I-T-E Imperial

ITE Imperial is a defunct manufacturer of electrical distribution equipment.  The ITE Circuit Breaker Company, named for the innovative oil-dashpot inverse time element on its electro-mechanical circuit breaker trip devices, was founded in the 1890’s in Philadelphia, PA by the Cutter Electrical and Mfg. Co.  In 1928 Cutter Electrical changed its name to its best known brand; ITE. Sometime in the 1950’s ITE joined with Bull Dog Electric Company of Detroit greatly expanding its product line.  1968 saw the merger of ITE and Imperial-Eastman form ITE-Imperial.  The Gould Corporation purchased ITE Imperial in 1973 and continued to market the product under the ITE brand name.  Siemens AG wanted a presence in the North American market and purchased the ITE brand from Gould in 1982.  They also originally marketed the product as ITE, but slowly phased out the ITE name over the next few years.