Progress Lighting Company History
1906
’10
’15
’20
’25
’30
3Victory Lamp Company–first shop opened to produce gas mantles
’35
3Victory Lamp Company worth
$1,000,000–bad investments went bankrupt
100 Years of Progress 1906–2006
Marketing & Product Development
’40
’45
3Frank Rosen, founds
3Ruben P. Rosen, joins father at Progress, 3Move to Germantown and Masters Street, Progress Manufacturing Company 12,000 sq. ft.
producing outdoor lanterns only, 6,000 sq. ft., staff 12
’50
3World War ll, shut down for four years except
sporadic military assignments
advanced equipment to make manufacturing economies and lower prices possible 3Acquisition of Canadian Progress Luminaire
3 31896–Socket for incandescent lamps patented
3Gas filled lamp
3Hubbell invents toggle light switch
37
3Fresnel lens spotlight
World Technology
’16
3Illuminating Engineering Society
3Zipper invented 3Arc welder invented 3Thomas Edison demonstrated the first talking motion picture marked a formal recognition that Nobel Prize in Physics for Planek’s Quantum Theory lighting had moved from the realm of Georges Claude displayed the first neon lamp in Paris 3Cloth covered stranded electric wire perfected lone inventors to that of a profession Halley’s comet observed 3Color photography invented by Auguste and Louis Lumiere 3Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity released 3First plastic, Bakelite, manufactured Stainless steel invented
’09
World Events US Events
’07
3Picasso invents cubism
3Mexican revolution
3World War I begins
Japan annexes Korea
3US Weather Bureau experimented with radiotelegraphy to speed notice of weather conditions 3Titanic sinks San Francisco earthquake 3Ford introduces Model T priced at $850
General Motors formed
’08
US Presidents US Popular Culture
Theodore Roosevelt 3Cornflakes invented by
William Kellogg
3Treaty of Versailles ends WWl 3USSR formed 3League of Nations formed
3Ford produces
49
’22 Woodrow Wilson
3Boy Scouts established 3Lifesavers invented by Clarence Crane
Warren G. Harding 3First PGA Championship 3First Pulitzer Prizes
3NFL founded
3Begins production of recessed downlight
Calvin Coolidge
3Fiber optics—The invention of fiber optics changed the 3Candela–The modern unit adapted in 1948 for the
3First edition of the International Electrotechnical Vocabulary produced 3PAR lamp 3First radar system
built in UK
’39
3Polaroid camera invented
3WWII Begins
Hurricane Express Penny loafers invented by John R. Bass 3First Academy Awards 3The first broadcast of the radio show The Shadow
3NATO established 3Korean War begins
US enters WWII
First US nuclear submarine launched 3Rosa Parks arrested
’37
’47
’50
Harry S. Truman
invented 3Shirley Temple appears in her
3Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of Great Britain
3Pay as you go income tax 3Jackie Robinson becomes first black professional baseball player 3Interstate Highway system begins construction 3First modern credit card (Diners Club) 3Bikini invented 3Supreme Court rules segregation of public schools unconstitutional 3Atomic Energy Act allows private ownership of nuclear reactors One million veterans enroll in colleges
Franklin D. Roosevelt 3Cheeseburger
3SONY produces pocket size transistor radio
’42
3Japan attacks Pearl Harbor,
3FDR launches New Deal–Prohibition ends
3Tarzan is released 3John Wayne stars in
3Microwave oven created by Percy Spencer 3CBS broadcasts first color television program
Helicopter invented 3First electron microscope 3First computer
’37
3Route 66 opened, linking Chicago to Los Angeles 3PEZ candy invented by Edward Haas III 3First Mickey Mouse cartoon
world of communications and technology. The principal of “total internal reflectance” was demonstrated about 1870 by Tyndal, when he shone a light at a spout of water as it gushed out of a tank. The water fell in an arc and the light went with it
measurement of light intensity is the candela (cd)
3First permanent automobile license plates issued Federal Power Act Amelia Earhart–First woman to fly solo across Atlantic 3The first regular television Construction begins on Empire State Building Work begins on Golden Gate Bridge 3Frozen food, processed by Clarence Birdseye, 3Nylon stockings appear in US broadcast in the US 3Social Security enacted hits commercial market for the first time 3Hoover Dam completed Plans submitted for Rockefeller Center 3Zippo lighter invented by George C. Blaisdell John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton split the atom’s nucleus
Herbert Hoover
’27
3First fluorescent lamp
Sydney Bridge completed 3Nautilus travels under Arctic Ocean
3Lindberg flies solo across Atlantic 3New York Stock Market crash
’29
1906–2006
3Broad expansion into fluorescent products
3Stalin formally collectivizes Russian farms 3Mao sets off on Long March. 3Japan takes control of Manchuria
3Jeanette Rankin–First woman elected to congress 31st US aircraft carriers launched one-millionth car Daylight Savings Time introduced CONVEX pioneers interconnection between power utilities 3Jazz sweeps the US 3First US Air Mail 3Women granted right to vote 3First motel opens Prohibition begins 1920-1940–Harlem Renaissance
’12 William H. Taft
3US grants Cuba independence
Years of Progress
100 3AirSweepTM fan production
3Garrett A. Morgan invents traffic signal 3First regular television broadcast 3Subway opens in Rome Vatican State formed 3First television transmission (England) 3Nobel Prize for light diffusion
First talking movie to be released with prerecorded score and synchronized sound effects 3Penicillin discovered
100
3102
3Outdoor lantern production
3First frosted light bulbs produced 3Experimental fluorescent lamp patented 3Flashbulb 3EC–established the Hertz, electrical unit of measurement 3Low pressure sodium lamp 3Gobo/template
by Harvey Hubbell 3Tungsten filament lamp
3101
102
3Gas mantles
’96
3Death of Frank Rosen 1887-1954 3Coast to coast manufacturer, investment in
40,000 sq. ft.
3100 Catalogs 349 First catalog after WWII
Founded in Philadelphia in 1906 by Frank Rosen, under the name Victory Lamp Company, Progress Lighting has grown into the largest manufacturer of residential and light commercial lighting. Over the past 100 years, Progress has diversified and expanded in order to offer a wide range of products in every area of the residential lighting market in the U.S. and Canada. These 100 years have included nearly all of the twentieth century, a period of unprecedented growth
Lighting Inventions
’55
3Retirement of Frank Rosen
Dwight D. Eisenhower
3First Peabody Awards
’43
3The Slinky invented by Richard James 3First Golden Globe Awards
3First Tony Awards 3McDonalds founded 3First Emmy Awards
3Cleveland DJ coins term “Rock and Roll” 3Disneyland opens 3Mr. Potato Head patented 3James Bond introduced in “Casino Royale” novel
first movie Bright Eyes and sings On the Good Ship Lollipop
’53
Progress Lighting Mailing Address Post Office Box 5704 Spartanburg, South Carolina 29304-5704 Street Address 101 Corporate Drive Spartanburg, South Carolina 29303-5007 International 1616 Auto Route 440 West Laval, Quebec Canada H7S 2E7 www.progresslighting.com ©2005 Progress Lighting ®The following corporate identities, reproduced in this timeline, are registered trademarks of their respective corporations: Progress Lighting, Hubbell Lighting, Inc., Boy Scouts of America, NATO, NASA and Thomasville Lighting
Progress Lighting Company History
’56
’60
’65
3Erection of 10175 North East Avenue building (Plant ll) 235,000 sq. ft.
’70
’75
3Acquisition of Divine Lighting, Inc., Architectural Cast Aluminum Lighting 3Move to plant of 808,000 sq. ft. Continuous extension of line
Acquisition of Marvin Electric Manufacturing Co., Architectural Lighting 3Maurice Rosen president Became spearhead of Lighting Corp. of America acquiring other companies 3Entry into Commercial Lighting Production in new plant begins 3Acquisition of The Kent Corp., Illuminated Medicine Cabinets 3LCA Formed 3Acquisition of General Offset Printing, Acquisition of East Side Metal Co., Inc., Decorator Lighting Fixtures 3Purchased by Kidde Mass Commercial Printing
Marketing & Product Development
3Catalog 103
3104
3105
3106
3107
3108
3109
3110
3111
3Entry into track lighting 3Launch of Town & Country
3113
Children’s line launches 3Sunrise Brand introduced 3Cowpens, South Carolina, plant built
3114
3Rome
3115
3Hong Kong
3Athens,
Greece 3Pull-down fixtures introduced 3First mini catalog 3Landscape lighting introduced
3Photo controlled outdoor lighting
3Commercial Catalog 200 First dimmers 3Crystal chandeliers Prysmatic lens & fluorescent 3Luminous ceiling kit 3Under cabinet lighting
3Bohemian crystal
3Wagon Wheel chandelier
103
“Conestoga”
3117
3Kenya, St. Maarten,
3Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, Venice Italy 3Vienna 3Copenhagen, Stockholm 3Switzerland, Arctic, Canada, Jamaica
Carribean, Israel, Egypt
3118
’95
3119
3120
3121
’00
3Madrid, Monte Carlo 3Paris
3122
3123
3Sydney Australia
3Greece Getaway
’05
3Grand Scale Americana 3Scavo glass chandeliers 3Builder’s Choice program launched Cover-to-cover program Essence product line launched 3SpecTrak launched 3Energy ESS Catalog 24K gold chandeliers 3Hide-a-lite introduced 3Landscape lighting LV line 24k gold crystal lanterns 4-Color track catalog 3Vianne lanterns 3Heirloom crystal shade series
3124
Hubbell Lighting, Inc.
3125
3Mediterranean Cruise, 3London, Paris
3First family application photography 3HAL track system
3126 3Sydney,
3Scandinavia, Denmark,
Great Barrier Reef
Russia, Finland, Sweden
3Fire-Box first UL listed
3First industry mini-pendants
117
3Petite chandeliers
3Commercial Catalog 201
34-Color packaging
Commercial lights Exit lights Spec grade cylinders
127
Energy saving catalog 3First builder catalog Victorian reproductions HID fixtures Step lights Electronic dimmers and timers
3Trak-3 introduced
124
126
3Limited edition Tiffany
First bowl glass fixtures
3Thomasville Lighting and Michael Graves 3P87-AT industry’s first 3-in-1 downlight
3Halogen lamp invented by
3127
3Re-introduction of ceiling fans Fire rated downlight Assisted living program Family section in catalog 3Pro-Optic introduction 3Decorative recessed trims AllWall system
114
3Recessed IR heat lamp
Lighting Inventions
2006
3Hubbell purchases Progress as part of LCA acquisition 3New Dallas Design Center opens
Spain, France, Italy
3Ovalla system
Chandelier with integrated downlight 3Strass crystal chandelier catalog 3Hard-Nox non-destructible outdoor LV recessed downlighting First ceiling fan launch
200
’90
3Purchased by Hanson Industries 3Death of Maurice Rosen 3All Philadelphia manufacturing moves to South Carolina Liteway brand re-launch 3First partner programs 3Delta partnership 3Office moved to South Carolina 3Member of MASCO builder alliance
3116
3Ceramic chandeliers “Earthenware”
112 3First Williamsburg chandelier
’85 3Manufacturing in Tijuana plant increases substantially 3MRP system implemented
Hanson spins off USI First national builder agreement 3112
Incentive Trip Destinations
’80 3Contemporary line launches
3High Pressure Sodium lamp
GE Lighting
branding programs
3Philips invented a light bulb that lasts 60,000 hours using magnetic induction 3Sulfur lamp
3In the early 1980s, manufacturers such as General Electric, Sylvania,
Philips, and others began introducing more efficient lighting designs 3Fluorescent tubes containing Krypton gas and Tungsten 3Halogen bulbs that worked in regular screw in sockets 3Circular fluorescent
3Quartz Halogen lamp
Metal Halide lamp
World Technology
3First artificial satellite, Sputnik, put into orbit 3John Glenn orbits the earth 3Intel and Texas Instruments introduce the silicon chip. 3Texas instruments introduces the 3The integrated circuit invented by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce 3Tokyo olympics, first worldwide satellite TV feed pocket calculator 3SONY introduces integrated radio circuit IBM 401 computer 3After 14 years of construction, the Syndey Opera House opens Xerox photocopying 3Lasers invented 3Concorde’s maiden flight
3Steven Jobs and Steve Wozniak create Apple 1 3First laptop computer Epson HX-20 3First fiber optic telephone lines 3Compact disk introduced 3Epson releases dot matrix printer Sony and Philips Corporations introduce the CD player 3First laser printer-copier 3Apple Macintosh introduced
’62
World Events
3Viet Cong attack South Vietnam
3First Unmanned spacecraft landed
3The Euro enters as currency
3Unmanned spacecraft hits Mars (Soviet)
US Events
3Vietnam war ends 3US boycotts Moscow olympics 3Unmanned soft landing on Venus (Soviet) 3Mother Theresa awarded Nobel Peace Prize
3Interstate Highway system begins construction 3Cuban Missile Crisis 3Civil Rights Act outlaws discrimination in voting and jobs 3Neil Armstrong walks on the moon (Apollo 11) 3NASA founded 3Clean Air Act 3Anti-Vietnam War protests 3HBO (Home Box Office) subscription cable TV launch 3Alaska and Hawaii become states 3John F. Kennedy assassinated 3Miranda rights instituted Nike running shoes hit the market 3First televised, presidential debate, 3First heart transplant 3OPEC oil embargo–Utility bills rise Martin Luther King–I Have a Dream speech 3North American Kennedy and Nixon Sears Tower built
Electric reliability council formed
’69
’63
US Presidents US Popular Culture
Dwight D. Eisenhower
John. F Kennedy 3Hula Hoop invented by Wham-O 3Barbie was invented
Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard M. Nixon 3Beatles made their first appearance on Ed Sullivan 3Instant Replay first used by ABC
3First televised tour of the by Ruth Handler, co-founder of Mattel White House with Jacqueline Kennedy
’56 3Elvis appears on Ed Sullivan
Gerald Ford, Nixon resigns 3Hank Aaron surpasses
Babe Ruth
for the World Series of Skiing
’69 3300,000 attend Woodstock
Jimmy Carter
3First planet outside our solar system discovered
Soviets boycott US olympics
Anniversary and gets a face lift in the process 3Black Monday, stock market drops 22% on October 19th 3Sonny Bono becomes Mayor in Palm Springs
regional regulation and planning Mt. St. Helens erupts
3The Vietnam Memorial is erected in Washington D.C. 3The first megabit chip is made at Bell Labs
Ronald Reagan
3Susan B. Anthony coin issued, first US coin to honor a woman 3Post-It Notes are introduced by 3M New York City blackout 3First test tube baby born 3MTV launched with “Video Killed a Radio Star”
’74
3Oprah goes national
3Iraq War
3WalMart hits 2400 stores
3Judge rules Microsoft a monopoly 3O.J. Simpson trial begins 3Hijacked jets crash into the Biosphere II is launched 3Persian Gulf War 3John Glenn returns to space World Trade Center and Pentagon 3Largest shopping mall in the 3Winter Olympics held in Newt Gingrich resigned US is constructed Salt Lake City, Utah Energy Policy Act of 1992– Federal Government promoted energy efficiency at home 3World Series canceled due to player strike
George Bush
3Elvis dies
3British clone adult sheep 3Shuttle Endeavor docks with MIR 3Stem cell research 3All human DNA mapping completed
3Berlin Wall falls 3Iraq invades Kuwait
3Statue of Liberty celebrates the 100th
’79
3Federal Express started
’99
3Hubble telescope launched into space 3World Wide Web created
3Red Dye No. 2 is banned 3Northeast Blackout 3Iranian hostage crisis 3Pacific North West and Electric Power Planning
The World Trade Center opens and is the tallest building in New York City 3Jimmy Hoffa disappears 3Department of Energy formed America’s Bicentennial celebration
3World Wide Web released
’90
SONY introduces Walkman Cell phone introduced by Ericsson, Sweden
’79
on the moon (Soviet)
3Canon color laser copier
Bill Clinton
George W. Bush
3Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retires with a record breaking 38,387 career points 3Carl Ripken breaks Lou Gehrig’s consecutive game record 3CDs outsell vinyl 3Web browser “Mosaic” launched 3Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, Georgia 3Dream Team wins Olympic gold 3Tiger Woods wins Masters at 21 for the first time ever 3Google goes online Michael Jordan era begins
’92
’97
3Dot Com bust 3Napster shut down
’05 3Lance Armstrong wins 7th consecutive Tour de France
100
Years of Progress 1906–2006