Vilter Manufacturing Corporation began in 1867 supplying steam engines to Milwaukee industries. Founded by Peter Weisel and Ernst Vilter, the company was originally known as Weisel & Vilter, and by 1882 the company had developed a horizontal compressor driven by a Corliss steam engine. These compressors, powered by steam and more efficient than their vertical counterpart, ushered in the dawn of industrial refrigeration.