Founded in 1852, Studebaker began as a wagon manufacturer which eventually entered the automobile business in the early 1900s.
The most profitable of the divisions that remained were Clarke Floor Machines, Gravely Tractor, Schaefer Chemical Compounds (later to become STP Corporation) and Onan.
[5] The 1967 merger that created the company was arranged by the entrepreneur Derald Ruttenberg, who took the risk of buying Studebaker despite the liabilities that came with it, including dealer warranties and union agreements.
[7] Studebaker was acquired by Wagner Electric, which in turn was merged with Worthington Corporation to create Studebaker-Worthington.
[9] The combined company included the profitable divisions from Studebaker, brake and electrical automobile component manufacturing from Wagner Electric, and diverse operations from Worthington that included manufacture of construction equipment, valves and power generation plant.
[5] In January 1969 the board of directors replaced Nunlist with Derald H. Ruttenberg as president and chief executive officer.
[10] The Alco Products Division, a railway locomotive manufacturer, became a victim of Ruttenberg's drive for profit.
The locomotive factory in Schenectady, New York, was closed in 1969, and White Motor Corporation purchased the diesel engine business in February 1970.
Early in 1969 Studebaker-Worthington floated STP as a public corporation, listed on the American Stock Exchange.
[13] Weir Group, a British company engaged in pump manufacture, had been looking to buy Worthington as far back as 1938.