Asea Brown Boveri Westinghouse records

Westinghouse has been patenting and marketing electric equipment since the late 1800's with the development of the first light bulb. By the 1950's Westinghouse expanded to take on the project of building their most sophisticated and technologically advanced plant in Muncie, Indiana. The goal was to construct a new plant capable of producing the greatest transformers ever developed.

The location of the plant was particularly important. Westinghouse was looking for a well-educated work force, as well as a strategic location for receiving raw materials, and shipping out completed transformers. With the help of research consultants and studies, Westinghouse chose what they referred to as site location #10, an area on Cowan Road in the southern part of Muncie. This site was selected over other sites in Muncie, as well as locations in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Muncie welcomed the new industry and job opportunities with open arms, and the community was invited to attend the ground-breaking ceremony in November 1959. Within two years the more than one million square foot plant was finished. Westinghouse later sponsored open houses and family days to maintain good relations with the community. The company also donated funds to Ball State University for the construction of Emens Auditorium, and to Ball Memorial Hospital for air conditioners.

Economically the Muncie plant did well in the 1960's and 1970's, producing the largest transformers in the world, both in size and in power. The plant was also recognized as a leader in industry, earning a spot in Factory magazine's list of top ten manufacturing plants in 1962.

In the 1980's, Westinghouse struggled against foreign competition, despite efforts to persuade the United States government to stop the flood of foreign-made transformers into the U.S. market. In 1988, Westinghouse arranged the sale of the Muncie plant to Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), a multinational corporation with an interest in transformers. ABB took over in 1989, restructuring both the layout of the plant and the personnel. Under ABB, the plant continued to operate until 1998 when the company left Muncie.