Industry | Electrical accessories |
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Headquarters | Basildon, Essex, |
Area served | Worldwide |
Website | www |
MK Electric is a company that makes electrical accessories. The company's headquarters are in Basildon, Essex, England, from where it sells goods worldwide.
In 1912 Charles Arnold and Charles Belling formed Belling and Company making electric fires. Following his release from the army in 1919 Charles Arnold founded 'The Heavy Current Electrical Accessories Company' with Charles Belling as a shareholder. This was later renamed MK Electric. [1] The company developed electrical equipment such as high rated switches and sockets. A portrait of Charles Arnold by May Bridges Lee is held by the University of Bristol. [2]
One product, the Multy Kontact spring grip socket (3-pin plug), soon became a market leader and the British Engineering Standards Association (BESA) changed standards to adopt this new product. By 1923 demand for these new products was growing rapidly and new production facilities were built in Edmonton, Middlesex. The company was then renamed MK Electric after its flagship product. [3]
In 1928 the first shuttered socket was produced which concealed the live and neutral contacts when the plug is pulled out of the socket.
During World War II, production at the Edmonton factory focused on munitions to help the war effort, but development work resumed in 1945. In the 1950s MK Electric produced a light switch design which is still used today.
In 1966 the company floated on the stock exchange and became MK Electric Holding Company Ltd. The company later became a subsidiary of Honeywell International in 2005 when its parent company Novar plc was acquired. Its factory in Southend-on-Sea produced its one hundred millionth socket in 2014. [4]
A phone connector is a family of cylindrically-shaped electrical connectors primarily for analog audio signals. Invented in the late 19th century for telephone switchboards, the phone connector remains in use for interfacing wired audio equipment, such as headphones, speakers, microphones, mixing consoles, and electronic musical instruments. A male connector, is mated into a female connector, though other terminology is used.
A DC connector is an electrical connector that supplies direct current (DC) power.
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Industrial and multiphase plugs and sockets provide a connection to the electrical mains rated at higher voltages and currents than household plugs and sockets. They are generally used in polyphase systems, with high currents, or when protection from environmental hazards is required. Industrial outlets may have weatherproof covers, waterproofing sleeves, or may be interlocked with a switch to prevent accidental disconnection of an energized plug. Some types of connectors are approved for hazardous areas such as coal mines or petrochemical plants, where flammable gas may be present.
Harvey Hubbell II was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and industrialist. His best-known inventions are the U.S. electrical plug and the pull-chain light socket.
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As a former British colony and territory, technical standards in Hong Kong of today has been largely influenced by that of the United Kingdom, with some exceptions due to local and practical considerations.
AS/NZS 3112 is the harmonised/joint Australian and New Zealand Standard for AC power plugs (male) and sockets (female). The standard is used in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and several other Pacific island countries. In Argentina and China an almost-identical design is also used, but these are separate standards, despite their appearance. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) "world plugs" website defines this design as Plug Type I'.
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Morphy Richards is a British brand of electrical appliances headquartered in Swinton, in South Yorkshire, England. Its products were formerly made at its historic home of Mexborough, and in other facilities across the United Kingdom. However, since the 1990s, all of its manufacturing has been carried out in the Far East.
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Mennekes Elektrotechnik GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of industrial plugs and connectors with headquarters in Kirchhundem in the Sauerland region, Germany.
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Hubbell Incorporated, headquartered in Shelton, Connecticut, is an American company that designs, manufactures, and sells electrical and electronic products for non-residential and residential construction, industrial, and utility applications. Hubbell was founded by Harvey Hubbell as a proprietorship in 1888, and was incorporated in Connecticut in 1905.
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Pifco is a British electrical goods brand and a former manufacturer of small domestic appliances.