Originally headquartered in Melrose Park, IL with a second manufacturing facility in Cicero, IL - Baron Blakeslee moved out to California in the 1990’s under the management of Thermal Equipment Corporation. Ever since Enviro Tech International (ETI) introduced the EnSolv line of precision vapor degreasing solvents in 1994, ETI’s president, Larry Clark, had sought to acquire Baron Blakeslee in pursuit of a goal to provide a total package cleaning solution to ETI’s customers.

Here is a brief timeline of the history of the Baron Blakeslee company:

The company was originated in 1890 as the G.S. Blakeslee Co. by Mr. Blakeslee and was located in Chicago, IL.

Their first product was an automatic commercial dishwashing machine made of wood. It was said to be successful because it cleaned more dishes than it broke.

It was used at the 1890 Expo in Chicago.

The first industrial cleaning machine was made for the Ford Motor Co. in 1913. It was used to clean engine blocks.

The company acquired a license on a German patent for solvent vapor degreasing in 1933 and began manufacturing industrial vapor degreasers utilizing Trichloroethylene as the solvent.

Bill Hamilton, owner of Baron Industries, a provider of cleaning solvents purchased G.S Blakeslee in 1959 and consolidated the two operations into a facility in Cicero, IL. Ultimately a second facility was built in Melrose Park, IL.

Providing cleaning solvents and manufacturing degreasers had then become the core business of Baron Blakeslee.

The business was sold, after a number of years, being a very attractive acquisition target in the days of major corporations adding on “non-core” businesses. It’s well known now that for U.S. industry this was finally recognized as an ill-advised philosophy in many cases.

In 1998 Thermal Equipment, a California company, purchased Baron Blakeslee as a core business.

In February, 2006 ETI acquired Baron Blakeslee and returned its manufacturing capacity to its original location in Melrose Park, IL as a division of Enviro Tech International. The following year, ETI acquired the assets of the FARR Engineering & Manufacturing Co. and shifted its manufacturing over to Williamstown, WV to take advantage of the machinery and highly skilled and experienced workforce already in place there.

Under new management and with an eye to modernizing an already rugged, reliable and proven design, Baron Blakeslee is back and better than ever.