Eaton Corporation has been serving the needs of its customers for more than 90 years. During this time, we've progressed from a small truck parts supplier to a multinational diversified industrial. Follow some of the key historical events that led to Eaton's transformation below.

Major Milestones

1911 - J. O. Eaton, brother-in-law Henning O. Taube and V. V. Torbensen incorporated the Torbensen Gear and Axle Co. in Bloomfield, NJ. The company built 7 axles by hand in 1911. Just 6 years later, axle production soared to 33,000.

1914 - Torbensen Gear and Axle moved to Cleveland on the advice of Edith Eaton, J.O. Eaton's wife, and was incorporated in Ohio as the Torbensen Axle Co.

1917 - Torbensen Axle Co. was sold to Republic Motor Truck Co., the nation's largest truck manufacturer and Torbensen's biggest customer.

1922 - J. O. Eaton bought back his original company, Torbensen Axle Co., from Republic Motor Truck Co.

1923 - Company changed name to The Eaton Axle and Spring Co.

1923 - J. O. Eaton bought The Eaton Axle Co. plant at East 140th Street in Cleveland, The Perfection Spring Co. (chassis leaf springs) and other properties from the receiver of Standard Parts Company.

1923 - The Eaton Axle and Spring Co. acquired Cox Brothers Manufacturing Co., Inc., Albany, NY (bumpers).

1930 - Acquired control of Wilcox-Rich Corp. (engine valves, tappets, valve seat inserts, hardened and ground engine parts), making Eaton the largest manufacturer of auto valves and tappets in the world, and the Peterson Spring Co. (coil springs). Both acquisitions were from Detroit.

1932 - Changed name to Eaton Manufacturing Co.

1935 - Acquired Detroit Motor Valve Co., Detroit (engine valves).

1946 - Acquired Dynamatic Corp., Kenosha, WI (eddy current power devices).

1949 - J.O. Eaton died in his home in Cleveland at the age of 75.

1958 - Acquired Fuller Manufacturing Co. (heavy-duty truck transmissions), subsidiary Shuler Axle Co. and Unit Drop Forge, Kalamazoo, MI.

1963 - Acquired Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co. (locks and hardware, and materials handling equipment) and Dole Valve Co. (appliance and automotive valves).

1963 - Fuller Transmission Division introduced the Roadranger twin-countershaft truck transmission.

1966 - Company changed corporate name to Eaton Yale & Towne Inc., reflecting the 1963 merger with Yale & Towne, Inc.

1968 - Acquired Fawick Corp. (clutches, brakes and compound rubber golf club grips) and American Monorail Co. (overhead conveyor cranes and stackers), both of Cleveland.

1969 - E. L. Ludvigsen retired; E. M. de Windt named chairman; Wm. Mattie elected president.

1969 - Sold Dearborn Marine, which was acquired in 1960.

1969 - Acquired Tinnerman Products, Inc. (fasteners), Cleveland, and McQuay-Norris Manufacturing Co. (automotive parts distribution), St. Louis, MO.

1969 - Acquired assets of Troy Tool Products Co., Inc., Pinebrook, NJ (micro-miniature connectors for electronics and communications industries). Built first "new philosophy" plant in Kearney, NE

1970 - Acquired Char-Lynn Co. (hydraulic motors for agriculture and industrial equipment).

1971 - Stockholders approved change in company name to Eaton Corporation.

1978 - Acquired Cutler-Hammer Inc. (industrial control and power distribution, aircraft, commercial, appliance and semiconductor) for nearly $400 million.

1981 - Eaton's defense business got a big push when the company was chosen as one of four prime contractors for the B-1B, supplying electronic countermeasures system.

1983 - Closed nine U.S. plants as part of "Operation Shrink" and sold its Materials Handling businesses.

1983 - Expanded a 50/50 joint venture with Sumitomo Heavy Industries called SEHYCO (hydraulic motors and transmissions). Established a 50/50 joint venture with Sumitomo (ion implanters). Purchased a 30% interest in Ghisalba SPA (industrial controls).

1988 - Acquired Cessna's Fluid Power Division, with plants in Glenrothes, Scotland, and Hutchinson, KS, which increased the size of the company's hydraulics business by 50%.

1994 - Purchased Westinghouse's Distribution and Control Business Unit for $1 billion, making it the second largest acquisition in the company's history.

1997 - Sold its worldwide Appliance Controls business to Siebe plc for $310 million.

1998 - Sold its worldwide Axle and Brake business to Dana Corporation for $287 million.

1999 - Acquired Aeroquip-Vickers, Inc., a global manufacturer of engineered components and systems for industrial, aerospace and automotive markets, for $1.7 billion. Aeroquip-Vickers is the largest acquisition in Eaton history.

2000 - Eaton President and Chief Operating Officer Alexander M. (Sandy) Cutler becomes Eaton's tenth Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and maintains the title of President.

2000 - Concluded the spin-off of its semiconductor equipment business, Axcelis Technologies, Inc.

2001 - Purchased Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd.'s 50% interest in its fluid power joint venture (SEHYCO), renamed Eaton Fluid Power Ltd.; this was the company's first wholly owned Japanese business.

2001 - Sold its automotive Vehicle Switch/Electronics Division (VS/ED), a manufacturer of a wide range of electromechanical and mechatronic controls for automotive applications, to Delphi Automotive Systems for $300 million.

2001 - Eaton selected by Lockheed Martin to provide the primary fluid power system for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program; award is expected to generate nearly $1 billion for Eaton over the life of the contract.

2002 - Sold its Navy Controls business to DRS Technologies, Inc. for $92.2 million.

2002 - Purchased the remaining 40% interest in its Jining Eaton Hydraulics Company, Ltd. (JEHYCO) hydraulic systems joint venture company in Jining, China.

2002 - Acquired the Boston Weatherhead division of Dana Corporation (hose, tubing and fluid connectors for fluid power systems) for $130 million.

2002 - Purchased the aerospace circuit breaker line from Mechanical Products, Inc.

2003 - Acquired the power systems business (power factor correction systems and harmonic filters for power quality and energy management applications) of Commonwealth Sprague Capacitor, Inc.

2003 - Purchased the electrical division of London-based Delta plc.

2003 - Industrial and Commercial Controls business and Cutler-Hammer group are reorganized to become Eaton's Electrical group.

2003 – Introduced a low-emission, hybrid electric powered delivery vehicle in concert with FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., and advocacy group Environmental Defense.

2003 – Unveiled the world's first 5000-psi commercial aircraft hydraulic pump specifically designed for the world's largest passenger aircraft – the Airbus A380.

2003 – Formed Intelligent Switchgear Organization LLC, a joint venture with Caterpillar Inc. to provide a total systems approach to integrated, reliable electric power solutions for customer needs.

2004 – Formed a joint venture with Changzhou Senstar Automobile Air Conditioner Co. Ltd. in China to produce automotive air conditioning hose and tube assemblies, and power steering hose and tube assemblies.

2004 – Purchased UK-based Ultronics Limited and its advanced electro-hydraulic valve system technology.

2004 – Acquired the Electrum Group Ltd., a New Jersey-based company that provides power management services and web-based software for telecommunications, data center and government applications.

2004 – Formed a joint venture with FAW Jiefang Automotive Co., Ltd., in Changchun, China to produce a complete line of medium-duty truck transmissions.

2004 – Purchased Powerware Corporation, the power systems business of Invensys plc, for $560 million.

2004 – Purchased the Walterscheid Rohrverbindungstechnik GmbH hydraulic connector business from GKN plc for $48 million.

2005 - Purchased Pigozzi S.A. Engrenagens e Transmissões, an agricultural powertrain business located in Caxias do Sul, Brazil.

2005 - Purchased the businesses of Winner Group Holdings Ltd., a China-based company that produces hydraulic hose fittings and adapters for the greater Chinese market.

2005 - Purchased Mexican automotive lifter manufacturer Morestana S.A. de C.V.

2005 - Eaton completes purchase of Brazilian powertrain manufacturer Pigozzi S.A.

2005 - Eaton completes purchase of Winner Group Holdings, Ltd.

2005 - Eaton purchases automotive lifter manufacturer Morestana.

2005 - Eaton completes purchase of Tractech Holdings, Inc.

2005 - Eaton completes purchase of industrial filtration business of Hayward Industries.

2005 - Eaton acquires assets of Pringle Electrical.

2005 - Eaton completes purchase of Cobham plc's aerospace fluid and air division.

2005 - Eaton completes purchase of PerkinElmer's aerospace division.

2006 - Eaton completes purchase of Synflex.

2006 - Eaton completes purchase of fine filtration business.

2006 - Eaton acquires the diesel fuel processing technology and associated business assets of Catalytica Energy Systems Inc. 

2006 – Reached a definitive agreement with Dover Resources, Inc. to purchase its Ronningen-Petter industrial fine filtration business.

2006 – Acquired Senyuan International Holdings Ltd.  Its wholly owned subsidiary, Changzhou Senyuan Switch Co., Ltd. is a well-established manufacturer of vacuum circuit breakers and other electrical switchgear components in the People’s Republic of China.

2006 – Acquired the remaining 50 percent ownership of Schreder-Hazemeyer from Schreder SA., a manufacturer of low and medium voltage electrical distribution switchgear based in Brussels, Belgium.

2007 – Acquired the Power Protection Business of Power Products, Ltd., a Prague-based distributor and service provider for Powerware® and other uninterruptible power sources.

2007 – Purchased AT Holdings Corporation, the parent of Argo-Tech Corporation, a leader in high performance aerospace systems for commercial and military markets.

2007 – Acquired Aphel Technologies, Ltd., a global supplier of high density, fault-tolerant distribution solutions for datacenters, technical offices, laboratories and retail environments.

2007 – Purchased the fuel components division of Saturn Electronics & Engineering, Inc.

2007 – Acquired the technology and related assets Associate with SMC Electrical Products, Inc.’s industrial medium voltage adjustable frequency drive division.

2007 – Acquired Pulizzi Engineering, a leading manufacturer of AC power distribution, AC power sequencing, redundant power and remote-reboot power management systems.

2007 – Sold its Mirror Controls Division, part of Eaton’s Automotive Group.

2007 – Acquired the assets of Babco Electric Group, a manufacturer of specialty low- and medium-voltage switchgear and electrical housings for the Canadian gas & oil industry and in other harsh environments.

2007 – Completed the purchase of the small systems business of Schneider Electric’s MGE UPS Systems. (Uninterruptible power supplies, power distribution units, static transfer switches and surge suppressors).

2007 – Acquired Arrow Hose & Tubing, Inc., a manufacturer of specialty thermoplastic hose and tubing for the industrial, food & beverage, and agricultural markets.

2008 – Eaton Expands European Hydraulics Business
 
2008 – Eaton Announces Pricing Of Common Share Offering
 
2008 – Eaton Announces Proposed Public Offering Of Common Shares
 
2008 – Eaton Completes Purchase Of The Moeller Group
 
2008 – Eaton Completes Acquisition Of Phoenixtec Power Company Ltd.

2008 – Eaton Announces Satisfaction Of Minimum Acceptance Condition In Tender Offer For Phoenixtec Power Company Ltd.; Extends Tender Offer Period