Posted in Barberton History

Images: History of Engineering and Technology / Austin Insulators Inc.

These images feature Arthur O. Austin’s Testing Labratory in Barberton, Ohio on the grounds of the former Anna Dean Farm. Austin was a inventor in the early to mid 1900’s and at one time held nearly 225 patents for various electric insulator products. Among his patents was one for the first cap and pin suspension insulator that used a ball and socket coupling.  The patent was assigned to Austin’s employer, Akron Hi-Potential Porcelain Co., which in 1910 was purchased by the Ohio Brass Co. The July 1910 Ohio Brass catalog featured Austin’s revolutionary design and his basic ball and socket coupling was  part of nearly every suspension insulator offered by Ohio Brass for many years.

Austin’s achievements in insulator design and theory allowed him to lead the field for the design and manufacture of Radio Frequency Insulators and Tower Lighting Transformers.  He went on to form A. O. Austin Inc. in Barberton.  Then, in 1970, several years after his death, Decca purchased A. O. Austin Inc. and moved the company from Barbeton, Ohio to Brampton, Ontario. Today, the Austin company is employee owned and operates under the name  Austin Insulators Inc.