CPI History is a USA Success Story
To understand the unique product line that has evolved at CPI you’d have to understand the history under which that happened. Like many US companies, CPI has a rich and long history which we are proud of and which informs the understanding of why no other company in the world has the kind of knowledge that we have in the production of high performance electronic devices.
For starters, we weren’t always CPI (Control Products Inc.) The Calculagraph Co. was founded by Henry Abbott, a watchmaker, in 1871 on Maiden Lane in New York City and incorporated in 1892. Originally the company designed and built elapsed-time recording devices. The “calculagraph” had a clock face and a series of gears which determined elapsed time and printed it out on a ticker tape style of paper. Back in the day, this alleviated an enormous amount of the difficulty timing things and was soon used everywhere from pool halls (for renting table time) to the phone company for timing phone calls for billing, right up until the digital age.
Calculagraph Pivots to CPI
As time went on Calculagraph saw that their product line was becoming obsolete and so Control Products, Inc. was later incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary in 1946 to design and manufacture switches for the military. CPI initially sold thermal switches to the United States government for military applications at the end of World War II. Switches designed by CPI, in addition to their niche applications in a number of market sectors, continue to be extensively used in military equipment. The ability of the Company’s switches to meet demanding military specifications, combined with their reliability and repeatability make them ideally suited for the most demanding, quality-oriented industrial manufacturers with a need to place a switch in harsh environments.
Switch designs were eventually commercialized and sold to firms in industries for applications where harsh environments and reliability were critical factors. Developing expertise in precise calibration of these devices over a broad environmental range, the Company’s business expanded into different industries, providing a diverse portfolio of expertise and products, and a standard product line.
William Moodie consolidated ownership of CPI in the 1970s by purchasing shares from his brother. In 1990 Cliff Moodie, William’s son, purchased the Company from his father, and acquired the remaining publicly held shares. Cliff Moodie represents the third generation to own CPI. Under his leadership, CPI prospered and reached its highest levels of revenue, profitability, quality of manufacture and customer service, and professional operations. It was under this leadership that CPI declared itself as company that would for better or worse, keep its design and manufacturing in the USA exclusively through a time when more and more large switch manufacturers were taking advantage of cheap offshore manufacturing and materials. CPI maintained its profitability and its niche in high endurance applications precisely because of this decision and the associated quality control that is possible when all production is under a local roof.
Today, Control Products, Inc. headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey, designs and manufactures high-reliability, close-tolerance, mission-critical, thermal switches, a wide array of environmentally sealed switches, and linear position sensors. It specializes in addressing specific switching problems and works directly with its customers to reach appropriate solutions in the shortest time frame possible. The Company recognizes that constant attention to its customers’ needs is the key to its success. CPI’s goal is to continue to grow by providing customers the highest quality product, and its employees – who are its greatest assets – the opportunity to reach their full potential.
In 2020, CPI became part of DiscoverIE, and operates under the Variohm group of companies a relationship that provides synergy with technology partners and markets in Europe. CPI however, continues its focus on the high-endurance, hi-reliability market around the world, in both industrial and military sectors.
And all our design and production is still done entirely in the USA and always will be.
This blog was originally published at https://www.cpi-nj.com/cpi-history-is-a-usa-success-story/
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