Umair Gaines
The Automatic Electric Company (A.E. Co.) was an American telephone equipment supplier and manufacturer founded in 1891 by Almon Strowger of Kansas City, Missouri. Strowger invented the first automatic (dial) telephone switch in 1889 and held the first patents for the automatic telephone exchange. The company was the largest manufacturing unit of the Automatic Electric Group and supplied telephone equipment to companies worldwide. Over the years, Automatic Electric changed ownership several times, with manufacturing facilities in various locations across North America and Europe. The company's telephones were produced from the early 1900s to the late 1980s, with specific models like the Monophone dating back to the 1930s and 1940s.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Founder | Almon Strowger, Kansas City resident and inventor of the first automatic (dial) telephone switch |
| Year founded | 1891 |
| Location | North America, with a worldwide presence |
| Acquisitions | Acquired by General Telephone and Electronics (GT&E) in 1955; assets later came under the umbrella of Lucent in the 1990s, and subsequently became part of Nokia |
| Manufacturing plants | West Chicago, Illinois, Northlake, Genoa, Huntsville, Alabama, Liverpool, Antwerp, Milan |
| Years of operation | 1954-1986 |
| Phone models | Monophone, Styleline series, AE 80 series, speakerphone version of AE 80 series |
| Colours | Black, White, Seafoam, Blue, Red, Green, Pink, Yellow, Beige, Ivory, Gray |
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What You'll Learn
Automatic Electric Company founded in 1891
The Automatic Electric Company (A.E. Co.) was founded in 1891 as the Strowger Automatic Telephone Exchange Company by Kansas City resident Almon Strowger, who invented the first automatic (dial) telephone switch in 1889, and a businessman named Joseph Harris. The company was the first to patent the automatic telephone exchange.
In 1901, with the construction of a new manufacturing plant in West Chicago, Strowger helped form the Automatic Electric Company, to which he leased his patents exclusively. Automatic switches based on the Strowger system proliferated in independent telephone companies in the 1910s and 1920s, well before the Bell System started deployment of Panel switch technology in the 1910s. In 1919, the Bell System was impacted by organised operator strikes, and its leadership abandoned its rejection of automatic switching equipment. As a result, Automatic Electric became a long-term supplier of step-by-step switching equipment to the Bell System for installations where the large-scale Panel system was not economical.
In 1955, the Automatic Electric Company was acquired by General Telephone and Electronics (GT&E) through a merger with Theodore Gary & Company. GT&E continued operating the unit into the 1980s. In 1957, Automatic Electric was relocated to Northlake, Illinois, and maintained research and development facilities in Melrose Park and Elmhurst, Illinois. The company also acquired a manufacturing facility in Genoa, Illinois, from Leich Electric. In the 1960s, a manufacturing plant was built in Huntsville, Alabama, where public coin-operated telephones and the Styleline series of consumer telephones were manufactured.
In 1983, GTE merged Automatic Electric and Lenkurt into GTE Network Systems, which was quickly renamed GTE Communication Systems. GTE Microcircuits, the microelectronics division of GTE Communication Systems, was sold to California Micro Devices in 1987. In 1989, the remaining assets of the company were placed into a joint venture between AT&T and GTE called AG Communication Systems.
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Strowger Automatic Telephone Exchange Company
The Strowger Automatic Telephone Exchange Company was founded in 1891 by Almon B. Strowger, a Kansas City resident. Strowger invented the first automatic (dial) telephone switch in 1889. The Strowger switch was the first commercially successful electromechanical stepping switch telephone exchange system. It was also known as a step-by-step (SXS) switch based on its mechanical characteristics. Strowger's inspiration to manufacture automatic telephone exchanges came from his belief that manual telephone exchange operators were deliberately interfering with his calls, causing him to lose business.
The Strowger Automatic Telephone Exchange Company held the first patents for the automatic telephone exchange. The original design patent included four keys near the telephone, each with an additional wire connection to the central exchange. The user would tap each key a certain number of times to step the switch and make the desired connection. For instance, to connect to number 1256, the user would press the first key once, the second key twice, the third key five times, and the final key six times.
The Strowger Automatic Telephone Exchange Company installed and opened the first commercial exchange in La Porte, Indiana, on November 3, 1892. This exchange had around 75 subscribers and a capacity of 99. In 1896, the company patented a finger-wheel dial as an improvement to the existing four-key design. The company became the Automatic Electric Company, with which Strowger was involved in founding, although he did not seem to be involved in further developments.
The Strowger Automatic Telephone Exchange Company's engineers continued to develop Strowger's designs and submitted several patents in the names of its employees. Strowger systems were widespread through most of the 20th century, gradually being replaced by new technology that was more cost-effective for large cities.
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Manufacturing plants in the US, Canada, Europe
The Automatic Electric Company (A.E. Co.) was an American telephone equipment supplier primarily serving independent telephone companies in North America, but it also had a worldwide presence. The company was founded in 1891 by Almon Strowger of Kansas City, Missouri, who invented the first automatic (dial) telephone switch in 1889. In 1901, a new manufacturing plant was constructed at Morgan and Van Buren Streets in West Chicago, and Strowger helped form the Automatic Electric Company, to which he leased his patents exclusively.
In the 1910s and 1920s, automatic switches based on the Strowger system were widely adopted by independent telephone companies, and the company became a long-term supplier of step-by-step switching equipment to the Bell System. In 1955, the Automatic Electric Company was acquired by General Telephone and Electronics (GT&E) through a merger with Theodore Gary & Company.
In the 1950s, two Automatic Electric factories were manufacturing in Europe: Automatique Electric SA of Antwerp, Belgium, and Autelco Mediterranea SATAP of Milan, Italy. In England, the Automatic Telephone Manufacturing Company Ltd. operated a manufacturing plant in Liverpool, founded in 1911 to manufacture the Strowger system under licence from the Automatic Electric Company of Chicago.
In 1957, Automatic Electric was relocated to Northlake, Illinois, and maintained research and development facilities in Melrose Park and Elmhurst, Illinois. The company also acquired a manufacturing facility in Genoa, Illinois, and, in 1978, opened a research and development branch in Phoenix, Arizona. In the mid-1960s, a manufacturing plant was built in Huntsville, Alabama, which produced public coin-operated telephones and the Styleline series of consumer telephones. In Canada, Automatic Electric acquired Phillips Electric Works, a cable factory in Brockville, Ontario, in 1930, and telephones were manufactured at that facility from 1935 to 1953.
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Bought by General Telephone and Electronics in 1955
The Automatic Electric Company (A.E. Co.), founded in 1891, was an American telephone equipment supplier primarily serving independent telephone companies in North America. In 1955, the company was acquired by General Telephone and Electronics (GT&E) through a merger with Theodore Gary & Company. This merger allowed the new entity to hold over 2 million telephone lines.
Following the acquisition, GT&E continued operating the Automatic Electric unit into the 1980s. During this period, Automatic Electric continued to expand its operations, acquiring manufacturing facilities in Illinois and overseas. They also supplied electronic switching equipment to the U.S. defense department's global communication systems.
In the mid-1960s, a manufacturing plant was built in Huntsville, Alabama, where public coin-operated telephones and the Styleline series of consumer telephones were produced. The Huntsville plant was closed in the mid-1980s due to rising domestic labour and production costs.
After numerous reorganizations within GTE, the assets of Automatic Electric eventually came under the ownership of Lucent in the 1990s and subsequently became part of Nokia.
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Monophone model from the 1930s
The Automatic Electric Company (A.E. Co.) was an American telephone equipment supplier and manufacturer founded in 1891 by Almon Strowger, a Kansas City resident, and businessman Joseph Harris. Strowger invented and patented the first automatic (dial) telephone switch in 1889. The company primarily supplied telephone equipment to independent telephone companies in North America and also had a worldwide presence.
The Monophone Model AE35 was introduced in 1938. This combined phone includes all the components required to operate within the casing, eliminating the need for an external network subset and ringer. The AE40 is a graceful example of art deco design. These rugged phones were made of solid Bakelite and were available in a variety of colours with various trim options.
The Automatic Electric Company had a manufacturing plant in Liverpool, England, which was founded in 1911 to manufacture the Strowger system under licence from the Automatic Electric Company of Chicago. In 1930, the company acquired a cable factory in Brockville, Ontario, Canada, where telephones were manufactured from 1935 to 1953. In the 1950s, Automatic Electric had two manufacturing factories in Europe, one in Antwerp, Belgium, and the other in Milan, Italy.
In 1955, the Automatic Electric Company was acquired by General Telephone and Electronics (GT&E). The company continued to operate and expand, acquiring Lenkurt, a manufacturer of carrier equipment, in 1959. In 1978, it opened a research and development branch in Phoenix, Arizona, and in the same year, a manufacturing plant was built in Huntsville, Alabama. The Huntsville plant manufactured the Styleline series of consumer telephones in the late 1970s to early 1980s to compete with Western Electric's "Trimline" series.
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Frequently asked questions
The Automatic Electric Company manufactured phones from 1911 to the mid-1980s.
The Automatic Telephone Manufacturing Company manufactured phones from 1911 to 1961.
The Strowger Automatic Telephone Exchange Company, founded in 1891, manufactured phones from 1891 to 1911.
The Automatic Electric Company Monophone was manufactured in September 1949.
The first automatic dial phone was manufactured in the 1930s.
