Trico Products is a global company with its original roots in Buffalo. Its founder, John R. Oishei, a Buffalo theater owner got the inspiration for windshield wipers from a 1917 bicycle accident.
"When a bicyclist and a National Roadster collided on a Buffalo, NY, street late one rainy night in 1917, it was an impact felt around the world. Although the cyclist was not seriously injured, the accident was enough to profoundly shake the driver of the car, Buffalo theatre owner J.R. Oishei. Vowing that such an accident should never happen again, Oishei was determined to improve the ability of drivers to see during bad weather. He said that hitting the bicyclist was "a harrowing experience which imprinted on my mind the definite need for maintaining vision while driving in the rain."
The company Oishei formed, the Tri-Continental Corporation, introduced the first windshield wiper, Rain Rubber, for the slotted, two-piece windshields found on many of the popular automobiles of the time. Today Trico Products is one of the world's leading manufacturers of windshield wiping systems, windshield wiper blades and refills, with wiper plants on five continents. " 1
Notes and References
- Patent For Wiper Blade - later work refers to earlier work of Oishei
