Benjamin Electric Manufacturing Company

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Benjamin Electric Manufacturing Company was a Des Plaines, Illinois electrical company founded in the late 19th century.

Contents

History

Benjamin Electric Manufacturing Company was founded by Reuben Berkley Benjamin [1] and filed its first patent for an electric lamp socket in 1898. The part was manufactured in Benjamin's basement by high school kids who worked after school. [2]

The company was officially organized in 1901 with an investment of $2,400. [3] The original founders included Walter D. Steele, Ruben B. Benjamin, and two others. It originally operated out of a small basement space, but moved to Des Plaines in 1929. [3] In 1945 it built a laboratory for testing and research, [4] and by 1948 it employed more than 1,200 people. [5]

In 1958, Benjamin was bought out by Thomas Industries, Inc. [6] It continued to operate under the Benjamin name as a division of Thomas Industries. At the time of acquisition, it employed 600 people in two manufacturing facilities, one in Des Plaines and the other in Burlingame, California. [7]

The company's factory in Illinois was closed in 1963, with manufacturing moving to a Thomas Industries 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m2) plant in Sparta, TN. [8]

Products

Benjamin Electric Manufacturing Company was the manufacturer of industrial and commercial lighting, floodlights, and signalling devices. [4] It pioneered a wireless cluster for lighting equipment, designed to produce higher levels of lighting from carbon filament lamps. [9] The company went on to manufacture various electrical products. One of its most notable products was a series of non-contact fire alarm horns, introduced in the early 1920s. [2] Throughout his lifetime, Reuben Benjamin secured 300 patents, most of which were used for products at the company. [10]

References

  1. ↑ "Benjamin Founder Dead". Arlington Heights Herald. 5 January 1934. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Benjamin Electric MFG Co., est. 1901". Made in Chicago Museum. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Fiftieth Year for Benjamin Electric Mfg". Chicago Tribune. 4 June 1951. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Benjamin to Build Laboratory". Arlington Heights Herald. 15 June 1945. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  5. ↑ "Benjamin Electric Xmas party". The Daily Herald. 24 December 1948. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  6. ↑ "Benjamin Electric is Sold to Louisville Corporation". Arlington Heights Herald. 20 November 1958. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  7. ↑ "Approve Benjamin Elec. Sale to Louisville Firm". Chicago Tribune. 1 January 1959. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  8. ↑ Swinford, T. William (20 August 1964). "What Happens When Industry Leaves". The Daily Herald. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  9. ↑ Arbeen, Harold (18 December 1950). "$2,400, Belief in Future Add Up to Millions". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  10. ↑ Van De Water, Marjorie (4 May 1930). "Next To Edison Can You Name the Ten American Inventors With the Greatest Number of Patents". The Register. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
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