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 Started
in 1888 by founder Harvey Hubbell in Bridgeport, Connecticut, many of Hubbell's
first patents were for manufacturing machinery. In 1891, Hubbell had an idea to
make Edison's electric illuminating bulb more useful. Fixtures for electric light
were slowly replacing the gas lamps, prevalent at the time. The gas lamps were usually
installed in the center of the ceiling or mounted high on a wall. In many cases,
the electric lights burned continuously. With no existing wiring in the buildings,
the installation of a separate circuit or switch to control the fixture was costly.
Who knew, after all, whether this new electrical novelty would last long enough
to justify the expense?
Hubbell wanted to design, and ultimately patent, a means to provide safe, local,
and convenient control of the electric light. His answer was the "pull socket,"
which was patented in August of 1896. The same type of device, with its on-off pull
chain, is still in use today.
 Hubbell's
concern with designing products to make the use of electrical service safer and
more convenient spurred another design and patent. After viewing a janitor trying
to clean behind some electrically-operated penny arcade games, Hubbell noted the
tedious process required: that of disconnecting and reconnecting the post and wire
connections in order to pull the equipment away from the wall. Hubbell's idea was
to design a product with individual wires attached in the proper sequence and correct
polarity, thus allowing the user to connect and disconnect to the power supply in
the wall. His "separable plug and socket" design took shape and was submitted to
the patent office in Washington, D.C. One of the most successful constructions of
the patent is the duplex receptacle, still found everywhere that power is used.
Hubbell Incorporated Today
 The
Company operates through multiple manufacturing divisions and subsidiaries located in North America, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Italy, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The Company participates in a joint venture in
Taiwan, and maintains sales offices
in Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea. Product research, marketing, and sales
are conducted in this country and abroad. Because the Company has been an integral
part of the growth of the electrical equipment industry and a pioneer in the development
of new products and technologies, the Company has established a foundation of basic
strengths on which to build its future growth.
Fundamentally, Hubbell Incorporated’s commitment to electrical equipment manufacture
has enabled the Company to maintain its focus consistently, and to apply its energies
to the technology of generating, transmitting, and utilizing electrical energy.
Electricity is the most adaptable form of energy, and the one which will power the
21st century from basic industry to the most advanced electronic devices. The expertise
developed during the first hundred years is an asset vital to the Company and its
customers in the future.
Diversification of product and market will provide the advantage of flexibility;
i.e., the benefits to the Company of counter-cyclical markets (to provide opportunity
in a dynamic economy), and the benefit to customers of a single source of supply
for new construction, modernization, or rehabilitation. Through internal growth
and acquisition, in the future as in the past, Hubbell Incorporated’s breadth-of-line
will expand the Company’s position among the industry’s leaders.
The Company’s tradition of quality, most apparent in its products but a part of
its operations as well, will continue its contribution in the future. To Hubbell
management, quality is an emphasis on asset deployment to provide the flexibility
and resources to implement planned growth and consistent return to shareholders.
To Hubbell employees, quality is the focus on each day’s work in design, engineering, testing, and production. To customers, Hubbell quality is the superior operation,
reliable performance, and dependable service which distinguish Hubbell products
from others.
The Company’s network of independent electrical distributors, who provide Hubbell
products and their own expertise to the end-user, are a critical asset. Some of
these distributors have been associated with the Company since the early years;
others have joined as the industry expanded. Together, they form a partnership with
Hubbell Incorporated which has played a large part in the past growth, and which
will plan a larger part in the future.
The combination of these – commitment to the industry, diversification of product
and market, a continuing tradition of quality, partnership with the independent
electrical distributor, and the experience of accomplishment in research and development – have forged Hubbell Incorporated’s exceptional records of growth. The same comprehensive
corporate capability will expand
Hubbell’s growth in the commercial, telecommunications,
lighting, utility,
industrial, and consumer markets of the future.
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