Historical Timeline
1916 – Early experimentation with porcelain as an effective substitute for glass insulators leads John S. Lapp to establish Lapp Insulators.
1930s – Porcelain insulators have virtually replaced glass on all electrical distribution lines, even at low voltages, as Lapp has demonstrated its superiority in both insulation quality and strength.
1940s – Lapp develops insulators for aircraft and field radio communications, as well as complex components for newly developed radar systems.
1940s – Lapp develops the "post" insulators to replace pin-type insulators. Within a decade they find widespread use on power lines everywhere.
1950s – Lapp begins manufacturing high voltage bushings for power transformer applications in accordance with American National Standards (ANSI).
1965 – Tremendous demand for high voltage insulators leads Lapp Insulatorsto spend $4 million for new facilities – including the construction of a new high voltage outdoor laboratory capable of testing 750 kV - 1000-kV apparatus.
1967 – Installation of the first Rodurflex® composite insulator in Europe.
1972 – Lapp invents and patents Horizontal Vee insulator for streamlined, compact overhead transmission line construction.
1975 – Lapp invents and patents Resistance Graded Glaze, RG®, permitting insulators to function effectively in areas of severe contamination.
1981 – Eagle Industrial Products Corporation purchases full controlling interests in Lapp Insulators.
1992 – Lapp’s Bushings division achieves ISO 9001 registration.
1995 – Lapp’s Transmission and Distribution division achieves ISO 9002 registration.
1997 – Lapp’s Porcelain Division achieves ISO 9002 registration.
1998 – The holding company that owns Lapp Insulatorssells the company to three of Lapp's top managers. The change in ownership at Lapp Insulatorsis seen as an indicator of new long-term stability for the company.
2001 – Lapp purchases the insulator division of German-based CeramTec AG, a leading producer of lightweight silicone rubber polymer insulators.
2002 – Lapp’s Bushings Division becomes the first division of Lapp Insulatorsto achieve full-site certification of conformity to the ISO 9001:2000 quality management standard.
2004 – More than 22,000 Rodurflex® silicone rubber insulators installed since 1985 with failure-free performance.
2004 – P-CORE Electric Company, Inc., purchases the bushing division of Lapp Insulators Company, LLC.
2005 – Lapp repositions its Sandersville, GA plant from a manufacturing plant to an assembly and NAFTA distribution center for transmission and distribution products made by partner facilities abroad.
2005- Lapp Insulators begins assembling and shipping Rodurflex® high voltage composite insulators and all necessary components – sleeved rods, common end fittings and bases, and corona rings – for immediate shipment to North American utility companies from its Sandersville, GA international distribution center.
2006 – For the first time Lapp Insulators is named to the Rochester Top 100 list, a local ranking of privately held companies based on the past three years of revenue growth.
2007 – Lapp Insulators announces a joint venture partnership with Dalian Insulator Co., Ltd., a leading manufacturer located in the People’s Republic of China. The agreement establishes a new company, Dalian Lapp InsulatorsCo., Ltd., which will manufacture porcelain substation insulators for applications ranging from 145 kV to 765 kV for electric utilities in China.
2008 - Lapp Insulators, LLC acquires Argillon Insulators GmbH and Argillon Alumina GmbH, headquartered in Redwitz, Germany. The acquisition bought to Lapp three additional European manufacturing locations in Redwitz, Germany; Jedlina Zdroj, Poland, and Turda, Romania.
The acquisition strengthened Lapp’s global OEM business and positioned Lapp as the technology leader in Europe. It also brought Lapp’s worldwide sales to more than $200 million and its headcount to more than 1,500 employees, making it the largest insulator manufacturer in Europe and number three in the global insulator market.