Pennsylvania Transformer Technology calls itself a new company with a rich heritage. Founded in 1929, the company started with 12 employees in 7200 square feet. The company motto was “build the best.”

Now, the company has two sites: Raeford, North Carolina, and the headquarters in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. The subject of the Circuit Breaker Conference’s factory tour, the Canonsburg campus includes 18 buildings and 1.2 million square feet on 90 acres of land.

After starting out on Pittsburgh’s north side in 1929, the company moved to new headquarters on Ridge Ave, still on Pittsburgh's North Side in 1941. Then in 1949, Pennsylvania Transformer moved headquarters and production facilities again to an old Alcoa manufacturing site in Canonsburg with 500 employees.

Three years later, Pennsylvania Transformer became a division of McGraw Electric Company. In 1957, McGraw Electric Company merged with Thomas A. Edison Company, including the prestigious Thomas A. Edison Research Laboratory that provided R&D guidance.

In 1967, after major expansion, McGraw Edison's Canonsburg plant occupied 1.2 million sq. ft. and employed as many as 2500 workers. In 1985, McGraw Edison was purchased by Cooper Power Systems, a division of Cooper Industries. Then in 1988, Fayetteville Transformer Co. was started after acquiring the assets of a transformer repair shop.

The company’s largest coreform transformer was produced at the Canonsburg plant (400 mVA 230 kv phase shifter) in 1990.

Fifteen years ago, Fayetteville Transformer Co. moved to its present location after constructing a 43,000-square-foot facility. Fayetteville Transformer Co. purchased the McGraw Edison Canonsburg plant from Cooper Power Systems in 1996. The company is now collectively known as Pennsylvania Transformer Technology, Inc. with the corporate headquarters located in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.