The EnerSys Cleveland charger plant, previously known as the Hertner Electric Company, has celebrated 100 years of battery charger manufacturing.
The Hertner Electric Company was founded by John H Hertner in 1906. He started the business manufacturing rotating equipment, like motors, power generators and specialised motor-generator sets.
Before World War Two, the company produced DC generators for carbon arc projection lamps for the motion picture industry. That business was sold in 1941.
Hertner sold mainly battery charging motor generators and controls to recharge batteries for forklifts, mine locomotives and telephone stations; DC motors for trucks and mine locomotives; magnet generators for cranes; and 400-cycle motor generators for testing military components.
Since 1971, Hertner was owned by battery manufacturers, like General Battery Corp, Northwest Industries, Exide Corp and Yuasa Battery Ltd.
In 2000, EnerSys, a public company with 22 global manufacturing operations, bought Hertner.
"While the technology has advanced, the business still relied on demand for heavy, lead-acid batteries used to power forklifts, mining machinery and other equipment," an EnerSys statement said.
EnerSys director of marketing for the Americas, Stephen Spaar, said half the company's business came from the materials handling industry worldwide.
The Cleveland plant employs 143 people, including design and engineering development staff.