About
Eaton traces its roots to 1911, when Joseph Eaton and his brother-in-law Viggo Torbensen invented the first gear-driven truck axle in Cleveland, Ohio, and founded the Torbensen Axle Company. The axle business grew into a diversified industrial manufacturer — axles, superchargers, engine valves, hydraulics — that supplied the early American auto industry. The company took the Eaton name in 1916 and went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1928, where it trades today under the ticker ETN. Eaton's modern identity was forged in the 2000s, when management made a series of bold moves to exit commodity businesses and bet the company on power management. The decisive step came in 2012 with the US$11.8 billion acquisition of Cooper Industries, which roughly doubled the size of Eaton's electrical business and made it one of the world's largest electrical equipment makers. As part of that deal, Eaton reincorporated in Ireland — the company's legal headquarters is now Dublin — while its operational headquarters and most executive functions remain in Beachwood, Ohio, near Cleveland. The business today is organized into three segments, all centered on electricity and motion: Electrical (switchgear, circuit breakers, transformers, busways, and the uninterruptible power supplies and power distribution racks used in data centers), Aerospace (hydraulics, fuel systems, and actuators for commercial and military aircraft), and Vehicle (transmissions and drivetrain components for commercial trucks). The data center business has become Eaton's growth engine in the AI era — hyperscale data centers consume enormous amounts of power, and Eaton's electrical gear is what keeps that power flowing. With about 85,000 employees, annual revenue near US$23 billion, and CEO Craig Arnold at the helm since 2016, Eaton is a classic industrial compounder: a 110-year-old company that reinvented itself around the electrification megatrend. For facility managers, data center operators, and electrical contractors, Eaton is the name on the switchgear, breakers, and UPS systems that keep buildings and server farms online.
Also known as: Eaton
Company Facts
- Founded
- 1911 (as Torbensen Axle Company, Cleveland, Ohio)
- Founders
- Joseph Eaton & Viggo Torbensen
- Legal Headquarters
- Dublin, Ireland
- Operational Headquarters
- Beachwood, Ohio, United States
- CEO
- Craig Arnold (since 2016)
- Employees
- Approx. 85,000
- Annual Revenue
- ≈ US$23 billion
- Stock Listing
- NYSE: ETN · S&P 500 component
- Industry
- Power Management (Electrical, Aerospace, Vehicle)
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eaton headquartered?+
Eaton Corporation plc is legally incorporated and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Its operational headquarters — where most executive functions are run — is in Beachwood, Ohio, United States, near Cleveland.
Who owns Eaton?+
Eaton is a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ETN) and owned by its shareholders. No single individual or family owns the company.
When was Eaton founded?+
Eaton was founded in 1911 in Cleveland, Ohio, by Joseph Eaton and Viggo Torbensen, who invented the first gear-driven truck axle. The company began as the Torbensen Axle Company.
What does Eaton make?+
Eaton is a global power management company. It manufactures electrical equipment (switchgear, circuit breakers, transformers, and data center power systems), aerospace systems (hydraulics, fuel systems, and actuators), and vehicle components (transmissions and drivetrains).
