A lot has changed in our 74+ years in business, but one thing has stayed consistent throughout the years; Our need to explain to newcomers that, no, we do not build airplanes. So why are we called Airline Hydraulics Corp. (Airline) when what we do doesn't directly involve the airline industry? Let's hop into a time machine and learn how we got our name while exploring our rich company history.
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Let's take it back to the start, 1949. In Philadelphia, it was a time of vibrancy for industrial manufacturers. The city had a booming manufacturing economy with staple companies like Baldwin Lima Hamilton, Midvale Heppenstall, Westinghouse Electric, and Philco, employing thousands of workers. Our founder, M. Joseph Loughran, saw the need for these companies to source pneumatic tools and accessories. With his background selling hardware and establishing industry connections, he could successfully help them with the pneumatic equipment they needed. So he did.
M. Joseph Loughran created Airline Equipment Company in 1949 to distribute pneumatic tools and accessories to the major manufacturers in Philadelphia. The name was born from our core competency: Selling equipment used with the pneumatic air lines in factories.
With its growing reputation, the company became referred to simply as "Airline." Our slogan was "Call Airline for the tools you need."
1953 was the catalyst for Airline's long-term success in hydraulics. After adding new hydraulic offerings to our line card, the doors of new customers opened exponentially and Airline, but there was one problem - the name “Airline Equipment Company” was becoming inadequate. It simply did not do the company justice to its growing activity of selling hydraulics. However, the name “Airline” was already well-known by many in the industry. It was a tricky branding decision to make!
So Mr. Loughran and his team adopted a new name, “Airline Hydraulics Company,” to indicate the new hydraulic direction the company was heading while staying true to the original name many already recognized.
In the decade of big hair, Airline's name took its final transformation - Changing from Airline Hydraulics Company to Airline Hydraulics Corporation, but still referred to as "Airline," as it is today.
In 1998, Joseph E. Loughran made a significant commitment to invest in sales and engineering resources to become the region's leading fluid power and automation equipment provider.
As the years continued, Airline grew as a powerhouse of industrial manufacturing services, capabilities, and products and had the resources to continue growing.
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With all of Airline’s success, CEO Joseph E. Loughran was ready to slow down and pass on the torch for day-to-day oversight. That’s when Airline formed an independent Board of Directors to assign Airline's future CEOs, with Joseph Loughran remaining as Chairman of the board.
On September 15, 2021, at 79 years old, Joseph E. Loughran passed away peacefully, leaving behind a great legacy. His memory lives on through Airline’s ESOP, the company culture he instilled, and his warmth and kindness, which made him beloved by the Airline team.
We have come a long way since 1949. And Airline’s success over the last 74 years can be attributed to many things. Still, the one thing that has never changed is that Airline has consistently embraced new technologies to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and deliver the best results to our customers.
Even with several name tweaks over the years, we have always been known to our customers as Airline because of our long-standing reputation for expertise and quality commitment.