AcuRite 80th Anniversary: Products Through the Decades
To keep our year-long 80th anniversary celebration rolling, let’s turn back the clock to reminisce and learn about Chaney Instrument Co. and AcuRite products through the decades! What types of products did we focus on early on? What did we make in the 80s? How about the early aughts? Keep reading to find out!
1940s: The Beginning
As noted in our 80th anniversary kickoff blog, John L. Chaney founded Chaney Instrument Co. in 1943 after successfully aiding U.S. war efforts during WWII. During the War, Chaney and his associates in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, built glass ampules for explosives and glass levels for Norden Bombsights inside of U.S. aircraft. The company also created Clinometers, which helped shipmates know the angle at which their ship sat.
1950s: Post-War, In-Home Products
After the conclusion of the War, Chaney Instrument Co. turned its focus from wartime assistance glassware to in-home glass instruments. Particularly, glass tube thermometers (what are those, anyway?) to help families know the temperature in and around their homes! Additionally, some kitchen instruments began to trickle out of the Chaney headquarters in Lake Geneva, namely the Deep Fat Frying and Candy Thermometer, which helped folks maintain the temperature of their frying oil or boiling sugar to help perfect recipes!
1960s: Focus on Home Consumer Products
haney Instrument Co. expanded its in-home product offering in the 1960s. For example, Chaney had one of the earliest U.S. patents for a turkey baster! The unbreakable Nylon Turkey Baster was sold in a tidy box set alongside a Roast Meat Thermometer, a Skewer, and a Deep Frying Candy and Jelly Thermometer. This set proved to be an extremely popular gift for newlyweds or new homeowners. Another neat and somewhat popular 1960s Chaney Instrument Co./AcuRite product was a set of Swizzle Stick Stirring Thermometers — colorful, submersible glass drink stirrers that also were thermometers! Not only did they make for fun conversation starters at parties, but they also told imbibers when their drink was adequately chilled for the best taste! Psst! Keep your eyes peeled for more about these Swizzle Sticks later this year!
1970s: Addition of Specialty Products
In the 1970s, Chaney Instrument Co. and AcuRite further expanded its indoor-use product line and started to make more niche, specialty products. An example is the blue-liquid-filled Darkroom Thermometer, which helped photographers maintain the temperature within their darkroom to help ensure the quality of their photos. More examples are a Wine Cellar Thermometer — to help monitor their sensitive storage recommendations — and a Wine Thermometer, coming complete with guidance on what temperatures are ideal for different wines!
In the 1970s, Chaney Instrument Co. and AcuRite further expanded its indoor-use product line and started to make more niche, specialty products. An example is the blue-liquid-filled Darkroom Thermometer, which helped photographers maintain the temperature within their darkroom to help ensure the quality of their photos. More examples are a Wine Cellar Thermometer — to help monitor their sensitive storage recommendations — and a Wine Thermometer, coming complete with guidance on what temperatures are ideal for different wines!
1980s: A Move to Large Retailers
The 1980s proved to be an important decade for Chaney Instrument Co. and the AcuRite brand. From the beginning until the 80s, most Chaney Instrument Co. and AcuRite products were found in small specialty shops and local “mom and pop” hardware stores. In the 80s, the company took a step forward to help fill shelves of larger stores, like Kmart, Shopko, and Walmart. The products that the company supplied these stores were U.S.-made, everyday home necessities, like basic tube-on-plastic thermometers and oven thermometers.
1990s: Expansion of Products for Large Retailers
During the 90s, Chaney Instrument Co. continued to provide products to nationwide retailers, many of which were made in Lake Geneva. Specifically, with help from a plastic injection molding machine, AcuRite pumped out massive amounts of 12.5” round thermometers — which we still produce! — perfect for decorative and functional use on patios, in garages, or by the pool. Chaney Instrument Co. partnered with a Delavan, Wisconsin, printing company for the imagery on some of these thermometers, which included licensed deals with artists and brands — like Coca-Cola! Other thermometer images had puppies, butterflies, birds, and the U.S. flag.
2000s: Going Digital
At the turn of the millennium, Chaney Instrument Co. and the AcuRite brand embraced technology (and avoided any Y2K bugs) by evolving from producing a majority of analog products to creating those of a digital nature. The company’s first digital product was a battery-powered, digital temperature and humidity monitor that provided both indoor and outdoor temperature, the latter through use of a wired probe. A backlight was added in subsequent years for nighttime viewing. Additionally, AcuRite’s first outdoor wireless thermometer debuted in the 2000s, which measured temperature and wirelessly relayed the reading to an indoor display. (Does that sound familiar, current AcuRite fans? Find modern-day digital thermometers and hygrometers here!).
2010s: Honing in on Wireless Weather Reporting
The second decade of the 21st century saw Chaney Instrument Co. and the AcuRite brand putting a strong focus on providing accurate weather reporting for their customers. After much planning and perfecting, the 5-in-1 weather station (now called the AcuRite Iris®) debuted in 2012 and was closely followed by the 3-in-1 weather station (now the AcuRite Notos®). Later, the 7-in-1 AcuRite Atlas® debuted, adding UV index, light intensity readings, and faster reporting times for conditions like wind speed. AcuRite developers added remote monitoring capability via Wi-Fi for some of these weather stations and other home monitoring products, also ensuring that they’d be user-friendly, intuitive, and easy to set up.
2020s: Customer-Focused Connection
The current-day state of Chaney Instrument Co. and the AcuRite brand is one of connection. Connection to our customers by continuing to keep them connected to their environment through accurate and user-friendly monitoring products. With many competitors out there, the AcuRite brand strives to create and distribute products that provide reliable and trusted information to consumers, with the mantra of “it’s not about the product but what the product gives you.”
In the future, Chaney Instrument Co. and the AcuRite brand look to fill holes in the weather monitoring market, potentially harking back to those specialty-product days of old. Stay tuned to this blog and our website for more exciting products to come throughout this current decade.
A special thank you to Ryan Torgerson, Sr. Product Designer, for sharing many of these products pictured below and for his AcuRite history expertise! And an extra special thank you to any customers who have been with us since the early days! Does anybody out there remember any of these products mentioned above? Are there any products that we’ve missed? Please share in the comments below!
