June 19, 1911 – General Motors Export Company

On this day in 1911 the General Motors Export Company was founded in order to handle international sales of GM products. General Motors was originally founded in 1908 by William C. Durant. Initially, General Motors held only the Buick Motor Company but quickly acquired more than twenty companies including Cadillac, Oldsmobile and Oakland, which was later renamed Pontiac. In 1910 Durant hired Charles Nash to oversee the production of Buick. He quickly became a head honcho at GM as he quickly worked to build revenue for the young and ailing company. He did this through consolidation of truck and part manufacturing, cost-cutting, and working to increase sales. He was also responsible for founding General Motors Export Company on June 19, 1911. In late 1912 Durant was fired by the GM board and Nash was elected president. He further improved GM by moving the general offices from New York City to Detroit, creating a new purchasing office and setting up a standardized accounting system. However, his reluctance to pay dividends to shareholders resulted in Nash being forced out of GM in 1915 by Durant who was still a shareholder in the company and would later regain control of the business. Nash would go on to found Nash Motors. PhotosA brochure for a 1911 Buick truck. Buick was the initial car company of GM.Charles William Nash