Rockwell Automation, Inc. is an American provider of industrial automation and digital transformation technologies. Brands include Allen-Bradley, FactoryTalk software and LifecycleIQ Services.
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 26,000 people and has customers in more than 100 countries worldwide. The Fortune 500 company reported global sales at $7.8 billion for the fiscal year 2022.
History
Early years
Rockwell Automation began in 1903 as the Compression Rheostat Launch Company. It was founded by Lynde Bradley and Dr. Stanton Allen with an initial investment of $1000.
In 1904, 19-year-old Harry Bradley joined his brother in the business.
The company's first patented product was a carbon disc compression-type motor controller for industrial cranes. The crane controller was demonstrated at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904.
In 1909, the company was renamed the Allen-Bradley Company.
Allen-Bradley expanded rapidly during World War I in response to government-contracted work. Its product line grew to include automatic starters, switches, circuit breakers, relays, and other electric equipment.
In 1914, Fred Loock established the company's first sales office in New York.
Upon co-founder Stanton Allen's death in 1916, Lynde Bradley became president. Harry Bradley was appointed vice president and attorney Louis Quarles was named corporate secretary.
During the 1920s, the company grew its miniature rheostat business to support the burgeoning radio industry. By the middle of the decade, nearly 50 percent of the company's sales were attributed to the radio department. The year 1929 closed with record company sales of $3 million.
By 1932, at the start of the Great Depression, the company was posting record losses. It reduced its workforce from 800 to 550 and cut wages by 50%, replacing employees' lost wages with preferred stock, which it eventually bought back at 6% interest.
Throughout this period, Lynde Bradley supported an aggressive research and development approach intended to "develop the company out of the Depression." Lynde Bradley's R&D strategy was successful. By 1937, Allen-Bradley employment had rebounded to pre-Depression levels and company sales reached an all-time high of nearly $4 million.
Mid-late 20th century
Following the death of Lynde Bradley in 1942, Harry Bradley became company president and Fred Loock was promoted to vice president. The Lynde Bradley Foundation, a charitable trust, was established with Lynde Bradley's assets. The foundation's first gift of $12,500 was made to Milwaukee's Community Fund, a predecessor of the United Way.
World War II fueled unprecedented levels of production, with 80% of the company's orders being war-related. Wartime orders were centered on two broad lines of products: industrial controls to speed production, and electrical components or "radio parts" used in a wide range of military equipment.
Allen-Bradley expanded its facilities numerous times during the 1940s to meet wartime production needs. With Fred Loock serving as president and Harry Bradley as chairman, the company began a major $1 million, two-year expansion project in 1947. The company completed additional expansions at its Milwaukee facilities in the 1950s and 1960s, including the Allen-Bradley clock tower. The clock tower has since been renamed and is known today as the Rockwell Automation clock tower.
Harry Bradley died in 1965. Fred Loock retired in 1967 and died in 1973.
During the 1970s, the company expanded its production facilities and markets and entered the 1980s as a global company. With President J. Tracy O'Rourke (1981–89) at the helm, the company introduced a new line of programmable logic controllers, the PLC in 1981 followed by the PLC-2 1982) (2/30, 2/05/ 2/16&2/17) PLC-3(1982) SLC-100 Family (1986) SLC-500(1986) PLC-5 Family (1985). Earlier PLC developments were the MAC and PLC-4.
In 1985 privately owned Allen-Bradley set a new fiscal record with sales of $1 billion. On February 20, 1985, Rockwell International purchased Allen-Bradley for $1.651 billion; this was the largest acquisition in Wisconsin's history to date. For all intents and purposes, Allen-Bradley took over Rockwell's industrial automation division.
The 1990s featured continued technology development, including the company's launch of its software business, Rockwell Software (1994), the Logix control platform (1997) and the Integrated Architecture system (1999). Rockwell International developed PowerFlex, a manufacturing software and technology in the 1990s.