Company Timeline

For over 120 years, Spang & Company has owned a variety of corporations and has continued to evolve in electrical and electronic manufacturing.

History of Spang

1894 - WWII

  • 1894: George Spang established his own oil field repair shop in Butler, PA and served as president for 41 years.
  • 1910: Spang absorbed Etna Manufacturing Company, building gas engines, baling machines, and pumping units 
  • 1913: The Company purchased the inventory, machinery, and good will of TW Phillips Manufacturing. The company was later renamed Manufacturing & Tool Division of Spang & Company, and produced oil and gas well drilling equipment for use throughout the USA. 
  • WWI: Company manufactured six inch British shells, marine forgings, and shell producing machinery and equipment 
  • WWII: Company manufactured specialized needs for the war effort

1960 - 1990

  • 1961: Spang acquired Ferroslag Process Corporation
  • 1963: Spang acquired Fort Pitt Bridge Works and Garco Products
  • 1966: Spang acquired Eiben & Irr and Sun Drug Company 
  • 1966: Magnetics’ growth included the acquisition of Kemco Corporation of Sandy Lake, PA 
  • 1968: Spang acquired Wolverine Toy Company, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and moved the company to Arkansas 
  • 1968: Magnetics was acquired by Spang & Company
  • 1980’s: Wolverine progressed from metal to plastic molded toys and was renamed Today’s Kids 
  • 1980’s: Spang divested Sun Drug Company, discontinued Fort Pitt Bridge Works, and discontinued Butler Refractories and Ferroslag Processing Corporation to focus on its two core operations: power systems and electronic components
  • 1984: Magnetics opened Booneville, Arkansas production facility 
  • 1986: Spang separated the power electronics unit from Magnetics to operate as a separate division known as Spang Power Control 
  • 1986: Spang closed the Manufacturing & Tool Division in East Butler, PA, primarily due to the decrease in oil industry drilling in the US

1991 - 2010

  • 1998: Spang acquired DMARC of Mentor, Ohio to become part of Spang Power Control, and rebranded the division Spang Power Electronics 
  • 1999: Today’s Kids diversified, introduced new product lines resulting in four businesses under the Today’s Plastics name
  • 2003: Today’s Kids and Today’s Plastics businesses were discontinued
  • 2004: Magnetics built a new plant in Xiamen, China
  • 2004: Magnetics opened the Hong Kong Customer Service Center in November
  • 2005: Magnetics Xiamen plant opened in January with its first Chinese hires
  • 2005: Magnetics opened Distribution Center in Hong Kong
  • 2005: Opened Spang Power Electronics Asia locations for sales
  • 2006: Opened Spang Power Electronics Xiamen plant in August as a Field Service location, and began production shortly thereafter
  • 2007: Magnetics consolidated production operations in Pennsylvania and China

2011 - Present

  • 2012: Magnetics built a new Haicang, China plant and moved most production facilities from the Xiamen location to Haicang.
  • 2012: Spang Engineered Solutions began operations, as an engineering design and rapid prototype developer for custom design inductive components
  • 2018: Spang Engineered Solutions acquired Frost Magnetics in Oakhurst, CA
  • 2019: Magnetics closed the warehouse in East Butler, PA and opened a new warehouse and distribution center in Phoenix, AZ
  • 2019: Spang Engineered Solutions moved manufacturing operations from Oakhurst, CA to the Phoenix, AZ facility.