# Are there Western conglomerates making a variety of products with the same brand? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 10, 2013, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-western-conglomerates-making-a-variety-of-products-with-the-same-brand/673561 "2013-11-10T06:50:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-western-conglomerates-making-a-variety-of-products-with-the-same-brand/673561/21 "2013-11-11T14:58:17Z")
> [@casdave](#): > > Ingersoll-Rand > > [Ingersoll Rand - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingersoll_Rand) > > Although you might think of building services as not being very diversified, you’d be wrong since it encompasses a huge number of associated activities, from architectural design, through drilling, construction to energy management systems. I believe they also have a custom software division for industrial solutions > > All those parts in turn unfold into major industries in themselves > > [http://www.ingersollrandproducts.com/eu\_en.aspx](http://www.ingersollrandproducts.com/eu_en.aspx) Don’t forget about air compressors and other pneumatic tools. That’s probably the single thing you’re most likely to see from Ingersoll-Rand in everyday life. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-western-conglomerates-making-a-variety-of-products-with-the-same-brand/673561/22 "2013-11-11T15:32:13Z")
I think the story with Yamaha is that they originally made pianos, but that it takes heavy ironworking to make the high-tension harps used in pianos, and they went looking for another use they could put their machinery to, settling on motorcycles. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-western-conglomerates-making-a-variety-of-products-with-the-same-brand/673561/23 "2013-11-11T19:05:20Z")
They still do make pianos, and pretty much every other type of electronic music device including midi processors, drum machines and sequencers - they also make flutes and other wind instruments too ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-western-conglomerates-making-a-variety-of-products-with-the-same-brand/673561/24 "2013-11-11T20:36:59Z")
> [@casdave](#): > > They still do make pianos, and pretty much every other type of electronic music device including midi processors, drum machines and sequencers - they also make flutes and other wind instruments too And acoustic guitars. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-western-conglomerates-making-a-variety-of-products-with-the-same-brand/673561/25 "2013-11-11T21:32:25Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Hmm? The HST optics were made (infamously, incorrectly) by Perkin-Elmer, which has always been an optics and analytical instruments company. Corning made the glass blank for the primary, though. I’m not sure about canning supplies, but they were into kitchen glass until fairly recently. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-western-conglomerates-making-a-variety-of-products-with-the-same-brand/673561/26 "2013-11-11T21:38:02Z")
I was referring to Ball, but it’s possible I got the story mixed up a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-western-conglomerates-making-a-variety-of-products-with-the-same-brand/673561/27 "2013-11-12T07:29:55Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I think you meant motorcycles instead of the first “outboard motors”. D’oh! :smack: Yes, I did. Thanks for the correction. > [@](#): > > As I understand it, the two parts of Yamaha are virtually separate companies having only the name in common. While they have the same ownership, they don’t talk to each other at all. That’s quite possible - I’ve worked for both of Australia’s major retail companies at some point and almost none of their component companies talks to any other one if they can help it - it was not at all unusual for the part I was in to be suffering a major stock shortage while another “brand” owned by the same company had an abundance of the stuff - and there wasn’t any easy way to get it, swap it for something we had lots of and they didn’t, etc. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-western-conglomerates-making-a-variety-of-products-with-the-same-brand/673561/28 "2013-11-12T15:13:13Z")
Most American and Canadian conglomerates aren’t retail companies, so much of their business goes on behind the scenes- they do things like automotive parts supply or manufacture products sold under a range of brand names that aren’t recognizable as being from the same company. > **[List of conglomerates](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_conglomerates)** > > A conglomerate is a combination of multiple business entities operating in entirely different industries under one corporate group, usually involving a parent company and many subsidiaries. > Conglomerates are typically large and multinational. In addition, there are plenty of companies that do (or did) make multiple products- one famous, the rest not so much. For example, Sturm, Ruger & Co. is well-known as a gun manufacturer, but they’re also one of the world leaders in precision castings. ISTR that at one point they cast all the Callaway golf club heads or something like that. Coors is famous for beer, but a sister company (under Adolph Coors Co.) is CoorsTek, which is a major manufacturer of high tech ceramic products. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-western-conglomerates-making-a-variety-of-products-with-the-same-brand/673561/29 "2013-11-12T15:37:00Z")
Finnish company [Nokia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia) began as a paper mill. In 1898 they started a rubber company which evolved into one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of tires for cars and bicycles plus wellingtons and galoshes. In 1912 it was time to start making cables, which is the foundation for today’s telecommunication giant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-western-conglomerates-making-a-variety-of-products-with-the-same-brand/673561.md?page=1)