Allen-Bradley began its existence as the Compression Rheostat Company in 1903. It was founded by Lynde Bradley and Dr. Stanton Allen and the company changed its moniker to feature the founders’ names in 1909. The company flourished with the expansion of the radio industry and in supplying the military with various electronic equipment during World War I and World War II. In the Seventies and Eighties Allen-Bradley’s Industrial Automation products included numerous servo motors and other types of servo systems equipment.
The company remained privately owned until 1985 when it was purchased by Rockwell. In the Nineties Allen-Bradley was placed under the umbrella of Rockwell Automation along with Reliance Electric and its subsidiary brands Electro-Craft and Dodge whom Rockwell had acquired in 1994. In 2007 Rockwell sold its Power Systems division to Baldor meaning the Allen-Bradley, Reliance, and Dodge brands and their products are now under Baldor’s ownership.