History of Atlanta Stove Works

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HISTORY OF ATLANTA STOVE:
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In 1889, the year that Benjamin Harris look office as Pre!;ident of the
United States, the Atlanta Stove Wocks brought to Atlanta a revolution"-
nry idea in the field of cooking, the Barrett Range, reade of cast iron,
would burn wood or coal and the fire looped the loop around the oven
before going out the flue.
It was an entirely ne\v approach to modern
cooking for that day.
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Often the success story of an old business is more spectacular than the~­
overnight rise of a newcomer, as it isn't always so easy to change with
the times, nor is it
~asy
to weather the economic boons, major depres-
sions, wars and recessions.
In the late 19th Centur·y a man named Sam D. Jones, who was then President
of the Girl's College in Bristol, Virginia and the father of 3 sons and
one daughter, decided early in his career that he would like to look
around for something else to do.
Mr. Jones visited a banker friend in
Atlania and the friend happened to mention a business vSnture called
"The Atlanta Stove Works".
It was a fairly new organization that was
having difficulty making a go of it with the tight money situation.
Even in those early days Atlarita looked to Mr. Jones like the.ideal spot
to build his fate.
So, he bought a part interest in the business and
moved his family to Georgia.
h'ith the Jones'
the Company, things began to move.
Industrial Genius
~ehind
A brand new plant on Krog Street
was built the first year in the business.
Five years later they estab-
lished Birmingham Stove & Range Company as a branch of the Atlanta Stove
Ov~c
the years the Company sontinued to grow and expand and in the early
part of the.l930's Mr. Bolling Jones, Jr. was promoted to President of
both the Atlanta and Birmingham Plants; and about 1935 the Company was
doing about $500,000 per year.
In 1969 Mr. Saunders Jones was made President of the Corporation still
serving in that capacity.
_Under his leadership the Company has grown
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to sales in excess of 35 million per year with present employment over
sao people.
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-3ccssed through the bonderizing and metal phosphatizing system.
Parts
that are not painted are stored in palliticr boxes to be assembled
later into the
finish~d
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product.
After the parts have been painted
they are removed and stored in an area for assembly at a later date.
The storage spac~ is limited and close co-ordination of assembly time,
paint time and production time must be maintained.
Presently we have 3 lines that produce either wall furnaces or circu-_
lators or the supplemental furnace.
The latest assembly techniques are used in the production of our
Homesteaders and wall furnaces.
By using these techniques it has
enabled us to remain competitive in the marketplace and to produce
a unit at the lowest possible price.
After these units have been assembled they are transported to our
warehouse on Krog Street for storage and later shipment to our
:. Continental
~·7arehouse
in Birmingham, Alabama.
"BIRMINGHA!1 FACILITIES"
Sev2ral years ago our Birmingham facility underwent a modernization
program and installed a mechanized foundry system.
Along with this
system we purchased our first Disa-matic Molding Hachine and since thE="n
Today this
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prob~bly
most automated and sophisticated stove foundries
1n
this country.
we have added an additional 7 units.
one of the
This
foundry has the capacity of producing a mold every 15 seconds and somewhere in the neighborhood of 60 million pounds of iron per . year.
All
of our cast iron stoves , holloware, furniture and other castings are
produced in.this facility using this mechanized e~uipment.
The rav1 material comes to the_ foundry in the form of pig iron,__and sera;>
is combined Hith other materials , mixed and dropped into the Cupola.
Al~of - these
components are melted together and
molten · ~ron
is then
tapped out through the firebrick inside the Cupola and runs through a
trough into a 40 ton electric holding furnace.
transported to a system of pouring stations.
Thi~
The
molten iron is then
~olds
are prepared on
-2Since 1889, the Company has been busy promotinq and selling its product:~.
From the early days in which the Box Heater sold for $6. 48 through the
development of more _sophisticated coal &
woo~burning
stoves, gas heaters,
furniture and cookware, the company has been continuously looking for
new and better products to build and sell to its customers.
Since the beginning,Sales and Marketing have been an important part of.·
the Atlanta Stove Works.
Catalogs and other
merchandi~ing
were developed to promote and sell Atlanta made goods.
and sales
~ids
Early in its
.existence the Company starting U$ing its own sales force and has been
doing so throughout the years.
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Establishing sales goals, recognizing
those \..;ho have achieved, and those who have reached milestones in their
lifetime have been an important part of the Atlanta Sales Philosophy.
Today the
Compan~
has 21 sales representatives, 3 sales managers and
14 manufacturers representatives covering
a national network of dealers
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and distributors.
The facilities
ha~e
grown from that first plant
opened in 1889 on Krog Street to 3 manufacturing facilities \vith a 4t.h
one under construction.
The Atlanta Plant is used primarily for sheet metal products and includes
shearing and metal stamp:img facilities,
wc:s:'-ling and ph:Jsphatizing
m~tal
~assembly l~nes,
a 5 stage
preparat:.on system, along with
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.~: eceiving
and warehousing space.
Nmv,
lets take
a
swing throuqh the Atlanta Plant and see some of the·
operations that are taking place:
From our Receiving Department the steel moves to a shearing operation
in preparation for metal stamping and forming.
A large portion of the
steel is presently being purchased in blanks and the New Powder Springs
operation will be a shee~ metal processing plant where the metal is
processed from coils and dispursed to both the Atlanta and Birmingham
Punch presses, press brakes, spot welding
sheet metal operations.
equipment and other metaf forming operations are done in the Fabrication Department . . After the metal has been formed properly and welded,
in some cases,the material moves to the hang-on area where it is pro-
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The molten iron is then poured into the
these sand molds after they have been formed.
Lo solidify and then is dumped into a
the sand from the metal castings.
shake~out
c~vity
of
The material is allo>ved
conveyor which separates
The sand is processed back into the
original system, adding a slight amount of new sand periodically
mulling the sand which
~s
used repeatedly in the system.
re-
After the
castings are separated from the sand they are sent down a shake-out
belt conveyor into a tumbling operation and the castings
ar~
cleaned __
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After these castings come out of the first cleaning station the excess
metal is removed by grinding and \ further
processing is done in a wheel.
abrator where a final finish is placed on the castings.
Additional
operations, such as grinding on our cookware or drilling of the castings
are done at these stations.
The Birmingham· Facii.lit.y also houses a sheet metal fabrication
operaticm~:;
similar to the one at Atlanta, and most of our gas heaters are presently
manufactured in this facility.
Much of the equipment is the same as
what is found in Atlanta, including shears, punch presses, break presses
and other stamping and forming equipment.
Spot.
\veldin~J
and the painting
system, as well as, the assembly line are also housed in the Birmingham
Facility.
In addition to the gas heaters, cast iron furniture is made in the foundr'
and run throu_gh our processing system, painted and packed in the assembly
area.
Cookware 1s also produced in the foundry and after cleaning is routed
to our dipping department where a wax coating is placed on the cook\va re
to protect it from rust.
It 1s also packe d in this department and then
shipped to our warehouse fpr storage and later shipment_
Reform, Alabama located approximately 90 miles West of Birmingham is
our newest facility and was opened in the Fall of 1978_
This plant
was forme~ly a mobile home plant and has been converted with the installation of 2 aisembly lin~s as ;heavy boilerplate manufacturi~g facilify.
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This is probably one of th e finest
plate stoves in the country.
mc::11ufa c tl.ll~in9
L:tcility of b o il e r---
They have the capacity of producing
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thousands of stoves pet year in this plant
a~d
it
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designed, prim 21 r ily,
for the productiqn of th e se units.
Heavy fabrication equipment has been installed for blanking and formin~
of the 1/t!" metal and individual \<Rldinsr stations have been installed
along both sides of the production line.
individual stations and one welder
single unit.
The parts are brought to the -
complet~s
most of the welding on a
After the welding operation is complete d i t is insp e ct e d
on the line, any excessive weld splatter is remov ed fr o m the un i t,
a nd
then shot blasted to remove any scale on the material_
on the unit, firebricks
ace
installed in the unit,
inspected for leaks end pack a ged on the end of th e
Doors are ?l a c e d
the unit is paint e d,
lin e for s hi pment .
We presently are running the fireplace insert on one line and the
Huntsman Series on the other line .
As the units are finished they are
loaded into our company t r ucks and moved to our distribution center at
the Continental War e hou se in Birmingham.
Several ye ars ago we be gan to r e alize the need for an additi ond l
facility to backup the Atla n ta Pl a nt.
additional pcoperty, and
near Powd e r Springs.
Y.Ie
and this will be, whe n
i.n
19 8 0
we decid e d on a t- r act o£ l a nd
puc c h .:l~;e d
COIW~lt· :: trx1,
In 1979 a s e ar c h wa s b egun f or
this tr a ct in
the nei·/CSt
Of
th t~
O UC
e a r ly
p ;1 :~ t.
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4 op c r a ti nc; I -l ,· lnt: :;
and promises to be one of th 2 most we ll equipped f a c i litie s we
Ground wa s broken in 1980 an d con o:; truction began and.
l oc:at.:_,_:( J
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h ~ve .
0r e p r e sC'n l:.J.j
about 50?; th .: :- ou g h t-1ith t he i n itial construction of 1110,000 squa cc fc>: L.
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This plant has been design e d
pr~ imarily
as a sheet me tal
proce ~.> sinq
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and will in co rporate coil, r: ut to length lirie, a s we ll as,
press fe e d dies.
pLmt
automC~t cd
SevercJ.l p i eces of equipment have already be e n delive red
to the sight and are now awaiting installation.
date of the building is sometime in early April-
The projected com p letion
The tr'act has ample
acreage associated with it to allow for future expansion.
In addition,
we anticipate a connector road being developed, wl1ich will connect
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Inter-State I-20 makin g easy acce ss betiV c-!en tl1c Birrninsrham and 1\tlc:tJH.a
facilities.
A & l3 Parts Division, created in 197"/, 1s a ·ccntrol pacts de~t for both
Atlanta Stove Works and Birmingham Stove & Range and is providing now
a unique service of distribution of repair parts for all of our produ~ts_
Aft er preliminary organization and inl. crna l problem s , I\ & B is now
meeting the goal of shipping parts within 48 hours after receipt of
order.
Th e prlm<J.ry conce r.:-1 of dealers and distributors n o·,y is th e continuing
and concerted support of backup parts f or products they are buying or
have bought for the ir customers.
A newly created stove company that is in
bu~iness
finds no continuing source for a repair part_
A stove without a door,
or a stove \vithout a grate, that won't work is a
merchandise.
tod ay and gone tomorrow
usel es~:;
On e of the most import a nt tools you hav e
piece of
in your selling
program ... A & B Parts provides tha t support.
Atlanta Stove
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a people oriented busi ness .
The best .faci lities in
th e world with th e most modern equipment and the b est intentions will
not provide the fir ::;t piece o£ finished products
\vi.t~ l t oui ~
plan,
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imfJlCr~:e>n~·-
Receiving
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Indu stria l
Proc'2ssing,
anr.l E'i.Oduce the good :;
'1-vaceho ~ I:;
i.ng and Storage
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Dc:~ c::>dcd
fo r
Production an c1
Er.gi.llccri.ng, Plant Manag ement , Resear ch
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In v ~~ ll
&
:,;umeoiie to
r •coduct .
tory Contcol
Developme nt,
r
Ord e r
Oist_ :;-_·i but-. i.on, Credit, Cust ome r Servic e , ::;p(:(_:i.dl. Project s ,
Administration,
Sal~ s
and Marketing
and Shipping all qo
together to
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provide a product that can be made and sh ipped to a custo mer .
But
without these people these functions could not b e
acc omplished.
Th e
sz1les function is just one of many par:·ts of the puzzle th<J.t must fit
together for a company to be successful and profitable.
Our function
supports production just as well as the production supports the sales
function.
One cannot operate with the other.
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COMPANY
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STABILITY
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Few companies have the....,_track record of The Atlanta Stove .Works.
Starting
in 1889, the Company has successfully, throughout the years, increased
Profits have been d~stributed to s~.are holders,
its sales and profits._
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. ret~ned t~ the .Comp_a ny ·for r~investment in new facilities and ·new productr
. The Company has earned . a 4-AAA rating in Dun .& Bradstreet because of .. its
. ~ - · .-· . t
credit·worthiness.
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The !~feline of any company is new prOducts, and Atlanta Stove Works
has led· a forefront of .J::hat movement .in the coal. & woc;:>d stove business~·.
Few companies have ~s .broad a product li~e as you. represent: .· . ..
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(5) .;.· different circulator models . -- (5)- different. ·m~~ls · of
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· boile;-plate stoves. -- (2.)- inser.ts --(1)- coal & woo<I. ~ange
(2)~ models of heat exchangers ~--(4)- additional models of:coal
burning stoves --(5)- additional models of woodburning stoves
(3)- Franklin . fireplaces
and accessories for all.. above mentioned
stoves and fireplaces. ·
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Seven new products were introduced in 1980. Four ne.,... products are
scheduled for 1981~ Research & Development is continually working on
new products and me-t::ho~s of_providing you with'the latest tec::hnological
developments in the industry.
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Management is bullish on the future of this company. We have the
facilities; we have the people,
have the financial resources to :be-
we
a leader in our chosen f.ields.
· Few companies have the qual~·~y ~r .. rep-
resentation .that we offer th~'ough our Sales Forc.e and our system of
marketing ~nd .distribut~on of products~ Y~u represent our Management,
.our products and our philosophy. You ~re ~elling a product backed by ·
a company with a solid track record of years of involvement i~ the
industry, do.ing business in . a fair and honest way, treating. our customers
in a manner in which we would like to be treated..
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"ATLANTA
~T.QVE - WARMING AMER~CAN HOMES SINCE 1889"
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B-u-ILDER
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MR. JONES
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San1 Jones Mal{es Great Contribution
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Devotes His High[y Developed Faculties to Upbuilding
His Career a Wonderful Success
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of Society---
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By WALTER G. COOPER
R. SAM D. JONES came to
Atlanta 27 years ago with a
few thousand dollars saved
from the earnings of earlier years
and since then has built up two great
industries, the Atlanta Stove Works
and the Birmingham Stove & Range
Company, which turn out a product
selling for more than a million dollars a year and employ 350 persons
whose industry supports a thou.s and.
Mr. Jones is a native of Virginia.
Born in 1856, he went through school
and college graduating from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, taking an
additional course in the Languages
at Richmond Colleg·e, now University
of Richmond and graduating there
in law.
He practiced law for ten years at
Marion, Virginia, and feeling that he
must seek a broader field accepted
the presidency of the South West Virginia Institute, a small school established by the Baptists of that section.
It had at the time only about 75 students and 6 teachers, but grew rapidly and four years later was moved to
Bristol, and installed in a fine plant
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built by the Baptist people of Virginia.
Mr. Jones spent ten very active
years in this school and gTeatly increased its size. When he left it,
there was 25 officers and teachers
and 300 students.
While that was a useful service,
Mr. Jones realized that it would not
be a money making business and determined to devote some years to
more active pursuits. For that purpose he set out to find a promising
location. This was throe years after
the Cotton States Exposition, which
had brought Atlanta and the Southeast very prominently before the
world. Mr. Jones came to Atlanta
and decided to locate here. He knew
Governor Northen and the late A. D.
Adair, whom he had met in the Southern Baptist Convention, and naturally
called on and advised with them.
In answer to an advertisement published in the Atlanta papers by Mr.
A. D. Adair, over his own signature,
a number of letters were received
offering investments in going business.
Among- them was one from
the · Atlanta Stove Works, which Mt·.
Adair and Governor Northen thought
worthy of consideration.
Mr. Jones investigated the business and bought a third interest in
the company. Mr. J. R. Dickey, who
owned a thit·d interest, remained
some years, but Mr. Alex S. Seals,
who was failing in health soon retired and Mr. Jones was promoted
from vice-president to president of
the company.
Mr. Jones' knowledge of accounting
acquired at the Virginia Polytechnic:
Institute, was a valuable asset in
this business. He found that the calculation of cost for stoves was erroneous, in that it did not take proper
account of overhead expenses, and the
selling prices supposed to yield a profit, were actually below cost.
As a result the company had been
losing money and was, in debt. He
made a new cost sheet and when the
time came to renew a years contract
with the concern which sold the
stoves, he laid the cards on the table,
showed the loss at selling prices then
in effect and asked for new prices
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THE PLANT OF THE ATLANTA STOVE WORKS
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that would yield a moderate profit.
Th<' purcha:;er did not know his man
and refused to revise the prices.
With no selling organization and
goods piling up in the factory, Mr.
,Jones ~et out to organize a selling
forcli. It was a success from the
start and the busin ess in four years
g rew from $63,000 to $250,000, showing a sub stantial profit.
At that time stove factories were
ex pected to supply hollow ware and
to meet the demand, Mr. Jones and
his brother Bolling H. Jones , establi shed at Birmingham a hollow ware
factory which eventually grew into
the Birmingham Stove and Range
Co mpany. The use of hollow ware
has about ceased and the new concern
ma kes stov es and rang es on a larger
sca le than the parent company in Atlanta.
Civic Activities
In the meantime Mr . .Jon es had become an important factor in the civic
life of Atlanta.
In 1902 he and Mr. W. K Newill
organized the Atlanta Freight burea u,
which has been an important factor
in the commerce of this city. Out
of it has grown the merchants and
manufacturer's association whi ch was
for a long time operated from the
sa me headquarters, with the sa me
executive secretary, Mr. Harry T.
Moore.
In 1906 Mr . .Jones became president
of t he Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
a nd served for one year. He had
bee n elected for two years but the
press ure of business caused him to
resign ofter 12 months' se rvi ce.
The Chamber of Commerce took the
initiative in building the city Auditorium-Armory that year and fi-
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featnn• a•·ti- i
HIS seri<:H of
cles by III!·. CoojJ<:r of men
who hnve a.chiel'cd ontl;tand-iug
success in the /msin ess world iN
to cont-inue for sevontl mouths.
Next month he will gi.uc ow·
renders a sketch of 1111·. B. M.
Hood and in subsequent issues
he will w ·r ite nbout other notable men of success th·r onghout
Georgia. It is o nr belief that
these sketches will prove p?·ofitable reading for the younger
lm.siness uwn.-TH E EDITOR.
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nanced it tempo ra rily until the city
could pay for it with serial bonds
running seven years. In that work,
Mr . .Jones personally took a leading
part.
After the riot of Septembet·, 1906
Mr . .Jones, as president of the Cham7
ber of Commerce, called a meeting
at the Courthouse for the purpose of
checking mob violence, which for several days had held the community under a cloud. On four hours notice by
telephone a thousand men assembled
and raised the sta ndard of law and
order with such force and effect that
the lawless elements sought cover
and vioience ceased.
During the same year there was
a remarkable contest between the
commercial interests of Atlanta and
the railway companies. As president
of the Chamber of Commerce and
president of the freight bureau, Mr.
Jones led the commercial interests
in their fight for a readjustment of
freight rates.
It so happened th a t se veral ra ilway compani es had projected large
exten~ions of their local plant, tracks
etc., and were under the necessity
of a skin g the city and county governments for the !easements that would
permit the new construction.
'l'he commercial interests, thoroughly aroused and organized, appeared before the City Council and
County Commissioners, asking that
no concession whatever be granted
the railways until a satisfactory adjustment of freight rates had been
made.
Those bodies acceded to the request
and every wheel was locked so far
as extension of the railway plant was
concerned. This led to bitter denunciation of the commercial leaders by
railway partisans and for a short
time there was an actual deadlock
in Atlanta.
After the heat of the contest had
so mewha t cooled, Mr. S. M. Inman, a
director of the Southern Railway, and
Mr. Martin Amorons of the City
Council s uggest ed a conference, which
was known as the "Piedmont Conference" held between the commercial
lead ers of Atlanta, headed by Mr.
Jones and other prominent Atlantans.
This conference resulted in an adjustment of freight rates which put
Atlanta on a more favorable basis
as a market and brought about more
eordial r elations between the railroads a nd the s hippers.
Mr. Jones was married during his
residence at Marion, Virginia to Miss
Betty Harrison, who is well known
and much loved in Atlanta. She is
perhaps best known to the public as
one time pres ident of the Federation
of Woman's Clubes and later as president of the War Mothers Service,
Star Legion of Fulton County, which
has given the city a permanent Mem orial in Pershing Point.
They have three sons, Harrison,
executive vice-president of the Coco
Cola Company, Saunders, vice-president of the White Motor Company,
with 18 states under his management;
and Bolling, who is vice-president
and geneml manager of the Atlanta
Stove Works, doing a business of
near a half million a year.
They are all graduates of the University of Georgia and Harrison, the
eldest, a graduate of Ann Arqor Law
School, held for a number of years a
professorship of Jaw at Emory University. After· several years' practice he became sales manager of the
Coco Cola Company and later executive vice-president.
In view of the fine record of his
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~Q~ll;';.~ :; ._"l~~~:~\,io!~~:~woR~s
MANUF~CJ:~RERS OF .·: .
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STO\'E HOI.I.OW-WAIU!, COUNTRY
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F.TC~.
IIOLLOW·WARE, ORATF...S;
Bli:LL 'PHON.E 277H.
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ATLANTA . BARRETT.~
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_a.
·Jones,
:!J;;2.:.;''A1'LANTA . PRIDE • •.
· ..·:· 4f45 .· Luckie . St.,
rW:~i·.~:}_AT~A~Ti:_·\~AG~E, .·~.
::\_: .. ATLANTA: BELL.
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ATLANTA OAK.
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Your favor of the 22nd
, . . ATLANTA GATE CITY.
inst~
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ATLANTA PIEDMONT.
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-"~f .<~ A~LAN;r.A GEM..
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AT!..ANTA
CLIMAX . .
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in repl beg to say that fearing I . might be
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the city when I could be p:f most . service to
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have taken thei . liberty COf .addressing a
·;; ;;: ATLANTA .WINNER.
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· you herewith a copy of· what I said to him•L
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myaoquanitance with Mr. Daughertry I
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BONNIE .A'fLANTA.
him a long
The only thing net-::dful f'rom Jp.e I
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· VlCT0R .A.'I,LANTA._
the fact that I would approvif' hti.s action
you. and this letter does that.
COZY A'l'LANTA.
PRINCE ATLAN'l;A.
unnecessary to write
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Anything that. I may be able to d'o for
DANDY ATLAN'l'A.
at any tinie. I shall be 'more than glad .to
CAD:WJ;' ATLAN'rA.
PIN~: ATLANTA• .
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'l'ROPHJ ATLANTA.
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·. With kindes.t
:: s•roV]{ IIO'LLO w- wARE.
!;-:; OOl!foT~~ HOLLOW-WARJ~ .
.::,GRATES,
ap:plicati~~,:~
·_".',.l ( an'd cordially endorsed your
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NICK ARROYO/Staff
Oscar Wiseley (left), Atlanta Stove Works president,
and his son, Lee, secretary-treasurer, look over the pro-
duction plant in Inman Park. The firm's name and
product lines have been sold to an Alabama concern.
Atlanta Stove Works
clos,es operations here
after alrrwst 100 years
By Maria Saporta
Staff Writer
The Atlanta Stove Works Inc.,
an institution in the city for nearly
100 years, has closed up shop after
being hit with a shrinking market
for wood-burning stoves and .with a
rapid increase in product liability
insurance costs.
The privately held company, on
Dec. 30, closed the sale of its major
product lines and its name to Mar•
tin Industries, which is based in
Florence, Ala. The sale for an undisclosed amount took effect on the
first of the year.
"It does make you sad when you
have been here as many years as
I've been here," .said Oscar Wiseley,
president of Atlanta Stove. "I spent
most of my life here."
·
Atlanta Stove Works, located in
Inman Park on Krog Street, laid off
See SToVES, Page 2-D ,
Sales of
Atlanta Stove Works, Inc.
~Fi~g~ur~e~s~in~m~i~lli~on~s~o~f~d~o:=la~rs~------~
$40-,
$30
$20
$1 O~TT".,...-T"T"TT"T"Ti,......,,..,...,'"T"T'T"T-rr-r-r-rl
'73
'75
'79
'77
'81
'83
'85 '86'
•Estimate
VERNON CARNE/Staff
~tUVt;~
From Page 1-D
119 people in mid-December in anticipation of the sale. When it.
closed, it was manufacturing sheetmetal products.
.
Atlanta Stove Works will keep a
nine-member staff in its corporate
office to handle distribution and
sales for some products still being
made ·at its Birmingham, Ala.,
plan-t. It will operate under the
name of ASW Inc. Martin Industries
also will maintain a seven-member
sales force in Atlanta at the Inman
Park location.
Wiseley said the shareholders of
the closely held company decided to
sell the product lines because of
fluctuations in the industry. The
patlern of sales for the company's
primary products, wood-burning and
coal-burning stoves, has resembled
a roller coaster in the past decade.
Before the first oil crisis hit in
1974, the company's sales were stable at about $15 million a year. At
that time, only only 40 U.S. companies manufactured wood and coal
burning stoves. :
· ! . , , · .· r ·
Then, sales of cast-iron stoves
began· to take off. Between 1974 ·and
1980, ·sales nearly tripled, .and the
number of domestic manufacturers
of wood-burning stoves increased to
about 600. The number of employees at Atlanta Stove also climbed to
nearly 400.
"When the energy crisis was
over, nobody wanted to cut wood,"
Wiseley said. "Everybody had excess production capacity. Then the
product liability costs just went
through the roof."
.
In 1986, the company's cost of
product liability insurance doubled,
and the policy only bought onefourth of the coverage it bought a
year before, according to Lee Wiseley, Atlanta Stove Work's corporate
secretary and treasurer and Oscar
Wiseley's son.
Lee Wiseley (left), secretary-treasurer of Atlanta Stove Works, and his father, Oscar, president,
Insurance companies charged
higher prices because of the risk of
fires and carbon-monoxide poisoning
because of faulty stove installations.
, · "You can't pass on all the costs
of insurance to your customer," Oscar Wiseley said.
·
So Atlanta Stove Works decided
to sell to Martin Industries.
Wiseley said Martin is buying
Atlanta Stove Works' gas heater and
coal and wood stove products.
"Martin was a natural competitor. We went to buy them, and they
wouldn't sell, so they bought us."
The closing down of the Atlanta
stand beside a sample of the kind of stove their
firm produced.
-Stove Works is the closing of a
chapter in the city's history.
The company was established in
1889 as Georgia Stove Co. In 1898,
it opened its facility on Krog Street
and changed its name to Atlanta
Stove Works. (The original building
still stands, but Wiseley said it
probably will be torn down because
it is obsolete.)
During the Cotton States Exposition, Sam D. Jones came to Atlanta
from Virginia and met with Asa
Candler, who made Coca-Cola a national product. Candler convinced
Jones to purchase an interest in the
stove company.
The Jones family was influential
in Atlanta. -It was one of the
founders of the Fulton National
Bank (which later became Bank
South).
Most of the members of the
Jones family sold their shares in Atlanta Stove Works to Wiseley in
1984. But Saunders Jones, who lives
in Birmingham, remains executive
vice president of the company.
"Mr. Sam Jones is probably
turning over in his grave seeing.his
family business being closed down,"
Wiseley said. "It's sad."
..