1930 to 1960

The Great Depression, World War II, and the post-war boom saw an acceleration of progress among the businesses that were eventually unified as the Gould of today.

1936 — Brush developed a high frequency, direct writing pen recorder system, which marked the beginning of the company's dominance in the physical test and measurement market. The discovery led to development of the surface analyzer and, in the 1940s, the oscillograph.

1942 — Brush's technological leadership extended to military applications with the development of the MK-30 torpedo. The MK series became the U.S. Navy's primary underwater defense system for the next several decades.

1950 — National Battery Company was renamed Gould-National Batteries, Inc., a name change that grew out of the desire of Albert H. Dagget, Shields' successor, to build the company's industrial battery business based on the Gould name and experience. Gould-National Batteries pioneered work in sealed-cell nickel cadmium batteries, helping to create a market for rechargeable appliances.

1950 — The 101 Amp-trap fuse was introduced to protect another emerging technology, solid state semiconductor devices.

1952 — Brush Development Company and Brush Labs merged, and later that year, the new entity merged with Cleveland Graphite Bronze Company, the world's largest manufacturer of sleeve bearings and bushings. Shortly after the merger, the company which united expertise in both metallurgy and electronics was renamed Clevite.

1953 — The Chase-Shawmut and I-T-E paths converged when I-T-E Circuit Breaker Company acquired Chase-Shawmut.

1957 — Clevite launched a business that was to evolve into today's Copper Foil Division. Clevite perfected a means of making foil without lead, and quickly emerged as the leading foil supplier to the fledgling printed circuit board industry.

Thomas Edison's patents played significant roles in Gould's copper foil business. Although the first patent for electroplating copper foil was issued to Edison in 1908, it was not until the 1950s that copper foil entered widespread use in the printed circuit board industry. This occured when Clevite perfected the means of making foil without lead.

Left: Brush Development Company's MK-30 Torpedo, shown here on a test in Lake Erie, was the forerunner of many torpedo lines supplied over the years to the U.S. Navy.

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Gould perfected the first lead-free copper foil, resulting in being accepted for printed circuit board production for the first time.