Frederick Louis Maytag was an American washing machine manufacturer. Being the president of the Maytag Company he made significant contributions to the success of the company.
Background
Frederick Louis Maytag was born on July 14, 1857, in Elgin, Illinois, United States. He was the first of ten children of Daniel William and Amelia (Tonebon) Maytag. They were natives of Germany married at Independence, Iowa, in 1856.
The family moved to Marshall County, Iowa, in 1868, settling on a farm that remains under Maytag ownership. Their family names of Maitag and Toennebohn becoming Americanized with the passage of time.
Education
Frederick Maytag spent his early years helping with the work on farms owned by his parents at various times in Illinois and Iowa. His father pursued the trade of carpenter much of the time, and young Maytag took the responsibility of managing the family farm during his absences.
Maytag's formal education consisted of nineteen months of common schooling and a three-month term at Northwestern College in Naperville, Illinois.
Career
Frederick Maytag started working on the family farm at an early age and had only minimal public education. About 1880 he left the farm and started working in a Newton implement business; a year later he was half-owner. He sold his interest in that endeavor and bought a lumberyard in Newton. In 1893 he became a partner in the Parsons Band Cutter & Self Feeder Company. The first washing machine was added to the company’s line in 1907. In 1909 the Maytag Company was organized to produce washing machines. Frederick Louis, who stressed that quality was more important than low prices, served as president of the company for about 12 years.
In 1921 Frederick Maytag turned the presidency over to his second son, Lewis Bergman Maytag, but continued as chairman of the board of directors until his death.
Frederick Maytag was a major investor and officer in the Maytag-Mason Automobile Company, the South Dakota Railway Co., the Iowa Mausoleum Company, and other ventures. He represented Jasper County in the Iowa Senate for 10 years, served one term as Newton’s mayor, and was Iowa’s first director of the budget.
Achievements
Politics
A Republican by inheritance, Frederick Maytag served for six years on the city council of Newton, Iowa, and was mayor from 1923 to 1925. He served in the Iowa state senate, 1902-1912, and became the first director of the state budget in 1925.
Views
Quotations:
"In all business, there is a factor which cannot be compensated for in dollars and cents or computed by any measure. It has no relation or connection with the mercenary and is represented only by the spirit of love which the true craftsman holds for his job and the things he is trying to accomplish."
"Is everybody happy?"
Membership
An active member in Masonic Lodge - Frederick Maytag was a member of Newton Lodge No. 59, Newton, Iowa, receiving degrees on April 23, May 14, and raised a Master Mason on September 13, 1887.
Personality
Frederick Maytag I was an able organizer and salesman. Frederick Louis was active in promoting Maytag products, and ensuring worker happiness and often greeted employees by asking, "Is everybody happy?" He prided himself on his honesty in handling funds entrusted to him by investors. He won the loyalty of capable inventors and maintained high morale among retailers of his products through close contacts with them. Frederick Maytag I believed in the virtues of hard work, his own rugged constitution permitting him to set an example in that respect. Curiosity, optimism, determination, and an ability to inspire confidence seem to have marked his personality.
Connections
Frederick Louis Maytag married Dena Bergman. They had four children: Elmer Henry, Louise "Polly" (Smith), Lewis Bergman "Bud," and Freda "Kit" (Sparey).