Murray of Ohio history

Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company was founded in 1919 to make fenders, fuel tanks, and other automobile parts. The company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, and the factory was unionized by the United Auto Workers (UAW) and AFL–CIO. In the mid-1930s, the company began production of bicycles, mostly for the youth market. Other products included pedal cars and electric fans. Until 1939, Murray manufactured all of its products for branding and sale by other manufacturers, especially Sears, Roebuck & Co.

In 1939, Murray introduced its Pacemaker Series Mercury bicycle, styled by Viktor Schreckengost, the industrial artist and designer. The bike was expensive and it was produced only in limited numbers until 1942, when the war stopped consumer bicycle production.

After the war, Murray became known as a manufacturer of low-cost bicycles, and placed its own brand on some products. Murray left Cleveland in the 1950s and moved its factory and assembly plant to the American South, choosing a factory site in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, with corporate headquarters located in Brentwood, Tennessee. The Lawrenceburg facility began operations in 1956, and over the next several decades, the complex grew to become one of the largest facilities of its type in the United States: 42.7 acres (173,000 m2) under roof. Youth bicycle production received a boost with the 1965 introduction of Murray's version of the small-tired, banana-seat, wheelie bike pioneered by Schwinn, the Murray Wildcat. The Wildcat was also styled by Schreckengost, who gave it his own interpretation of a chopper motorcycle, with high-rise handlebars, a tall sissy bar, and a flared rear fender. A series of models followed. In 1977, again following a youth trend, Murray introduced its BMX model.

During the 1980s, in an attempt to overcome declining sales, Murray began selling its bicycle line in lower-cost mass market stores and discount chains such as Target, K-Mart, and Wal-Mart. In June 1988, the Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company was acquired by the British investment group Tomkins plc. In 1996, Murray Inc., the last major U.S. bicycle producers with Huffy Bicycle and Roadmaster (formerly AMF), received a major blow when U.S. courts ruled that imports from China were not a "material threat" to U.S. companies. Within three years, Huffy, Roadmaster and Murray ceased manufacture of bicycles in the United States.

In 1998, Murray moved bicycle production from Lawrenceburg to factory in Mississippi. Production of all U.S.-made bicycles halted in 1999. In 2000, the Murray brand was acquired by Pacific Cycle, a U.S. distributor of bicycles produced in Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. Murray has since been used as a brand for imported Chinese bicycles sold by Pacific Cycle. Pacific Cycle was later acquired by Dorel Industries.