An inventor first
George Westinghouse was born in 1846 in Central Bridge, New York, and got his first patent at 19. He became known for railroad air brakes before turning to electricity.
Source: ETHW: George Westinghouse
Betting on AC
In 1885 he brought alternating-current (AC) equipment over from Europe and set up an AC system in Pittsburgh. By 1886 the Westinghouse Electric Company was building constant-voltage AC generators. He bought Nikola Tesla’s AC motor patents and hired Tesla to help put the motor to work. Lighting the 1893 Chicago world’s fair and winning the right to build AC generators at Niagara Falls showed AC was here to stay.
Source: ETHW: George Westinghouse
Breakers and the Square D license
Westinghouse also licensed others. In 1929 Square D began making circuit breakers under a Westinghouse license. Westinghouse’s own home loadcenters and breakers were made at its Bryant Electric plant in Bridgeport, Connecticut, sold under both names, and in 1988 it bought Challenger Electric.
Sources: Schneider Electric: Square D Retail Products Catalog, “Our history” page (2016, distributor-hosted PDF) Eaton: Loadcenters and circuit breakers catalog, Type BR and Type CH history notes (Vol. 12, Tab 5) ConnecticutHistory.org: The rise and fall of manufacturing in Bridgeport, the case of Bryant Electric
On to Eaton
On Jan. 31, 1994, Eaton completed its purchase of Westinghouse’s Distribution and Control Business Unit, the part that made its breakers and loadcenters. Some assets went to Thomas & Betts as part of the antitrust approval. In 1995 Eaton combined the product lines and moved loadcenter production to Lincoln, Illinois.
Sources: Eaton Form 8-K, February 1994: acquisition of Westinghouse’s Distribution and Control Business Unit (SEC EDGAR) Eaton: Loadcenters and circuit breakers catalog, Type BR and Type CH history notes (Vol. 12, Tab 5)
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