Reuben,
was just back from college with a degree in mechanical
engineering, so father and son began manufacturing
operations in 1910 and incorporated as The Trane
Company in 1913. It was Reuben's invention of the
convector radiator in 1923 that firmly established the
company's reputation as an innovator, a reputation Trane
people have been building on ever since.
Growth through innovation
The idea of using technology to give people relief from
summer heat was a radical and unproven idea when Trane
became an air conditioning pioneer in 1931.
Trane fundamentally changed the concept of air
conditioning large buildings with the 1938 launch of
Turbovac, the industry's first hermetic, centrifugal
refrigeration machine. This was the beginning of a long
chain of innovations leading to Trane's current CenTraVac
®, the industry standard for large commercial air
conditioning systems. This is the most energy efficient
system available anywhere for large buildings and it has
earned Trane the "Best of the Best" Award from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
Expanding our offer to customers
With the acquisition of Sentinel Electronics in the late
1970s, Trane moved into the important building automation
and management field. The company was the first to offer
integrated controls for all its products and became a leader
in the still new field of energy management, a leadership
position that continues to expand.
Our days as a leader in residential air conditioning began in
1982. That's when we took advantage of an opportunity to
acquire General Electric's Central Air Conditioning Division.
We're proud that over the decades we've enriched the
scope of our products and technology as well as the scope
of the total solutions we can offer each customer.
In 1984 Trane was acquired by American Standard
Companies and remained the largest of its three
businesses: Air Conditioning Systems and Services, Vehicle
Control Systems (WABCO) and Bath and Kitchen.
On Nov. 28, 2007 we successfully completed a plan
announced the previous February to separate the three
American Standard businesses, leaving each free to
concentrate exclusively on the markets it knows best. . Over
the course of the year WABCO was spun off as an
independent corporation and Bath and Kitchen was sold to
Bain Capital Partners. On Nov. 28th American Standard
Companies changed its name to Trane, with its stock
trading under the new symbol "TT". Our new name reflects
our business focus and our leadership in providing
integrated heating, ventilation and air conditioning services
and solutions.
New chapters in our history of growth through innovation
are being written every working day. Our momentum
continues to build because -- as our people have said for
years -- "it's hard to stop a Trane."