Sheller Globe Industrial Conglomerate of 1960s

Sheller Globe Corporation was based in Toledo, Ohio and was an auto parts manufacturer and industrial conglomerate. It acquired a number of other businesses and grew in stature through its acquisitions. The company expanded till 1984, acquiring new companies but after that it started selling off many of its unprofitable divisions and was finally taken over by United Technologies Corporation in 1989.

The automotive related segment of Sheller-Globe was the supplier of a broad range of original equipment parts, components and assemblies to the vehicle manufacturers. Thermoplastic, urethane and leather wrapped steering wheels, instrument panel pads, padded consoles, arm rests and other products like tail lamp assemblies along with other products for vehicles were manufactured by the company.
Sheller-Globe Corporation was formed due to the merger of 2 companies:Globe Files Company and Sheller Manufacturing Corporation in 1966. A school bus and professional car manufacturer based in Lima in Ohio named Superior Coach Company was acquired by it in 1969, as a subsidiary. VLN Corporation, a company that supplied heavy-duty alternators and related equipment to the automotive industry along with providing automotive stampings and assemblies was merged with Sheller Globe in 1974. Other divisions of this company served automotive aftermarkets by providing a line of starter motor components. And another unit produced electronic components and equipment.

Radiation Medical Products Corporation was a manufacturer of radiation medical instruments and X-Ray measuring instrumentation and had no relation with the automobile industry. Yet, it was purchased by Sheller-Globe in 1981 in order to gain control over any market that looked productive to them. In 1982, a company manufacturing steering wheels and injection-molded plastic parts and components , Olsonite Corporation, was taken over by the company. Again in 1984, it acquired Northern Fibre Products Company which manufactured insulation and sound deadening materials and products for vehicle interiors. The company further expanded in 1984 with the acquisition of Engineered Polymers Company. It was a manufacturer of custom molder of structural foam cabinets for computers, word processors, work station components and other business machines.

However, Sheller-Globe began closing non-profitable operations from the beginning of the 1980s. It stopped bus and professional car manufacturing at Superior Coach in Lima during the late 1980s and also sold some of its assets. From the mid-1980s it considerably reduced its operations and abandoned its automotive replacement parts sales. It began focusing on original equipment interior automotive products used by the automotive manufacturers.

Globe Files Company was established in 1882, in Cincinnati as a manufacturer of file cabinets and other office equipment. Its name later changed to Globe Company and in 1890 it acquired Wernicke Company and became Globe Wernicke. In the 1950s it became Globe Wernicke Industries, Inc. after acquiring City Auto Stamping Company. On the other hand, Sheller began in 1916 as a wood rim steering wheel manufacturer and Globe-Warnicke was interested in it in the mid-1960s. On December 30,1966 Globe Wernicke and Sheller Manufacturing Corporation merged to form Sheller Globe Corporation which focused on auto parts and was based in Toledo, Ohio. Sheller Globe