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Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation, Inc. is an American provider of industrial automation and digital transformation technologies headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its brands include Allen-Bradley, FactoryTalk software and LifecycleIQ Services. Rockwell Automation employs approximately 27,000 people and has customers in more than 100 countries worldwide.
Rockwell Automation began in 1903 as the Compression Rheostat Launch Company. It was founded by Dr. Stanton Allen and Lynde Bradley with an initial investment of $1000. In 1904, 19-year-old Harry Bradley joined his brother in the business, and the company's first patented product, a carbon disc compression-type motor controller for industrial cranes, was demonstrated at the St. Louis World's Fair the same year. In 1909, the company was renamed the Allen-Bradley Company.
Allen-Bradley expanded rapidly during World War I in response to government-contracted work. Its product line grew to include automatic starters, switches, circuit breakers, relays, and other electric equipment. After the war, the company grew its miniature rheostat business to support the burgeoning radio industry. By the middle of the 1920s, nearly 50 percent of the company's sales were attributed to the radio department. The year 1929 closed with record company sales of $3 million.
By 1932, at the start of the Great Depression, the company was posting record losses. It reduced its workforce and cut wages by 50%. Throughout this period, Lynde Bradley supported an aggressive research and development approach intended to "develop the company out of the Depression." By 1937, Allen-Bradley employment had rebounded to pre-Depression levels and company sales reached an all-time high of nearly $4 million.
World War II fueled unprecedented levels of production, with 80% of the company's orders being war-related. Wartime orders were centered on two broad lines of products: industrial controls to speed production, and electrical components or radio parts used in a wide range of military equipment. Allen-Bradley expanded its facilities numerous times during the 1940s to meet wartime production needs. With Fred Loock serving as president and Harry Bradley as chairman, the company began a major $1 million, two-year expansion project in 1947. The company completed additional expansions at its Milwaukee facilities in the 1950s and 1960s, including the Allen-Bradley clock tower.
During the 1970s, the company expanded its production facilities and markets and entered the 1980s as a global company. In 1981, the company introduced a new line of programmable logic controllers.
In 1985, Rockwell International purchased Allen-Bradley for $1.651 billion; this was the largest acquisition in Wisconsin's history to date. For all intents and purposes, Allen-Bradley took over Rockwell's industrial automation division.
The 1990s featured continued technology development, including the company's launch of its software business. Rockwell International developed PowerFlex, a manufacturing software and technology in the 1990s. Rockwell International also acquired a power systems business, composed of Reliance Electric and Dodge. These two brands, combined with control systems brands Allen-Bradley and Rockwell Software, were marketed as Rockwell Automation.
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Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation, Inc. is an American provider of industrial automation and digital transformation technologies headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its brands include Allen-Bradley, FactoryTalk software and LifecycleIQ Services. Rockwell Automation employs approximately 27,000 people and has customers in more than 100 countries worldwide.
Rockwell Automation began in 1903 as the Compression Rheostat Launch Company. It was founded by Dr. Stanton Allen and Lynde Bradley with an initial investment of $1000. In 1904, 19-year-old Harry Bradley joined his brother in the business, and the company's first patented product, a carbon disc compression-type motor controller for industrial cranes, was demonstrated at the St. Louis World's Fair the same year. In 1909, the company was renamed the Allen-Bradley Company.
Allen-Bradley expanded rapidly during World War I in response to government-contracted work. Its product line grew to include automatic starters, switches, circuit breakers, relays, and other electric equipment. After the war, the company grew its miniature rheostat business to support the burgeoning radio industry. By the middle of the 1920s, nearly 50 percent of the company's sales were attributed to the radio department. The year 1929 closed with record company sales of $3 million.
By 1932, at the start of the Great Depression, the company was posting record losses. It reduced its workforce and cut wages by 50%. Throughout this period, Lynde Bradley supported an aggressive research and development approach intended to "develop the company out of the Depression." By 1937, Allen-Bradley employment had rebounded to pre-Depression levels and company sales reached an all-time high of nearly $4 million.
World War II fueled unprecedented levels of production, with 80% of the company's orders being war-related. Wartime orders were centered on two broad lines of products: industrial controls to speed production, and electrical components or radio parts used in a wide range of military equipment. Allen-Bradley expanded its facilities numerous times during the 1940s to meet wartime production needs. With Fred Loock serving as president and Harry Bradley as chairman, the company began a major $1 million, two-year expansion project in 1947. The company completed additional expansions at its Milwaukee facilities in the 1950s and 1960s, including the Allen-Bradley clock tower.
During the 1970s, the company expanded its production facilities and markets and entered the 1980s as a global company. In 1981, the company introduced a new line of programmable logic controllers.
In 1985, Rockwell International purchased Allen-Bradley for $1.651 billion; this was the largest acquisition in Wisconsin's history to date. For all intents and purposes, Allen-Bradley took over Rockwell's industrial automation division.
The 1990s featured continued technology development, including the company's launch of its software business. Rockwell International developed PowerFlex, a manufacturing software and technology in the 1990s. Rockwell International also acquired a power systems business, composed of Reliance Electric and Dodge. These two brands, combined with control systems brands Allen-Bradley and Rockwell Software, were marketed as Rockwell Automation.