GENERAL MACHINERY COMPANY, INC.
The source for electrical and mechanical supplies and systems since 1908.

As industry in Birmingham became electrified in the early 1900's, Crocker Wheeler Company of New Jersey, sent New Orleans native B.A. Schroder to open an office to take advantage of their new market.

 

Schroder watched Birmingham's industry and opportunities grow and left the company in 1908 to start General Machinery Company. He originally started stocking Crocker Wheeler motors for electrical mining machinery, later becoming a Cutler Hammer distributor in 1913.

 

He soon then broadened the company's scope by handling pumps during a slump in the mining industry. After Schroder's death in 1954, his son in law Ed Wilkinson operated the company until his death in 1972, at which time the company was purchased by Francis Crockard Jr.

 

In 1995, General Machinery became one of two electrical distributors in Alabama to qualify for membership in the Association of High Technology Distribution (AHTD). AHTD is an organization consisting of manufacturers and distributors that focus on the high-tech automation products and solutions produced for Industrial, OEM, Integrator, Utility, Municipal and Process companies throughout North America and abroad.

In 1987, General Machinery purchased the Fred Chenowith Company for further expansion in the compressor market.

 

In 2007, Francis Crockard's sons, Frank and Paul Crockard became owners and have since developed General Machinery into five divisions including air products, electrical/automation, lighting, pumps, and service. While the main office remains in Birmingham, branch locations have since been opened in Mobile, Madison, and Montgomery to better serve the entire state of Alabama.