COMPANY HISTORY
Cornell Dubilier Electronics, Inc. (CDE) and Cornell Dubilier Marketing, Inc. (CDM) are privately held, American owned makers of capacitors for electronic and electrical equipment with three ISO-9001 registered facilities. If you didn't know that it was founded in 1909 by William Dubilier with his invention of the mica capacitor, you wouldn't suspect that CDE is the oldest capacitor maker in the Western Hemisphere because it is growing rapidly with a flurry of new products. CDE's and CDM's major capacitor types are aluminum electrolytic, polyester film, polypropylene film, mica, pulse, snubber, motor-run, motor-start and high voltage capacitors. Emphasis is on serving the power electronics markets and providing not just reliable capacitors but capacitor solutions with great service.
A chronology of our first hundred years is tabulated here:
| 1909: | William Dubilier replaces Leyden jars with his invention of the mica capacitor for radio transmission. |
| 1915: | William Dubilier founds Dubilier Condenser Company in New York. |
| 1933: | Dubilier Condenser Company merges with Cornell Radio to form Cornell-Dubilier Electric (CDE). |
| 1936: | CDE opens the South Plainfield, NJ plant and introduces the first commercial aluminum electrolytic capacitors. |
| 1940: | CDE opens the New Bedford, MA plant and by 1950 grows to be largest maker of AC, high voltage, mica and aluminum electrolytic capacitors. |
| 1967: | CDE opens a 60,000 square foot plant in Taipei, Taiwan to make mica and later, film capacitors. |
| 1984: | CDE establishes C.D. Electronica de Mexico S.A. de C.V. in Mexicali, Mexico as the manufacturing site for mica capacitors and RF/ID coils. |
| 1987: | CDM is formed and acquires the assets of the Components Division of Sangamo Weston in Pickens, SC from Schlumberger. The plant is a major maker of mica and aluminum electrolytic capacitors. |
| 1991: | CDM develops MLP flatpack, welded-seal capacitor for low profile power holdup: 50 year life, 25 year storage, 20 joules energy. |
| 1992: | CDM introduces KVx mica polymer capacitors: 150 kV, 200°C. |
| 1994: | CDM develops MLS stainless flatpack, welded-seal capacitor: 125°C operation, 100 year life. |
| 1995: | CDM moves into a new 103,000 square foot state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Liberty, SC and expands to 140,400 square feet by 2004. |
| 1996: | All plants registered to ISO-9001. |
| 2002: | CDE acquires the distributor division of NACC Mallory Products Group in April and increases sales through distribution to greater than 40%. |
| 2002: | CDM acquires the aluminum electrolytic capacitors plant of BC Components, Inc., Columbia, SC in December. Becomes largest NA supplier of screw-terminal aluminum electrolytic capacitors. |
| 2004: | CDE acquires York Capacitor Corporation of Winooski, VT in February, a leading maker of AC capacitors for motor run, lighting and power factor correction applications. |
| 2004: | CDE acquires the assets of the Silvered Electronic Mica Co. (Semco) in December, a leading maker of RF mica capacitors. |
| 2005: | For the first time CDM's largest customer is in Asia as CDM becomes a major supplier of screw-terminal aluminum electrolytics to the Far East. |
CDE and CDM have become the preeminent, worldwide suppliers of capacitors for power electronics. Principal markets are renewable energy, power supplies, motor drives, HVAC, motors, welding, aerospace, telecom, and UPS systems. The unifying theme is power electronics and differentiation from other capacitor makers by a high level of customer service and technical support from a staff of 20 engineers and 20 customer service account managers; and, of course, better capacitors. As an illustration, the latest UPS bus capacitor permits two, rather than three, in series for a 940V bus voltage because it is rated 675V.
While the companies' growth and active customer base of more than 35,000 has come from daily management of stocking programs, making next-day delivery routine and ISO-9001 quality, the culture sees its roots in technological innovation. It still boasts about the inventive genius of its founder, William Dubilier, his more than 355 patents - a third of Thomas Edison's total - and his accomplishment of inventing the mica capacitor that revolutionized early radio transmission. Dubilier became chief electrician of the Continental Wireless Co. at the age of 19. In 1915, he founded Dubilier Condenser Corp. of New York, where he pioneered the development of self-healing, metallized dielectrics for capacitors, high-voltage transmitting capacitors, and antenna-shortening capacitors. In 1933, Dubilier's company merged with the Cornell Radio Company to form the Cornell-Dubilier Electric Corp.
