Welcome! Ilsco's State-of-the-Art Manufacturing Techniques Furnish Unmatched Flexibility in Providing the Right Product for Your Application

Our Markets

OEM
ILSCO is the largest direct supplier of mechanical connectors to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) in the United States and Canada. Our customers include Square D, Cutler Hammer, Allen-Bradley, G.E., Siemens, ABB, Hubbell, and Milbank Manufacturing just to name a few.

ELECTRICAL CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE
Through Electrical Distributors, ILSCO supplies connectors, tools and accessories to the commercial and industrial construction market as well as for maintenance and repair.

ELECTRICAL UTILITIES
The UTILCO Division of ILSCO is a major supplier of underground and overhead secondary distribution products to Electrical Utilities. 

ILSCO's Manufacturing Capabilities
Our manufacturing expertise extends to metal extrusion, tube processing and finishing, cutoff, press forming, punching, and electroplating, to industry specifications or customized to your own individual specs. Cell manufacturing techniques furnish unmatched flexibility in providing the right product for your application, while warehouse inventory assures product availability and prompt delivery. The ILSCO commitment to R&D ensures innovative designs for products that conform to UL and CSA certifications or your own quality control specifications.

If you find that your individual connector requirements do not resemble a standard product, ILSCO will provide a prompt quotation on your custom connector manufacturing needs, including special dimensions, unique conductor sizes, special plating needs, special marking requirements on barrel or tang, and unusual packing requirements. For technical help and a "Custom Connector Quotation Form," call the ILSCO Toll Free Connector Hot Line, 1-800-776-9775.

TAP, SPLICE and TERMINATE with ILSCO

For aluminum and/or copper conductors, ILSCO offers a range of standard connectors and labor-saving specialty products that will :

1) TAP a second circuit from an intermediate point on an electrical circuit. (See these pages for more information: Compression Connectors, Mechanical Connectors, Power Distribution Blocks, Insulation Piercing Connectors(IPC), GTA/PTA, Split Bolts.)

2) SPLICE to join two cable ends. (See these pages for more information: Compression Connectors, Mechanical Connectors, Insulation Piercing Connectors(IPC),or Split Bolts.)

3) TERMINATE to end or adapt a circuit. (See these pages for more information: Compression Connectors or Mechanical Connectors.)

Background

ILSCO was established in 1894 as the Incandescent Light and Stove Company by tinsmith and inventor Joseph Stubbers. In its first 15 years, Stubber's company sold 85,000 gas systems in the U.S. and abroad.

Municipal lighting systems rendered gas systems obsolete after 1910, but ILSCO's power distribution capabilities evolved with the industry. Around 1913, ILSCO introduced a single-cylinder gas engine which enabled an electric current to run from a generator to outlets throughout a house.

During World War 1, as electrical systems continued to replace gas systems, ILSCO produced battery connectors for such customers as Cooper Batteries and Ford Motor Company. Also around this time, ILSCO developed equipment to draw copper tubing, allowing the company to rapidly deliver finished products.

In 1935, ILSCO introduced the SLU line, one of the first solderless terminals that is now recognized as the forerunner of many modern connectors. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, ILSCO developed innovative connector designs for manufacturers, contractors and utility companies, and during World War II, ILSCO manufactured muter tubes for government projects.

ILSCO became a manufacturing branch of the new Bardes Corporation in 1954 when controlling interest was sold to Oliver Bardes of E.H. Bardes Range & Foundry Company. In January, 1962, ILSCO began constructing a second manufacturing and sales operation in Ontario, Canada. Growth and expansion continued as ILSCO looked outside of its core market of OEM's to target electrical contractors and utilities as end users of their continually expanding product line. Aluminum was introduced in 1959, and throughout the 1960s ILSCO pioneered the development of aluminum mechanical connectors, enhancing their success in all markets.

ILSCO experienced unmatched sales growth through the 1970s, '80s and '90s, while a stream of new product introductions continued. ILSCO further diversified its product line with several important acquisitions, including Deerfield Connector, Kentucky Connector, Kupler, Glenmoor Screw Machine, FTZ, Tool Engineering Service, and National Aluminum - Brass Foundry.

2000 and Beyond

ILSCO's strong record of investment in electronic commerce, capital equipment, new product development, and state-of-the-art cellular manufacturing matches its aggressive entrepreneurial spirit. ILSCO plans on-going company growth through acquisitions, e-business initiatives and product development in order to optimize service to our customers in the 21st century.