You’ve probably never thought about the plastic tie holding your computer cables together or the metal box behind your light switch. Honestly, most people don't. But if you stripped away everything made or invented by the Thomas & Betts Corporation, modern life would basically stop working. No lights. No internet. No power grid. It’s that simple.
Founded way back in 1898, this company didn't just sell parts; they literally helped build the electrical infrastructure of North America. Two Princeton buddies, Robert M. Thomas and Hobart D. Betts, saw New York City starting to glow with Edison’s new incandescent bulbs and realized everyone was going to need a way to protect those wires. They started as an agency selling conduit. Pretty soon, they realized making the stuff was a better bet than just middleman-ing it.
The Invention That Changed Everything (And It’s Not What You Think)
If you ask an electrician about Thomas & Betts, they might mention conduit fittings or grounding connectors. But their biggest "pop culture" contribution is the Ty-Rap.
In 1958, an engineer at the company named Maurus C. Logan was visiting a Boeing aircraft plant. He saw workers' hands raw and bleeding from tying miles of nylon cord around bundles of wire for planes. It was slow, painful, and honestly, a bit primitive. Logan went back to the lab and came up with the world’s first self-locking cable tie.
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You know them as zip ties.
That one invention transformed how every industry—from aerospace to your backyard shed—organizes chaos. The original Ty-Rap used a tiny stainless steel barb inside the head to lock it in place. While cheap knock-offs today use plastic teeth that snap when it gets cold, the "T&B" version is still the gold standard for high-performance environments.
Why the ABB Acquisition Was a Massive Deal
Fast forward to 2012. The industrial world was shocked when the Swiss power giant ABB announced they were buying Thomas & Betts for a cool $3.9 billion. At the time, T&B was the king of North American low-voltage products.
Why did a massive global conglomerate want a company from Memphis, Tennessee?
Distribution.
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Thomas & Betts had a legendary network of over 6,000 distributor locations. ABB had great technology but couldn't get it into the hands of local US contractors easily. By swallowing T&B, ABB instantly became the dominant player in the American electrical market. In 2018, they officially rebranded the entity to ABB Installation Products Ltd., though you’ll still see the "T&B" logo on the side of blue boxes in every hardware store and job site across the country.
Real-World Impact: More Than Just Parts
The company’s fingerprints are on projects you’d definitely recognize.
- The Empire State Building: When it was being built, T&B’s solderless lugs helped speed up the massive electrical job.
- The New York Subway: Their connectors were used in the expansion of the tunnels, proving they could handle vibration and moisture better than anything else at the time.
- Nuclear Submarines: In the 1950s, their specialized conduit connectors were chosen for the world's first nuclear-powered subs because, well, failure wasn't an option under the ocean.
Today, the portfolio under the ABB umbrella includes heavy hitters like Steel City, Iberville, Star Teck, and Color-Keyed. If you’re a DIYer or a pro, you’ve used these. The Color-Keyed system, for example, basically idiot-proofed the process of matching connectors to the right tools and cables. It’s a color-coding system that seems obvious now, but it was revolutionary for safety when it first launched.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Brand
A lot of folks think Thomas & Betts is just a "history" company. That's wrong. Even in 2026, their legacy factories in places like Albuquerque and Memphis are getting massive investments—think hundreds of millions of dollars—to build components for the modern green energy grid and data centers.
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They aren't just making old-school metal boxes anymore. They’re pivoting to support the massive power demands of AI data centers and EV charging networks. The "Installation Products" division is basically the backbone of the "electrification of everything" trend.
Actionable Next Steps for Professionals and DIYers
If you’re working on a project or managing a facility, don't just buy the cheapest bulk bag of connectors. Here is what you should actually do:
- Check for the Steel Barb: If you are using cable ties in a high-heat or high-vibration area (like an engine bay or outdoor solar rack), look specifically for Ty-Rap brand ties with the stainless steel locking tab. Plastic-only ties will fail under UV stress or temperature swings.
- Audit Your Grounding: For industrial settings, use the Color-Keyed compression system. It provides a permanent, high-pressure bond that is much safer than mechanical screw-down lugs for high-voltage applications.
- Use Specialized Fittings for Harsh Zones: If you’re dealing with moisture or chemicals, look into T&B Liquidtight or Ocal PVC-coated conduit. These are specifically engineered to stop corrosion before it starts.
- Reference the NEC: Always cross-reference your component choices with the latest National Electrical Code (NEC) updates. Thomas & Betts (now ABB) parts are specifically designed to meet or exceed these standards, which helps pass inspections the first time.
The company might have changed its name on the corporate filings, but the "T&B" engineering philosophy of making things "bulletproof" hasn't gone anywhere. Whether it's a 10-cent zip tie or a massive steel transmission structure, the focus remains on keeping the power moving without the world noticing.