Regal Beloit Corporation (sometimes Regal-Beloit), headquartered in Beloit, Wisconsin

Beloit, Wisconsin

Beloit is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2010 census, Beloit had a population of 36,966. The greater Beloit area is home to more than 91,000 residents.-Claim to fame:...

, is one of the largest manufacturers of electric motor

Electric motor

An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...

s in the world. Its Genteq

Genteq

Genteq is a division of Regal-Beloit Corporation, one of the largest manufacturers of electric motors in the world. Genteq is the rebranding of Regal Beloit’s GE ECM, GE Capacitors and GE Commercial Motors divisions, which occurred in 2009....

 brand brushless DC electric motor

Brushless DC electric motor

Brushless DC motors also known as electronically commutated motors are electric motors powered by direct-current electricity and having electronic commutation systems, rather than mechanical commutators and brushes...

s are found in almost all variable-speed residential HVAC

HVAC

HVAC refers to technology of indoor or automotive environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a major subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer...

 equipment in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 today, and its GE Commercial Motors, Leeson, and Marathon motor brands are used throughout the industrial sector.

The company has manufacturing, sales, and service facilities throughout the United States, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 employing over 13,000 people. As of 2009, the company is ranked 833rd on the Fortune 1000

Fortune 1000

Fortune 1000 is a reference to a list maintained by the American business magazine Fortune. The list is of the 1000 largest American companies, ranked on revenues alone...

, and is the 24th largest corporation in Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

.

History

The company was founded in 1955 as Beloit Tool Corporation, and began operations in a converted roller rink

Roller rink

A roller rink is a hard surface used for roller skating or inline skating. This includes roller hockey, speed skating, and recreational skating...

. In 1961, it moved to facilities in South Beloit, Illinois

South Beloit, Illinois

South Beloit is a city located in Winnebago County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Rockford, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, and changed its name to Regal Beloit in 1969. In the 1980s the company expanded its product line by a series of acquisitions of smaller companies, and in 1991 its headquarters were moved to downtown Beloit. In 2004, two acquisitions from General Electric

General Electric

General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

 effectively doubled the size of the company.

In July 2007, Regal Beloit acquired the Fasco electrical components business of Tecumseh Products

Tecumseh Products

Tecumseh Products Company is a manufacturer of hermetic compressors for air conditioning and refrigeration products.Tecumseh Products Company has subsidiaries that sell externally and internally to Tecumseh. The Tecumseh corporate offices are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.- History :Tecumseh...

 for $220 million in cash. In April 2010, Regal Beloit acquired CMG Engineering Group, a manufacturer of industrial motors, blowers and metal products for $75 million in cash.