Our History

THE BEGINNING

Founded in Boston, MA as the Albert & J. M. Anderson Manufacturing Co., by Albert Anderson and his brother Johan, they converted an old brewery in downtown Boston into a foundry.  Albert Anderson grasped the importance of electricity and guided his business in making products for the electric light and power industry, at 289-293 "A" Street, Boston, MA.

INVENTED A TROLLEY POLE

Through product development and inventions such as the trolley pole, by Johan M. Anderson, this put us on the map as a provider of electrical components. The trolley pole was used in the overhead system of electric railways, providing a simple compact, efficient and durable supporting mechanism. For many years, the company received multiple awards for the Anderson brothers’ innovative trolley and railway designs.

MANUFACTURED TRANSIT CYCLES

Capitilizing on the bicycle craze in the 1800's, the Anderson brothers began the manufacturing of the Transit Cycle, under the name of "Transit Cycles", at 289-293 "A" Street, Boston, MA.

MANUFACTURED AUTOMATIC TIME SWITCHES

In 1920 Albert & J. M. Anderson Manufacturing Co., were manufacturing  automatic time switches. They were used for opening and closing an electric circuit at any predetermined time of the day or night.  It could be used in industrial enviroments, shipyards, vaults and many other electrical uses.

INVENTED THE SB® CONNECTOR

The SB® saw its roots in a request from the industrial forklift manufacturers for a more robust connection. Variations on this pioneering two-piece device have powered everything from forklifts to wheelchairs to golf carts. 

The SB has seen a number of different iterations in the 50’s and 60’s, including the single piece SB®50 design which featured  extra-high heat resistance material, the single piece SB®350 with four different voltage keys, and the SB®175 with contacts that were now made of pure copper (replacing brass contacts). During this period, the SB connector had gained wide acceptance in the forklift industry and had for all intents and purposes replaced spring-loaded button contact and pin/socket contact technologies.

INVENTED THE POWERPOLE® CONNECTOR

Answering the call of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in San Francisco, CA, the invention of the company's second principle product line, the Powerpole® family of connectors. The Powerpole® can be found in Office Furniture, Wheelchairs, Floor Sweepers, Power Supplies, UPS Systems, Wireless Telecom Equipment, and Medical Applications.

RELOCATED TO BRIGHTON, MA

After an initial public offering at the end of 1966, we relocated our headquarters to a better facility in Brighton, MA. From this location we continued to broaden our product offering and expand our global markets.

OPENED A WAREHOUSE IN IRELAND

In 1970, due to increased product demand, APP opened our first warehouse in Ireland to serve the European continent. In 1988, APP® added manufacturing operations to reduce lead times for customers.

ACQUIRED BY HIGH VOLTAGE ENGINEERING

APP was puchased by High Voltage Engineering (HVE), a holding company.  Other business units of High Voltage included: Robicon Corporation, Maxima Technologies, Physical Electronics Inc., High Voltage Engineering Europe, and Carbolon Custom Molding.

RELOCATED TO STERLING, MA

APP merged with Carbolon Custom Molding and moved manufacturing from the plant in Brighton to its current location in Sterling, MA. We become known as the Anderson-Carbolon Group, although we still retained our individual name of Anderson Power Products®.

BECAME PART OF THE IDEAL® FAMILY

APP was acquired by IDEAL Industries, Inc., a family owned business and a global leader in the design and production of electrical supplies such as:  Connectors, Hand Tools, Testers, and Meters for the Electrical and Telecommunications Industries.

ASIA EXPANSION AND LAUNCHED  POWERMOD® & POWER DRAWER® CONNECTORS

APP opened a 42,700 square foot, three story, manufacturing facility in the Shenzen Special Economic Zone in China and a Distribution Center in Hong Kong.

Connectors Introduced:

PowerMod® - the high-density connector family is offered in 3 to 30 circuits, offering maximum design flexibility for a variety of systems. It can be used in: audio visual, LED lighting and signage, medical and motor controls.

Power Drawer®  - connectors feature integral guide pins, which correct misalignment during blind mating.  They can be used on “N + 1” power supply and rectifier systems for servers, telecommunications and network applications.

Power Clip® - designed as a low cost interconnection between two perpendicular power bus bars.  The unique float mount design enables the connector to be blind mated in the deepest racks. The Power Clip® is used in “N + 1” rectifiers, power supply and switching power supply applications.

OPENED A SALES OFFICE IN TAIWAN AND INTRODUCED THE SB®50 & POWERMOD® CONNECTORS

Connectors Introduced: 

SBS50 – became the newest member of our multipole family.  The  slim contoured ergonomic design provides a touch safe interface providing the users greater safety ease when connecting and disconnecting. It can be used for Medical, Networking Equipment and Power Supply/UPS Units.

PowerMod HP – this family has 10 variations including Busbar, Right-angle, and blindmate configurations. Easy to use latches assured connections were maintained in applications that submitted connectors to shock and vibration. In addition, high connectors were molded in higher temperature plastic and provided 6 keying orientations to assure correct connections in customer applications.  The connector is used in Material Handling, Power Supplies, and Telecom Products.

In 2004 we added a sales office in Taiwan to better serve the Asian market based on our philosophy is to provide products and service within the geographical trading market of our customers.

MARC CONNECTOR INTRODUCED

The MARC connector was released.  It was designed to mate while traveling through an arc with a 3-inch minimum radius and is ideal for Medical and Mobility applications.

LAUNCHED THE POWERPOLE® T-PAK CONNECTORS AND RELOCATED TO WARRINGTON, ENGLAND

Connectors Introduced: 

Powerpole T-Pak -  Is ideal for industrial and commercial applications in markets such as commercial and residential electrical distribution and office furniture.

SBS®75X – Is part of the Finger Proof Family of products. The ergonomic design allows the operator greater ease during connection/disconnection in medical or industrial applications.  

We relocated our European office to a 17500 square foot facility in Warrington, England to better serve the European market.

LAUNCHED THE SPEC PAK® ENVIRONMENTAL CONNECTOR

APP launched the SPEC Pak (Sealed Power For Environmental Connections) product series. These IP68 sealed connectors are used anywhere a rugged or water proof high power, signal and ground interconnect solution is required. Typical markets include: Mass Transportation, Solar, Off-road Vehicles, Factory Automation, Oil and Petro-chemical Exploration, Agricultural Equipment, and many more.

LAUNCHED THE AC/DC SAF-D-GRID® CONNECTOR

APP  launched the Saf-D-Grid connector series, which offers the same panel footprint as an IEC 60320 C13/C14. It's UL and IEC rated for both AC and DC. The connector system can be used in the direct connection of DC electronic devices to a DC micro grid. It's ideal for use in DC Servers or any device connecting directly to renewable energy sources such as Solar or Wind power.

LAUNCHED THE ERGONOMIC SBS®75G CONNECTOR

SBS75G connector was launched. The connector was designed to provide high power in a compact ergonomic housing with protection against accidental contact with live circuits. The genderless design allows both sides of the connection to be touch safe, which is valuable in applications involving Batteries, Capacitors, or Cord Sets functioning as a jumper.

LAUNCHED THE MINI SPEC PAK®  & SB® SMART CONNECTOR

Connectors Introduced:

Mini SPEC Pak - was added to the SPEC Pak family.  It's small rugged design and environmentally IP68 sealed rating makes it ideal for the Solar, Personal Mobility, and the Electric Vehicle markets.

SB Smart  - we announced a new addition to our multipole connector selection. The SB Smart was designed to meet the connection needs for high power Storage Batteries which are integrated into a larger system or where batteries require monitoring & control circuits.

LAUNCHED THE COMPACT SBS® MINI CONNECTOR

The  SBS Mini connector is our smallest DC power connector in the legendary SB® group. The compact size, power handling capabilities, and safety features make the SBS Mini ideal for a broad range of applications including: UAV’s, Emergency Equipment, Portable Power Storage & Generation, and the Hobby Market.

LAUNCHED THE AC SAF-D-GRID® & 5 POSITION MID POWER SPEC PAK® CONNECTORS

Connectors Introduced:

Saf-D-Grid 300 - which uses the same proven contact system as the 400 series but is specifically designed for AC applications. It features unique AC keys to prevent cross mating with 400 series DC connections. 

5 position Mid Power SPEC Pak - is a pin and socket design that has power handling capabilities 30% greater than the comparable IEC 60309 connector and is 50% smaller in size. The compact size, power handling capabilities is ideal for Motors, Controllers and Industrial Equipment.

LAUNCHED THE SBS®X-75A WATERPROOF CONNECTOR SERIES

Connectors Introduced:

Built on the success and proven reliability of the SBS® series for both Lead Acid and Lithium-ion powering, the SBSX-75A Sealed Waterproof Connector series is available in wire-to-wire, wire-to-panel and panel-to-panel configurations. The compact sleek high-power design of these environmentally rugged connectors makes them perfect for useage in applications for Commerical/Industrial, Power Equipment, Material Handling/Automation, Mobility and Marine markets.