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Founded: 1915
Headquarters: One Allison Way, Indianapolis.
What: Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. is a global designer, developer, manufacturer and distributor of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions for vehicles. The applications include on-highway trucks, emergency vehicles, buses, motorhomes, military vehicles and off-highway equipment for use in the energy, mining and construction industries.
Size: Allison is Indiana’s 18th largest public company in terms of annual revenue, reporting $3 billion in sales and $672 million in profit for 2023.
Big wheel: James A. Allison was an industrialist who switched from making coupon books in the early 1900s to automobiles at the dawn of the motor car. In 1908, he was a partner in the group of four local businessmen who bought 320 acres of farmland west of Indianapolis that in 1909 would become the home of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and home of the 500-mile race founded in 1911.
Major connection: In the late 1800s, James Allison was a member of the Indianapolis Cycling Club, which included Black cycling pioneer and international sports star Marshall “Major” Taylor.
History: In 1915, Allison founded the Speedway Team Co., the forerunner to what would become Allison Transmission, to support his Indianapolis 500 racing activities. In 1917, the company changed focus to support the U.S. in World War I, producing tractors, tank components and more.
After the war, James Allison sold all of his automobile interests and instead focused on aircraft and marine engines. The company’s name changed to Allison Engineering Co., and it specialized in building aircraft engines, gears, parts, tools and prototypes.
After James Allison’s death in 1928, General Motors purchased the company for $592,000 but kept it based in Indianapolis as a division of GM. Local operations and Allison’s workforce rapidly expanded during World War II to support the war effort. After the war, Allison expanded into locomotive parts, jets, passenger buses, construction vehicles and commercial trucks. Beginning in 1970, General Motors’ Allison Division and Detroit Diesel Division merged into the Detroit Diesel Allison Division.
Going public: GM spun off Allison in 2007 to private-equity owners The Carlyle Group and Onex Corp. for $5.6 billion. They then took the company public—trading on the New York Stock Exchange—on March 15, 2012. Since going public in 2012, shares of Allison have risen about 227% to about $75.00, as of July 8.
Workforce: Allison has 3,700 employees worldwide, 2,800 of whom are located in Indiana.
Website: allisontransmission.com
—Compiled by Mason King
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