In 1927, John and Gerhard Albers from Cherokee, Iowa developed a wind generator called “The Wincharger” to recharge a six-volt storage battery which was used to power radios. Back then the radio was as important to the people as the internet and the television is important to us today. The Albers brothers were soon building Winchargers for their neighbors and friends. In 1935, Wincharger was incorporated as a business and manufacturing was moved to Sioux City, Iowa. Zenith Corporation purchased a controlling interest in Wincharger in late 1935. Purchasers of Zenith radios were able to buy a six-volt Wincharger for $10. In 1937, Zenith Radio Corporation purchased the remaing shares of Wincharger stock. The 12-volt, 32-volt, and 110-volt generators were developed to provide additional lighting capacity. Soon the company was known all over the world for the unfailing dependability of the Wincharger. The company played a huge role in World War II by developing the Dynamotor that was used in military aircraft and ships. The company received five Army-Navy “E” awards for excellence as a quality supplier. After the War, the Dynamotor became the basis for the two bearing generator known today as the 2FS which is still sold today for pressure washers and man lift applications. Wincharger expanded their product line by initiating new designs of Dynamotors, inverters, alternators, Winchargers, engine-driven generators, transistorized converters, ground electrical support equipment, and radio receiving sets. In 1950, the Winco line of Power Take Off (PTO) generators was born. The PTO generator was designed to run off of the power takeoff drive of a tractor. In 1952, commercial and industrial portable engine-driven generators were produced. Research and development continued to produce important innovations. Then in 1955, an industry standard for portable generators was set, the company had introduced the first automatic idle control (conserver) for portables generators. The key benefits from this invention were to extend engine life, fuel conservation, and reduce engine noise. The Maxi-Watt and the Full-Power generator designs were introduced in 1964. These unique designs vastly improved performance in superior heavy-duty motor starting applications and provided usable full capacity output at 120 volts, 240 volts, or both simultaneously. In 1968, Zenith sold Wincharger to AMICOR Corporation and AMICOR changed the Wincharger name to Winco. In 1970, Winco introduced a complete line of packaged standby generators called the Automatic Power Systems. The Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) made it possible to automatically start the standby generator when normal electrical power was interrupted. The ATS played a key role to the success of the PSS. There were a lot of changes for Winco in the 70s. The company moved from Sioux City, IA to Le Center, Minnesota and Winco became a major supplier of generators to the rental and construction markets.
