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Founded by Ernest G. McCauley in 1938.1
The company began in 1928 in a small shop on Howell Street, in West Dayton, Ohio, with about 18 workers. During the 1930s and 1940s, McCauley produced wooden propellers.
The company is noted for having invented the ground-adjustable, solid-steel propeller in 1941. During World War II, McCauley manufactured 20,000 ground-adjustable solid-steel propellers. In 1946, the company invented the forged aluminum propeller. In 1947, McCauley developed the first all-metal propeller for light aircraft (such as single-engine Cessnas and Piper Cubs) — a fixed-pitch prop using the trade name "MET-L-PROP."
By 1967, in addition to propellers, the company was also producing propeller spinners and propeller governors. It was operating in a 160,000 sq ft (15,000 m2) Dayton factory, employing 230 workers, with an annual sales volume of about US$5 million.
Between 1976 and 1978, Cessna planned replacing the 105,000 sq ft (9,800 m2) McCauley factory with one twice the size. Initial hopes were to move the factory from West Dayton (citing thefts and staff harassment), to the Dayton International Airport — or, alternatively, to the Wichita, Kansas area (Cessna's home and prior hometown of McCauley chief Dussault). Dayton city leaders, trying to retain this key employer, struggled to overcome two Kansas advantages: its anti-union "right-to-work laws", and its legal options for local governments to grant tax breaks to employers. However, McCauley ultimately settled into a new site at Dayton International Airport.
By 1982, in addition to propellers, spinners and governors, the company was also producing wheels, brakes, and other accessories for aircraft.
In 1986, owing to product-liability lawsuits, Cessna, McCauley's parent company and principal customer, stopped producing propeller-driven aircraft (except for the Cessna Caravan) and McCauley's sales fell.
In February, 1992, McCauley parent company, Cessna Aircraft, was sold by its parent company, General Dynamics, to Textron, Inc.
In August, 1993, Textron, Cessna's new parent company, announced plans to sell the McCauley Accessory division. However, ultimately, the company remained within the Cessna/Textron family.
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In 1996, after Congress passed, and President Clinton signed, the General Aviation Revitalization Act, which limited aircraft manufacturers' product liability, Cessna resumed production of propeller-driven aircraft, using McCauley propellers, boosting McCauley sales.
In December 1999, Cessna halted production of the Cessna 172 when defects in McCauley propellers were discovered during production. Though McCauley production continued, Cessna replaced McCauley's general manager and quality manager the next month.
From Wikipedia’s article on McCauley Propeller Systems, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3