History Continued

	Howard Snyder, a former mechanic whose inventive genius had led him to head Maytag's development department, worked out the details of the new design and came up with one of the most significant inventions in laundry appliance history. Its revolutionary washing principle was to force water through clothes with a vained agitator mounted in the bottom of the tub, rather than drag clothes through the water with a lid dolly.

Maytag first introduced this type washer in 1922, and it was a great success. The new washer design put Maytag exclusively into the washer business, prompted the end of farm equipment manufacturing and propelled the company to a dominant position in the young laundry appliance industry. Trainloads of the Maytag "Gyrafoam" washers went out from Newton plant, and by 1927 the company had produced its first million. It has now produced more than 40 million laundry and kitchen appliances.



On October 12, 1926, five solid trainloads of Maytag Washer were shipped, the worlds largest single shipment of merchandise, this was eclipsed in May of 1927 when an eight trainload shipment of Maytag's went out.