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AT 60, CHANEY STANDS THE TEST OF TIME
A quick look at six decades of innovation in clocks, thermometers and more
Lake Geneva, Wis.- From simple kitchen timers to
revolutionary clocks that reset themselves, Chaney Instrument Co. has a 60-year track record developing products that
make time- and temperature-keeping easier and more accurate.
Chaney Instrument Co.'s founder, John L. Chaney, began his business in
1943 in Lake Geneva, Wis. Renowned as an entrepreneur and inventor, Chaney amassed more than 50 U.S. patents in
his name for products including meat, candy and refrigerator thermometers. He even invented a low-tech contraption that
cooks have found indispensable for half a century—the turkey baster!
Over the years Chaney developed powerful relationships with major
American companies and the U.S. government. An inveterate problem-solver, he devised the refrigerator thermometer to
help Frigidaire overcome consumer resistance to its new technology. People trusted their oldfashioned
iceboxes to keep food fresh, but they weren't so sure about the new appliances. So
Chaney came up with the idea of a thermometer marked with the food safety zones indicating
the temperatures where food spoils. Frigidaire handed the little thermometers to skeptical customers
to put into their iceboxes so that they could see for themselves how safely (or not) their iceboxes kept their food.
Chaney's expertise in technologies using liquid-filled glass found its
way into other applications as well. A few years after he established his business, the U.S. War Services Department
contacted him to help improve bomb fuses with better glass ampoules that wouldn't break in transit to their destinations.
Chaney also oversaw the creation of the largest glass tube
thermometer ever made. The convention and visitors' bureau of Bemidji, Minn., wanted to add a massive thermometer to a collection
of "world's largest" objects for a tourist attraction honoring local hero Paul Bunyan. Chaney enlisted the aid of several
Bohemian glass blowers, who worked for nine years developing a 28-foot glass tube. By the time they were done,
however, the cost had more than doubled from the original $5,000 estimate, and the new local government in
Bemidji no longer wanted the thermometer. Ever the opportunist, Chaney erected it outside the company's facility on
Main Street in Lake Geneva, where it became a visible symbol for world peace.
Today the company's product designers uphold John Chaney's
tradition of novel ideas and partnership with corporations and government agencies. Recent timekeeping innovations
include the development of the Atomix® radio-control clock movement, which synchronizes clocks to the official
U.S. atomic clock, and Set & Forget® technology, which automatically changes clocks forward and back for
Daylight Savings Time. In the cooking arena, the Sure-Grip™ line of thermometer tools—including a
barbeque fork, burger probe and serving spoon—take the guesswork out of temperature reading.
Chaney's tradition of partnering continues today as the
company works with customers in developing proprietary designs such as Joe Boxer clocks for Kmart and a
patented spoon thermometer for the food-service industry. Still privately owned, Chaney is part of the Primex
Family of Companies, which makes and markets clocks and thermometers through a variety
of channels for both consumer and business applications.
Additional photographs are available on request, including:
- A picture of the 28-foot thermometer being erected outside the original Chaney factory.
- A picture of three sets of twins with the glass tube. The three twins were an integral part of the team making the thermometer
- Pictures of Chaney's own "Rosie the Riveters". Many of Chaney's original employees were
women whose husbands were at war. They came to work in the factory with skirts and bobbysocks.
Many area couples, including grandparents were recruited as Chaney's own daycare network.
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