 The firm was the successor to the firm of Owens, Ebert & Dyer (founded in 1845 by Job E. Owens) which went into receivership in 1876.In 1882, George A. Rentschler, J. C. Hooven, Henry C. Sohn, George H. Helvey, and James E. Campbell merged the firm with the iron works of Sohn and Rentschler, and adopted the name Hooven, Owens, Rentschler Co.In 1883 the firm began the manufacture of Corliss steam engines, producing a total of 700 such engines by 1901.