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Essex had grown to seven divisions, operating 44 plants and 27 warehouses, in early 1965.

With the growth of the business, Probst chose to take the company public for the first time in its history. It opened on the New York Stock Exchange with “EXC” as its symbol.

In the spirit of aggressive innovation and marketing, Essex and Ford entered a partnership with the Ford 427 Shelby Cobra, the GT-40, and the new Mustang GT350.

On the Grand Prix circuit the Essex team was one of the most renowned and successful helping to further elevate the company status within the automotive industry.

The success of going public as well as the venture with Ford brought more opportunity, and with it change.

Paul W. O'Malley was named the new CEO of the company. He moved the company into maintenance and repair markets, as well as opened new plants in Indiana, Kentucky, and South Carolina.

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The three-year span to close the decade included an amazing amount of acquisitions as the Essex brand brought in over 30 new companies and factories—14 of them in 1969 alone.

With the blistering pace of acquisition as well as sheer scope and location of the plants, the brand officially changed from Essex Wire Corporation to Essex International, Inc., operating over 90 plants with 26,000 employees.

Following the merger with United Aircraft, both brands changed corporate names to better identify themselves.

United Aircraft became United Technologies to identify its shift to nonmilitary operations while Essex International, Inc., changed its name to Essex Group, Inc.

The latter part of the ‘70s came multiple interesting projects as Essex, and its partner Amana, developed the world's first touch-plate control.

Essex wire and cable was used to power Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Colorado's Beaver Creek Ski Resort, and Living Seas Pavilion at Disney World.

To take advantage of a different type of growth economy, Essex joined with home improvement centers, allowing consumers to choose the product for “Do-It-Yourself” projects.

It was the first time that the company labeled its product for consumer use.

After serving as president of Essex Group through the difficult economic downturn in the late-‘70s, James A. O'Conner (left) resigned his position as the President of the company.

His successor, John M. Bruce (right) was named to the position in 1984 and remained in control for a decade. During his tenure the company left the United Technology group in 1988 and became a privately held entity once again.

Stanley C. Craft was named the new President of the company in 1991 and began an aggressive campaign for capital investment to help grow the business.

The next year, in 1992, ownership changed hands with Bessemer Holdings becoming a principal for Essex. Bessemer would retain ownership for the next five years.

In 1996, Essex turned to 30-year company veteran Steve Abbott to lead it into the next century.

The company re-privatized and acquired Triangle Wire and Cable. Abbott was a former plant manager, director of engineers, and division president. His view for the company was to streamline and grow.

In April 1997, Essex management once again took the company public.

There was a genuine excitement on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as the tradition of success throughout the corporate history continued with early trading.

In February 1999, Essex Group was acquired by Atlanta-based Superior Telecom. The combined companies operated with revenues over $2.4 billion, the largest wire and cable manufacturer in North America.

It formed Superior Essex with Steven Abbott being its CEO and Greg Schriefer the first President of the new brand.

To continue its growth across the globe, Essex invested in the building of a magnet wire facility in Asia. In 2006, the greenfield plant opened in Suzhou, China, strategically positioned to better serve the rapidly expanding Asian market. This facility allowed Essex to meet the increasing demand for high-quality magnet wire in a region that was experiencing significant industrial and economic growth. By establishing a strong presence in Asia, Essex could offer local support to its global customers, ensuring faster response times and more efficient service across all continents.

The expanse into Europe, and CTC, was fast-tracked when the group acquired the European winding wire activities of Nexans in Italy to become the world’s leader for winding wire products.

Superior Essex, after this acquisition is now producing and selling winding wire in North America, Europe, and Asia.

LS Group acquired Superior Essex, strengthening its position as a global leader in the wire and cable industry. This strategic acquisition expanded the technological capabilities and market reach of both brands, driving innovation and long-term growth.

Already operating in North America, Europe, and Asia, the move into Central America and the Caribbean was a next step in completing a global footprint.

Essex Group Inc. acquires the assets of Piremag Corp., the exclusive distributor for PPE FIOS Esmaltados in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

In effort to prioritize the increasingly electrified world that was developing, Essex made the decision to launch its Automotive Business Unit with the focus on developing disruptive technology that will help fuel the future.

The Essex Energy facility in Quattordio, Italy is able to expand its production of CTC, Flats and Keystones by increasing its production capacity by 50% thanks to the installation of three new vertical ovens and of two CTC transposing machines.

After this key investment, Quattordio becomes one of the largest CTC production plants in Europe as well as develops the most advanced technological applications for the world of transformers.

A trio of important events happened during this single calendar year.

Essex acquired a magnet wire plant in Penang, Malaysia, officially forming Essex Malaysia. A joint venture in Germany was agreed to with Furukawa Electric, named Essex Furukawa, that worked to develop High Voltage Winding Wire (HVWW®)

The Essex Innovation Center was opened in Fort Wayne, focused on developing the next in a series of revolutionary products for the brand.

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Essex opened a new plant in Serbia. This EUR 30 million investment, focused its efforts on the production of round enameled copper wire, serving as a flagship for global manufacturing.

It complements the other European locations in Germany and Italy as well as those in Asia.

In April 2021, Essex Furukawa made the formal introduction of Vision 2030: A Sustainable Future, Our Driving Force. It was an initiative that was intended to shape the future of the corporation.

The company outlined three core values—Disruptive Innovation, Green Production, and Agile Digitization—as the foundational building blocks that he believes will help Essex Furukawa change the magnet wire industry for the better.

Each of the core values were presented with a specific goal as well as a roadmap to ensure steady progression towards that mark.

Learn More About Vision 2030

Superior Essex Inc., the parent to Essex, purchased Lacroix + Kress GmbH—the leading oxygen free copper (OFC) drawing manufacturer in Europe.

OFC is a key component in electric vehicles (EVs), and this acquisition solidified a commitment to the growing market.

Additionally, it created vertically integrated operations in Europe between its magnet wire businesses.

Learn More About the L+K Acquisition

Superior Essex completed the acquisition of the minority interest in Essex Furukawa Magnet Wire from Furukawa Electric, making it the sole owner of the brand, assets, and operations. The company, now rebranded as Essex Solutions, integrated all existing Essex Furukawa Magnet Wire locations globally, including Essex Energy in Italy. This consolidation strengthened Essex Solutions' global reach, allowing it to leverage the combined expertise and resources of its expanded network to better serve customers worldwide.

Learn more about the acquisition

Essex successfully completed The Copper Mark Assurance Process at four of its North American facilities: the Fort Wayne and Franklin, IN plants, Torreon, Mexico plant, and the Metals Processing Center in Columbia City, IN.

The assurance process involved a comprehensive evaluation of each plant’s operations, including its social practices and governance with criteria that included environmental standards, community health and safety requirements, equality practices, and employee work conditions.

Learn more about this achievement

In 1966, the year of the famed Le Mans race portrayed in the ‘Ford V Ferrari’ film, the Essex team moved onto the International Grand Prix circuit with the GT40.

Essex team had two cars in the field of the Le Mans race—though the film will not show that—one finished No. 24 and the other No. 27.

Scott Ramsey worked for Essex during the week and also raced on the circuit on the weekends!

His “One of Us” situation made him a favorite of fans at the track and certainly at the office.

Superior Essex Communications partnered with NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) races.

In honor of the start of NXS Playoffs, Superior Essex unveiled the new look of the redesigned No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro.

To stay current with the Superior Essex Communications racing team, visit their website.

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