Tramco Pump

Welcome back (finally) to 100 years of Tramco. Below you'll find our history PLUS two scanned documents we found from the 1940s. One of our very first patent itself, and the other of the actual flood control unit patented: In 1941, The Company became a Fairbanks Morse Westco pump distributor, focusing on the regenerative turbine pump, and grew to become one of the largest Westco distributors in the US.?These pumps were used in several of our design and build boiler feed and condensate return unit systems. On December 7, 1941 - Japan attacked the US Military base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, leading the US to enter World War II. The demand for pumps during the war gave the business a significant boost.?We later learned that our pumps were used in essential industries contributing to the war effort and at the University of Chicago in the development of the atomic bomb that was instrumental in ending the war. Raw materials shortages during this period sometimes made it challenging to supply new pumps, so we reverted to our original business model - repairing and reconditioning pumps and other machinery. In 1942, Harry De Costa and John Obermaier, long-time friends, formed a 50/50 legal partnership of Transmission Machinery Company.??The company relocated to a larger facility at 1741 W Madison Street Chicago, IL - across the street from the Chicago Stadium, home of the (NHL) Chicago Blackhawks and the (NBA) Chicago Bulls.?In July, Al Erickson joined the company after graduating from Tilden High School.?Al worked his entire career at Tramco, until finally retiring in 1995 as Vice President of Sales. The company began manufacturing “Flood Control Units” to prevent homeowner’s basements from flooding due to sewer backups.?The city’s combined sewer system, which handled both sewage and storm water, often became overwhelmed during heavy rain storms, causing sewer water to back up into basements. On April 25, 1944 - We were awarded our first US patent # 2,347,544, titled “Flood Control Means.”??This innovation started an industry of companies manufacturing and selling flood control devices.?Although several competitors entered this market, most attempting to copy our design and success, none were successful and survived very long.??This remains a part of our niche plumbing business today. September, 1945 - World War II ended with Japan’s surrender. January, 1947 - “Jack” Obermaier joined the company full-time after graduating from Schurz High School, were he learned how metal castings were made at the schools on-site foundry.?He also learned pattern making becoming our master pattern maker and helping to grow and expand our product lines. June 5, 1947 - Transmission Machinery became an Illinois “C” corporation. In the years following the war- a boom in business emerged, helping lay the ground work for our further growth and development of new products to come in the 1950’s. Visit www.tramcopump.com or call 312.243.5800 Cheers to 100 years!

Taking a small break from the 100 year history of Tramco Pump to bring you our latest little project in which we are pretty proud of! Here you will see (8) eight of our model 2515 vertical sump pumps going to a Boeing facility in Tacoma, Washington. They were made to be direct drop in replacements for their outdated Paco pumps. Shout out and many thanks to our local distributor Hurley Engineering Company of Tacoma for helping make sure the pumps fit the existing piping. Attached you will see photos of before, during and after assembly. As always, if you or anyone you know is in need of anything pumping related - give us a call at 312.243.5800 or visit us at www.tramcopump.com We will be back to our regularly scheduled posting of our decade by decade history come Monday. Can't wait for you all to see what we've got in store! Cheers to a 100 years

We are back with the 1930s at Tramco Pump: With the Great Depression, came challenges in acquiring raw materials and inventory. The constant reinvestments of profits during the 1920s, helped keep the company afloat with the necessary funds to survive the early 1930s. In 1934, Transmission Machinery Company took on their first distribution product. We became the second EVER distributor in Gorman-Rupp Pumps history. They have been an extremely important part of our long term success and remain a relationship we proudly continue today. Tramco continued to survive through the Great Depression by fixing anything they could get their hands on, through new contacts as well as from old contacts made through their previous careers. In the late 1930s, at a time when the US economy was still in turmoil, these two entrepreneurs - Harry DeCosta and John Obermaier - decided to invest and start manufacturing their own sump pump. With their combined knowledge and experience in repairing and rebuilding pumps, rather than choosing to copy every manufacturers existing design, these two wanted to create a superior design. Their unique design incorporates a mechanical shaft seal, with an oil bath which lubricates the shaft sleeve bearings. This design has ultimately proven it self so effective, we still utilize it today - while some of our competitors only offer this design as an upgrade. In September of 1939, Germany invaded Poland, marking the beginning of World War II, which added concerns for the future of the company. Stay tuned for the next post covering the 1940s. Where we were able to actually track down some photos and vintage special documents to include. Who doesn't love pictures? As usual - if you or anyone you know is in need of anything pumping related, make sure to give us a call 312.243.5800 or go visit www.tramcopump.com for more details Cheers for 100 years, thanks for celebrating with us!

DEAR ALL, This coming May 2024, Tramco Pump will celebrate the milestone of 100 YEARS in business. We have been quite busy collecting as much of our history and stories we can find, so you can join us on a trip down memory lane. We will be making 10 posts in this series, one for each decade in business, highlighting our people, products and progress. Now let's begin with 1924-1929. In 1924, Harry DeCosta started a business under the name of the TRAnsmission Machinery COmpany (later shortened to Tramco Pump). He located it at 1715 W Lake Street in Chicago. His company was dedicated to the selling and servicing of power transmission equipment. He recruited his long time friend, John Obermaier, who was working as a salesman for Chicago Pump, to help out in his free time. Together, they began repairing and rebuilding pumps. Soon after, John left Chicago Pump to join his friend in this business venture. Both put in long hours including weekends, and reinvested all of their profits back into the business to buy necessary inventory. With all of their hard work and dedication, the business began to grow. However, the Great Depression was just around the corner .... Stay tuned for the next post covering the 1930s Also, as always - if you or anyone you know is in need of anything pumping related - give us a call at 312.243.5800 or visit www.tramcopump.com. Cheers to a hundred years, and cheers to a hundred more. Thanks to all who have supported us along the way!!