Benjamin Electric Manufacturing Company

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

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 250000 sqft 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]