The story of Onan may seem like a story of machines that helped people do their jobs of repairing automotive parts and making better components. However, the story is much deeper than that, it is a story of people who committed their lives to building better machinery and giving people around them the number one priority.

Onan was founded by David Onan who was not only a mechanical genius but also a humanitarian. His skills in machinery is what resulted in the major company we now know as Onan (which was purchased by Cummins Inc.). David Onan broke into the automotive industry when he landed a job working at P.J Downes Co. a distributor of Rambler Motor Cars, while he was working there he saw that logistics was an issue for customers who had a broken or damaged car part as the roads were underdeveloped and it was up to the customer to repair the part or send it to the company for repair and so he left P.J Downes to work for Hollis Co. (Later changed to Reinhard Brothers Co.) which is a wholesaler for motor car accessories and garage equipment, afterwards he convinced the owner to make a new department to repair electrical parts of motor cars and was put in charge of that department. Within 10 years Onan was supervising 50 mechanics who were trained by him and turning out from 100 to 125 repairs every day. Onan used to produce some of the tools he needed in his basement during his free time as there was a lack of tools needed and used by mechanics, this is when an idea struck him, while he was still working at Reinhard he started marketing the tools he invented to mechanics in other parts of the country by mailing them and he received encouraging responses. Onan started working during the night and weekends in his basement to fulfill the orders he received from mechanics all over the country, and when he couldn’t keep up he hired some of the best mechanics that worked under him in Reinhard. Onan hired his first full time employee in 1920, he set up an office in one of Onan’s house’s rooms, handled his mail, wrote letters dictated by Onan, kept the books, ran errands, and helped in the designing of ads. Slowly, Onan’s company was growing and mechanics found his tools priceless in repairing motor cars, so this is when Onan decided to expand by renting a building and then moved to a newer and bigger location again in 1922. After years of operation, hard work, multiple ups and downs, the Onan Corporation was sold to Studebaker-Packard in 1960, this allowed the company to continue growing as new capital was invested in the growth of the company. After multiple other acquisitions, Cummins Inc. Acquired Onan.

Today, Onan acquired by Cummins Inc. provides a wide range of engines, generators, and power systems including; portable generators, industrial generators, diesel engines, small construction equipment, and more. All these machinery are used in a variety of applications and can be found in hospitals, yachts, data centers, vehicles and much more. Additionally, Onan’s products and services can be found across the globe through Cummins extensive network of distributors, dealers, and service centers.