McGraw-Edison was an American manufacturer of electrical equipment. It was created in 1957 through a merger of McGraw Electric and Thomas A. Edison, Inc., and was in turn acquired by Cooper Industries in 1985. Today, the McGraw-Edison brand is used on industrial, commercial, and institutional lighting products, and has been owned by the Pennsylvania Transformer Technologies Inc. since 1996.
Origins
McGraw Electric was founded by Max McGraw in Sioux City, Iowa in 1900, in the business of installing electricity in houses. The founder was aged 17 at the time. The company quickly expanded into industrial and commercial buildings. It made several acquisitions over the years, evolving into a manufacturer of electrical products. In 1952 McGraw Electric and the Pennsylvania Transformer Company merged, keeping the name of McGraw Electric. Thomas A. Edison, Inc. was formed in 1910 as a reorganization of the Edison Manufacturing Co., which had its roots in the 19th century. Edison began with the manufacture of phonographs and records, and later made radios and dictation machines. Charles Edison became president of the company in 1927, and ran it until it was sold in 1957, when it merged with the McGraw Electric Company.
History
McGraw-Edison Co. was created in 1957 when the McGraw Electric Company acquired Thomas A. Edison, Inc. Charles Edison became board chairman of the merged company until he retired in 1961. Max McGraw was chief operating executive. In March 1957, McGraw-Edison acquired Griswold Manufacturing