Published on: November 18, 2013 by Blair Haas
Thanksgiving is often a time of reflection. For us at Bud Industries, Thanksgiving week marks a special time in our corporate life as Bud Industries marks our 85th Anniversary. Founded in 1928, the company is still privately held and is in the 3rd and 4th generation family management. Our company’s first product was a radio antenna eliminator. This product was literally what it said, a unit that you could attach to the back of your radio to avoid having to connect to a rooftop antenna to gain reception.
The company expanded into all kinds of antennas including the revolutionary concept of car antennas and then microphones but phased out of that business in the mid 1930’s as other product lines grew more rapidly. During the Depression, we sold radio kits for people who were unable to afford a finished radio for their homes.
At about this time, we developed the first enclosures. In the 1936 catalog, we have an offering of relay racks, both large and small, that were among the first in the industry. Also at that time, we introduced the mini-boxes, or Bud boxes as they came to be known, a staple in the industry for generations. Virtually any engineer or hobbyist has used this product in their work. In the late 1950’s we introduced our first welded rack line, becoming a leader in the cabinet rack field as well. Since then, we have evolved into a company that can provide almost any type of enclosure from the smallest hand held unit to large cabinet racks, from simple NEMA 1 enclosures to those that meet stringent NEMA 4x and IP67 standards. We have units that are made from steel, aluminum, plastic and fiberglass comprising more than 2500 standard products. Best of all, through our network of domestic and international distribution, more than 90% of these products are available to ship on the same day.
Today, our new focus is rapid modifications. We can now take a standard product and punch holes or slots and provide a turn-key unit to the customer in 5 days, an industry leading standard. While we are an 85 year old company, we continue to innovate with the goal of providing the very best product to meet our customer’s needs in the fastest possible way.
Thank you to all of our customers, vendors and employees who have helped us achieve this incredible milestone. We look forward to our centennial in 2028!
