Switchcraft

1946
Switchcraft, Inc. was established in 1946 to manufacture jacks, plugs, and switches, mainly for the communications industry. The original plant was located on West Diversey Street in Chicago. The company moved to a larger facility at 1328 North Halsted Street in 1948 and in 1958, the operation moved to a 185,000 square foot facility located at 5555 North Elston Avenue, which is still the headquarters and the largest of three manufacturing locations for the corporation today.

1977
In 1977, Switchcraft was bought by the Raytheon Corporation and it operated as an independent subsidiary in its Commercial division for twenty years. During this time, Switchcraft expanded its production capability to include vertical integration, for cost effective manufacturing in the United States. They also expanded into harsh environment connector products, which expanded the market growth of the company.