Novo Engine Company in World War Two
Lansing, MI
1880 - 1890 as Cady & Glassbrook
1890 - 1906 as Hildreth Manufacturing Company
1906-1954  as Novo Engine Company

This page updated 8-14-2024.

In the early 20th Century, the Novo Engine Company of Lansing, MI was a large and significant producer of gasoline engines and pumps that were sold on a world-wide basis.  It was a continuation of both the Cady & Glassbrook Company and the Hildreth Manufacturing Company, which were producing engines with the Novo trade name.  In 1906 Clarence E. Bement purchased the Hildreth Manufacturing Company and renamed it Novo Engine Company.  The company made engines for a variety of uses.  These included pumping, sawing, hoisting, electrical generator sets, and air compressors.  It also built pumps for use with its engines. 

This is another one of the Lansing companies of which I was unaware until I began exploring Lansing's contribution to the winning of World War Two.  While the company was very successful in the early half of the 20th Century, World War Two was its last hurrah.  In 1949 it filed for bankruptcy and hoped to reorganize.  Instead it was sold off to two different companies.  In March 1950 the Novo Engine Company's foundry was sold to the Detroit Gray Iron Foundry for $102,000.  In December 1950 the main 170,000 square foot machining and assembly plant was sold in Federal Court to the Schott family of Cincinnati, OH for $630,000.  The intention of the Schott family was to increase production at the plant and increase employment.  However, the days of the Novo engine were in the past.  So, in 1954 the Detroit Gray Iron Foundry purchased it from the Schott family.  The Novo Engine Company was gone.  The reason I was unaware of Novo Engine Company until 2021, is that in 1954 I had not yet started grade school.

The 170,000 square foot plant, located on five acres, was subdivided among other companies in the succeeding years  and still exists today.  The buildings have been well maintained and the American Tooling Center is the main, and maybe the sole, occupant of the facility.  See my photos of the plant in "Novo Plant" section below.

This 1919 Novo engine ran on gasoline, kerosene, and natural gas.  It is on display at the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum in Lansing, MI.  Author's photo. 

This was a four-stroke water cooled engine that produced 4hp @ 475 rpm.  Author's photo. 

Author's photo. 

Novo Company World War Two Production:  During World War Two, the company's five hundred employees produced $3,959,000 worth of pumps and engines for the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Army.  This amount does not include any of the sub-contracting work it did for other companies.  With the exception of the first two contracts totaling $456,000 for the U.S. Treasury, all of the remaining $3,509,000 contracts were with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Army Chemical Warfare Section. 

Not included in the contracts listed above was that the Novo Engine Company produced four cylinder gas engines used on U.S. Navy Landing Craft, Infantry, (Large) (LCI(L)) during World War Two.  With no Navy contracts, these gas engines were contracted directly with the builders of the LCI(L)s.

Mr. Michael Wright found a Novo Engine Company gas engine on LCI 713 in Portland, OR.  Mr. Wright's photos have revealed an unknown application for Novo engines during World War Two.  Photo courtesy of Michael Wright added 8-14-2024. 

This is the only World War Two application that has been found so far for this company.  Photo courtesy of Michael Wright added 8-14-2024.

Photo courtesy of Michael Wright added 8-14-2024.

Photo courtesy of Michael Wright added 8-14-2024.

Photo courtesy of Michael Wright added 8-14-2024.

This image shows the four spark plugs and the exhaust manifold.  The engine drives the attached winch that raises and lowers the bow ramp.  Photo courtesy of Michael Wright added 8-14-2024.

There are two cables that work together to raise and lower the ramp.  It would appear that the one with the chain connecting to the ramp is the one operated by the Novo Engine Company-built engine and winch.  This is due to the fact the engine and winch are located on the upper deck and the cable with the chain on it comes from that location.  Photo courtesy of Michael Wright added 8-14-2024.

The LCI(L) was a beaching type landing craft that was designed to deliver 188 troops directly to the beach.  It had a crew of three officers and 21 enlisted personnel. 

LCI(L) 713 was one of 27 LCI(L)s built with the bow doors and ramp by the George Lawley & Sons Shipbuilding Corporation of Neponset, MA.  The original series of LCI(L) did not have the bow doors and the soldiers exited the landing craft by ramps on either side of the bow.  During a hostile beach landing this subjected the soldiers to enemy fire.  It was considered safer to allow the soldiers to exit via the bow of the landing craft.

Starting on June 1, 1944, LCI(L), production at four shipyards began building this version of the LCI(L) with the bow doors and ramp. 

Assuming that all four builders of the LCI(L)s with bow ramps and doors all used the Novo Engine Company units, Novo furnished 144 of these engines and winches for the war effort. 

The Novo Plant:  The historical record indicates that Novo moved to this location in 1912.  Today, the plant is still in existence. 

This Sanborn map shows the Novo Engine Company's main plant in 1951.  This is when it was owned by the Schott Family.  The plant would have looked very similar to this during World War Two.

This current Google Maps satellite view shows that the former Novo factory still exists just as it did in 1951. 

This Google Earth view gives an excellent overview of the former Novo Engine Company facility.  Image added 8-14-2024.

This is looking at the south side of the former Novo plant.  It is now the American Tooling Center.  The street used to be Sheridan Street.  It is now Oakland Avenue and is one-way west.  Author's photo.

This photo is at the north end of the complex at the corner of Porter and Cass Streets.  Cass Street used to run to the south along the building.  The original brick has been painted over and the windows partially covered up.  The building is in excellent condition.  Author's photo.

This is the east side of the former Novo plant complex along Ballard Street.  Near the left of the photo, a small section of the original red brick building can be seen.  Author's photo. 

This is that area.  Author's photo. 

This is the east end of the south building.  To the right part of the photo, more original brick can be seen.  Author's photo.

The original brick of the former Novo Engine Company can be seen in this photo.  Author's photo.