WECO’s 100th Anniversary | WECO continually improved its connector designs from the 1920`s

Dear Colleagues,

WECO is well known in the marketplace for specializing in the design and development of innovative electrical connectivity solutions. Our company provides engineering services and technical assistance, optimizes processes and products to improve existing technology and offers flexibility in business, production and service solutions to fulfil our customers’ needs.

In the early thirties, WECO was known as “Wester, Ebbinghaus & Co Elektrotechnische Fabrik”, with a staff of 10 employees, operating at Alfred-Delp-Strasse in Hanau, Germany. By that time, it had already manufactured and distributed 2,000 different products, and was now focusing on developing new projects. WECO patented a new “terminal mantel” connector, a design that proved successful and was accepted by the power industry and its engineers.

WECO continually improved its connector designs from the 1920`s and developed new products adapted to higher currents and voltages that were suitable for larger power consumers. The new operating principle was a pressure pin that gripped the conductor in a slotted screw. The innovative feature of this new blanket terminal technology was the pressure pin secured by a screw in such a way that it could not come loose unintentionally. This was the original concept behind the “climbing cage” still in use today! This design meant that, for the first time, the products were ideal for use in highly vibrating applications,a true revolution that significantly reduced the need for previous expensive maintenance.

With more than 2,000 products in its portfolio, the main components were the mantle clamps and the ceramic insulator. The clamp housings were made of drawn sheet metal, and the ceramic elements were used for insulation between conductors and as base/carrier insulators. WECO conducted several tests with different insulators and began using a “plastic” material called WECOlit, a proprietary Bakelite product that had been developed earlier in the century.

These innovative products became the cornerstone of power connections. WECO’s products improved over the years and are now incorporated into major power and energy industries. For example, manufacturers such as Bosch and EBZ use our products for power distribution and electronic meters.