In the late 1880’s, T. B. Walker’s brother-in-law, Andrew B. Robbins gathered a group investors and built the Hubbard Specialty Manufacturing plant in what would become Robbinsdale. The firm made chairs, wheelbarrows, camp furniture, grocery boxes and wooden washing machines. In 1891 Robbins sold the company to Sweatt Manufacturing. A year later, the Robbinsdale building on Hubbard Avenue was destroyed by fire. William R, Sweatt moved operations to their facility on East 26th street in Minneapolis and wisely invested $1500 dollars in a small electric thermostat company.
In 1902 Swaett purchased the Electric Heat Regulator Company and changed the name to the Minneapolis Heat Regulator Company. The company began production of their “The Minneapolis” model heat regulator in 1908 and added a popular clock attachment in 1912. The device had a thermometer that displayed the temperature in the room and an innovative thermostat and a timer attachment that could be set via a key wound clock attachment, The Minneapolis model’s contracting and expanding thermostatic metal coil was used for opening or closing a draft to raise or lower the temperature. In 1927, the Minneapolis Heat Regulator Company merged with the Honeywell Heating Specialties and become the Minneapolis-Honeywell Heat Regulator Company.
