About Us:
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE KERITE COMPANY
Founded in 1854, The Kerite Company is unique in the U.S. Wire and Cable Industry as probably the oldest insulated wire and cable manufacturer in North America. Today, with a century and a half of tradition behind it, The Kerite Company produces the highest reliability underground and underwater power cables in the industry. The Company was founded by Austin Goodyear Day, nephew of Charles Goodyear, who developed the rubber vulcanization process that gave birth to the modern-day U.S. rubber industry.
The name "Kerite" was chosen by A.G. Day and his associate, Benjamin J. Silliman, Jr., a Yale chemistry professor, as a trade name for a unique compound that they developed to improve rubber-insulated electrical cable. In its day, this "Kerite" rubber insulation proved to be one of the most reliable cable insulations ever developed in the U.S. Wire and Cable Industry. Modern-day Kerite insulations continue that tradition of performance and have an unsurpassed record for long service life and reliability. In its early history, Kerite was associated with several well-known U.S. entrepreneurs and scientists. One of the first uses for Kerite cable was in Samuel F.B. Morse's telegraph system of the late 1800's, and Kerite telegraph wire was installed on Mount Washington, New Hampshire, renowned as the site of "the world's worst weather." Morse praised the Kerite insulation as "the most perfect as yet of all insulating substances for submarine telegraph cables," and today, 100 years later, this statement can still be applied with equal justification. Another pioneer associated with Kerite was Alva DeWolfe, inventor of the cross-head extruder, which made the production of modern insulated cables possible. DeWolfe was Day's plant superintendent, and had previously been apprenticed with the famous Early American clockmakers, Eli Terry and Seth Thomas.
The Kerite Company then followed the introduction of telegraph cable with signal cable, and became the railroad industry's principal supplier of failure-free cable for vital signal circuits.
These early successes led to the development of high-reliability cables for other major industries such as the electric utility, steel, construction, and petroleum industries. Kerite has the distinction of having supplied the first nuclear-qualified cable to the emerging nuclear industry, and its high-voltage cables are presently used in critical power circuits at key sites such as the Empire State Building, the Chicago Sears Tower, the Meadowlands Sports Complex and Disney World. Other critical Kerite applications include installing power cables for the 1980 and 2002 winter Olympics, providing long-length submarine cables to offshore oil platforms and supplying submersible pump cables on oil rigs in the North Sea and other locations.
From 1969 to 1999, The Kerite Company was a subsidiary of Hubbell, Incorporated, Orange, Connecticut, a leading manufacturer of quality electrical products for a broad range of customers with facilities in the United States, Canada and Great Britain.
On September 22, 1999 Hubbell sold Kerite to The Marmon Group. The Marmon Group is an international association of autonomous manufacturing and service companies. Kerite complements other premier wire and cable companies owned by Marmon. The Marmon Group is one of the largest privately held companies in the United States.
The Kerite Company looks forward to an excellent future, ensured by the dedication of Kerite employees who have enabled the Company to build a reputation for the highest levels of quality and customer service. Products designed, manufactured, and tested by the people of Kerite will continue to be regarded as the highest performance cables in the industry.
Where we're located:
The Kerite Company
49 Day Street
Seymour, CT 06483