victor insulator company
victor insulators, inc. website ‘marker to note role of victor insulators’ democrat & chronicle (june 14, 2014) fred m. locke history page locke insulator manufacturing company in national insulator association journal ‘the humble victor diner mug” on huffington post (september 19, 2015) victor mugs website (* not associated with victor insulators, inc. )
note that the timeframe shown here indicates the period the the company made insulators, not the full time of the company' s operation .
another excellent article about a local source of pride. i go by victor insulator dozens of times through the course of the year. i knew a little about the company and what they did. but this article made it even more ‘home - made’ .
although the company that fred locke established in victor ny has changed names over the years, victor insulators, inc. is the direct successor to the operation that he began over 100 years ago. for a “time line” of the wet process insulator manufacturing industry in the usa, click here .
detailed history of the lima insulator co. can be found in my book, fred m. locke: a biography. when fred locke lost control of his company, locke insulator manufacturing co. , in victor, ny in early 1904, he at once decided to start a new insulator manufacturing plant in nearby lima, ny. since he was forbidden by the locke company to open a competing insulator plant, he had michael burke purchase six acres of land for $ 1, 000 on the eastern side of lima, ny. the purchase was made on july 21, 1904 and nine days the ownership was transferred to the lima insulator co. , which had been incorporated on july 14. by november 1904, the plant was in full production with a crew working nights and reporting that they could not keep up with orders. many of the workers previously worked at the locke victor plant. the locke mechanical genius, cornelius vanbennett was persuaded to leave victor and join the crew at lima. michael burke was president and manager of the new lima plant. he had been a director and stockholder of the locke company. other investors were from victor .
victor has the most complete product line of any north american insulator manufacturer. our wide product line, commitment to customer service and competitive pricing make us the preferred source of insulators .
in 1945, victor insulators published a 24 - page booklet titled
a story of victor
. it describes how insulators were made at the insulator factory. here is what they said about their
heavy duty chinaware
:
istory will show that because of the victor insulator' s simple, yet immensely functional design, the victor mug was imitated into extinction. mr. nelson mckee, a fourth generation company employee, now sales manager of victor insulators, inc. stated
we made the decision to no longer manufacture coffee mugs when it became apparent that people would rather pay a low price for inferior quality than a fair price for superior quality .
in 1893, fred m. locke founded the victor insulator company right in victor, new york. he set up the shop which would go on to manufacture different porcelain insulators used throughout the world. today, it’s the oldest porcelain insulator company in north america. equally as impressive, much of the plant is believed to be the first pre - stressed poured concrete building in upstate, which is on the exact same plot of land locke first began over a century ago. in fact, because of his contributions to the industry, locke is now considered to be the father of porcelain insulators. while i have an immense respect and admiration for the company’s endeavors that keep electrical lines doing their thing, what i really wanted to know was how they invented and marketed an american icon: the diner coffee mug .
ceramic processing is controlled by a highly trained staff of professional engineers dedicated to ensuring that product quality remains our number one priority. victor is continuously updating manufacturing methods and equipment and participates in research programs with major universities to ensure that we remain at the forefront of insulator technology .
several years ago an investigation was made by victor insulators, inc. , to determine the advisability of manufacturing additional products. although the insulator business is not seasonal in the same way that many industries are, the management felt that additional products would provide steady employment and insure weekly wages year' round for victor' s employees .
located in victor, ny (near rochester) victor’s plant today consists of over 320, 000 square feet of manufacturing space .
today, victor is a privately held (employee owned) company dedicated to the same ideals that have been successful since 1893. our commitment to quality, service and competitive pricing continues to make us the preferred supplier of insulators .
at present a substantial part of victor' s business is devoted to the production of victor chinaware for the armed services .
victor manufactures the widest product line of any north american insulator manufacturer. the manufacturing process produces insulators ranging in weight from a few ounces to hundreds of pounds and application voltages from hundreds of volts to hundreds of thousands of volts. insulators are manufactured from standard strength silica porcelain, high strength alumina porcelain, epdm rubber and silicone rubber .
during the 1960’s and 1970’s, the victor coffee mug was literally everywhere, and even today, the design is synonymous with vintage americana. most people probably think it was a common design for mid - century america, and it was, but only because of one company .
victor insulators, inc. was founded in 1893 by fred m. locke .
garbin also noted that while victor may have popularized the bottom - heavy diner mug shape, they may not have been the first to create it .
syracuse china already offered the same mug [... ] we saw a company catalog that listed that shape as early as 1926 ,
he said .
if you see such a mug out there today, it will be stamped opco on the bottom (onondaga pottery company) .
take note, thrift - store treasure seekers .
though true victor mugs are now out of production, fishs eddy is one place where nostalgia - seeking mug appreciators (ahem) can find charming, sturdy dishes that recall the diner days of yore. the company’s aesthetics are inspired by the “in vogue
shapes and trends of the mid 20 th century .
the article said that the victor mugs were originally used on navy ships because the mugs did not tip over easily. the navy would place orders for 1 million at a time. later during the war the army started placing orders. the handle - less military version was popular stateside, too. victor sold the mugs through an exclusive agreement with buffalo china to sell the mugs commercially. victor also made cereal and soup bowls for buffalo china until the company found they could make the bowls cheaper with labor that was lower cost than that paid in the electrical porcelain industry. victor continued to make the mugs and sell directly to businesses .
insulators are manufactured from standard strength silica porcelain, high alumina epdm rubber and silicone rubber. the mechanical and electrical test laboratory and the ceramic laboratory are used to verify product and process conformance. these labs have the capability to perform all necessary tests to ensure product quality or to assist customers in developing products for new applications. victor makes use of our laboratories available to customers at a nominal fee to assist in verification, selection and analysis of insulator
n the 1980' s, when victor mugs were distributed by buffalo china, i bought a case of the classic creamy white mugs to give away as house warming, wedding, and birthday presents. my belief was that these victor mugs would invite a sense of stability, permanence, and comfort. years later, as relationships split or the hazards of moving created losses, my friends would ask for replacements. as life would have it, i ran out of my cherished collection. i then scoured garage sales, restaurant and online auctions and flea markets to find the occasional, very used, but still intact victor mug. i recently contacted the manufacturer of the victor mug, victor insulators, inc. in business in victor, new york to inquire if the company would consider reissuing the world' s most favored mug. with the help of mr. nelson mckee, their sales manager, i was able to acquire the last of the available inventory of the famous victor mug. the mugs i have purchased are
new old stock
that were manufactured in 1987 and have been stored in the company warehouse for the past twenty years. they are, by far, the most unique find in all my years of collecting .
victor, new york, was home to the fred m. locke company in the late 19 th century, an outfit that produced ceramic insulators for telegraph lines to prevent interference during inclement weather. when locke expanded his business out of state, the original factory remained idle until 1935, according to kranes, who has decades of experience in the food service tableware industry .
“for the record, we never took a victor from any restaurant without the owner’s consent ,
he added .
if that wasn’t insulting enough, many chinese knock - offs even had the word ‘victory’ stamped in the bottom, but with a poorly pressed ‘y’, so at quick glance it might look like ‘victor’. not to be outdone, victor insulators began to include that telltale phrase that my proud - to - be - an - american - factory - worker grandfather always sought. they began to stamp ‘made in u. s. a. ’ on the bottom of the mugs right around 1984. that was also the time when the company was purchased by a few employees and the name was changed to victor insulators, inc .
in the spring of 1990, victor insulators shut down production of its famous diner mug, a unique cream - colored cylinder with convex sides and a solid handle. it was produced in several varieties and held less than 8 oz. of coffee, but its shape lent itself to warming one' s hands. the company needed to sell 25, 000 to 30, 000 dozen mugs annually to make the business profitable, but only had orders for about 60% that amount. they blamed the drop in orders on ultima china, a company in china, which started making a look - alike mug about five years earlier that sold for less than half the price. in july 1996, victor insulators added
made in u. s. a .
to the
victor
stamp on the bottom, but they could not compete with the china - made lighter weight version, which only had
china
stamped on the bottom .
victor’s “dry - foot” method of production also kept the mug from slipping easily. turn over any mug or plate in your pantry and run your finger around the edge, it' s likely slightly rougher and more matte - feeling than the rest of the object. this is because the mugs are wiped on a wet rubber mat prior to being fired in a kiln to prevent sticking. “because it’s so thick, it took 72 hours [ to fire ] at the time, ” kranes said. “the victor company was firing at 2, 250 degrees farenheit. ”
victor insulators, inc. also manufactures distribution non ceramic dead end insulators. these are available in either epdm or silicone rubber .
the property remained idle until william f. harvey, a ford dealer in lima, purchased the old lima plant from locke in july 1920, and started a new company named porcelain insulator co. , which was commonly known as pinco. the company was capitalized with $ 250, 000 and included d. h. finucane and e. p. doran of lima. the new pinco plant produced the first insulators in 1921. m. l. joslyn of chicago was also involved from the beginning. mr. harvey died in january 1928. his son, leo b. harvey, who was working in california at the time, returned to lima as president and manager. leo harvey died in march 1958 after falling out of his car. on january 1, 1959, pinco became a division of the joslyn mfg. and supply co. , which previously was a major stockholder. the plant was purchased by industrial ceramics, inc. in december 1985 continuing to use the pinco marking on insulators. they ceased the manufacture of pin - type insulators in 1987 .
i received an opportunity to spend the afternoon touring the victor insulators factory with bob maslyn, a recently retired victor insulators employee whose experience at the factory dates back to the 1960’s. there’s a ton online about the history of the mug, but a quick glance at even a few sources will show that there’s conflicting histories all over the place. between chatting with bob, one of the current owners of the company nick knickerbocker, and countless employees on the factory floor who contributed to the conversation and a little bit of reading, i’ve managed to stitch together just how that iconic porcelain mug out of a small town in ontario county came to be in the hands of so many americans .
a newspaper article has more details about the victor mugs. the
democrat and chronicle
of rochester, ny ran an article on july 14, 1991, titled
victor mugs' owners can' t get a refill
. it announced that the victor factory had stopped making the mugs. businesses such as a canandaigua, ny donut shop and a martha' s vineyard bakery and restaurant, the black dog, which sold the mugs in their mail - order business, could not obtain the popular mugs any more. the black dog used them for 20 years in their restaurant and sold 10, 000 in their catalog business since 1988 decorated with a black dog decal. the victor mug could be found in restaurants all over the u. s. the victor mug was almost indestructible. it was solid and seldom broke when dropped with the handle being the only weak part. each mug was stamped victor on the bottom .
right around 1980, chinese companies began to produce the iconic white coffee mugs and distribute them worldwide. while victor could produce a single mug at the manufacturing cost of 81 cents, a chinese knock - off would be sold at a retail cost of 45 cents! their retail was almost half of victor’s wholesale costs !
the mugs were
dry footed
, which means the foot of the mug was wiped on a wet rubber mat. this prevented the mug from sticking to the kiln shelf when it was fired in the kiln at 2250f, which fused the clay into porcelain and the glaze to the mug. it took 72 hours to fire the mugs. the mug could withstand 765, 000 volts of electricity, but could not withstand competition from china. the
roadside
stated production of the mugs was halted in the spring of 1991. perhaps the 1991 newspaper article was a misprint by stating spring of 1990. it was obvious to victor employees that the chinese company used one of ida' s mugs to make the mold for their cheap knock - off copy of the victor mug. ida was a veteran victor
handle sticker
and her handles were always
a little crooked
.
writer susan germain had a chance to tour the victor factory for an article about the mugs in the now defunct roadside magazine, a periodical dedicated to diner and roadside culture in the u. s. “i first became aware of the victor mugs while living in the rural village of victor, new york, where they were made, ” germain told the huffington post in an email. “i never connected the diner mugs with insulators until noticing every household had a cupboard full of these heavy mugs. ”
the conflict overseas contributed to the mug - - and all of victor’s tableware - - gaining in popularity. “at that time, they were building them... to the specs of the military, ” said kranes. the design and weight of the victor mug helped it withstand falls and made it less prone to tipping on an unsteady ship .
here are three examples of victor mugs. the one on the left is an earlier production with a mottled reddish brown glaze. it has a wax - resist firing rest with a fully glazed bottom with
victor
stamp. the cream - colored mug in the center was made after july 1986 when the
made in u. s. a .
was added to the
victor
stamp. the mug on the right is a non - conventional design. it has straight sides, an indention around the bottom, and a two - finger handle. it has
victor
stamped on the bottom, but the design was made for a special occasion and stamped in the bottom of the mug with an under - glaze dark blue ink marking that reads :
the company began stamping the word ‘victor’ on the bottom side of each mug for branding where it previously had used a painted stamp. however, few know that the practice served an additional internal purpose. if you look closely at the stamps, many have certain sections of text missing. each employee had their own stamp that they would use with a unique marking indicating their having worked on the mug. one may have been the leg of an ‘r’ removed, or half of the letter ‘i’ like the one pictured here. it’s a subtle tactic which allowed management to keep track of quality control. soon after, even a unique stamp would prove impossible to tell apart from an overseas imposter .
in addition to general ansi standard designs of distribution, transmission and substation insulators, victor also manufactures special insulators such as fused cut out porcelains, arrester housings, bushings, etc. to specific customer designs .
one of the more prolific, and much more nostalgia - evoking diner mugs, is the victor, a classic porcelain mug distributed for food service use in the mid - to - late 20 th century, before its victor, new york, factory shuttered in the early' 90s due to overseas competition. (one reason why it' s not found easily in an amazon search .) frequenters of old - style diners have likely come across one without knowing it. the only sign is an all - caps
victor
stamp underneath the cup, occasionally followed by “made in the u. s. a. ”
his site is dedicated to those of you who will recognize the great symbols of american diner culture. in addition to the frosty bottle of coca - cola, the warm, inviting shape of the classic victor mug filled with hot, steaming coffee evokes an immediate memory of a happier time. it is easy to drink from this creamy white porcelain mug because of its thick, round, smooth - lipped design. the six ounces of coffee stay hot because of the superior construction. each genuine victor coffee mug [ victor is imprinted on the bottom of each ] weighs more than a pound and is made of the finest fired clay porcelain. this excellent mug is virtually indestructible and remains the classic and easily recognized shape so sought after by collectors worldwide .
the brand started as a business primarily built off of curating overstock of food service wares from shut - down restaurants, hotels, factories or major distributors. “ [ we ] started discovering all these incredible products, this incredible dinnerware with all kinds of designs on them, and logos, and the magic of those... ” kranes said. the resulting sales, kranes said, “showed some incredible interest [... ] to the romance and love of the business. ” today, fishs eddy sells products with their own backstamp in conjuction with the homer - laughlin company, the last existing u. s. - based factory that produces food - service dinnerware - - and the makers of another popular collectible, fiesta ware .
in the early 1940’s, the u. s. navy sent out a request for bids to u. s. companies that could create a coffee mug that would withstand the test of slinging ships. victor responded, ultimately winning the contract. the navy’s idea was to create a thick - walled mug that was heavy and didn’t have a handle that could break off when it slid and knocked into something else. with the electrical insulator business a bit slower during wartimes, they threw themselves fully caffeinated into the business of making the best mug government money could buy. to start, they created the heavy duty, thick - walled mug without a handle. in addition, the military sought some heavy duty bowls which they also created. the second design was the same ‘cup’ style with no handle, but the walls of the cup were straight rather than concave and the base a bit more rounded than the original. still though, white was the only option. the ‘unfinished’ ring around the bottom of the mug was a function of the manufacturing process. if you were to glaze the bottom of the mug and set it on a drying rack, it would have dried to the rack itself. luckily, that rough, exposed porcelain also provided a bit of traction to keep it from sliding when your ship hit a swell .
throughout the middle part of the 20th century, victor played with various designs, colors and even brand stamps to create a growing collection of chinaware. many were short runs with rarer productions like the pedestal - based mug or cobalt blue mugs, in comparison to the very common white mug with concave walls that was found in countless diners across the country. the mugs that were designed to hold up against ocean - farers in battle proved to also withstand the abuse of serving american diner customers. imagine the wear and tear one coffee mug in a popular diner undergoes in a single day–the victor mug’s specifications easily won any war fought by table bussers or dishwashers .
as for the victor design, “it’s gone through ebbs and flows of popularity, but as a food - service, iconic diner piece, it' s still very popular ,
said kranes .
i think it’s an iconic american shape, and the story - - i don’t know how many people know it, but the story is great. ”
if you type “victor mugs” into amazon, a result comes up for something called “ diner coffee mug, ” of the classic curved sides, thick walls and smallish handle that the american - made mug i sought also bore. this nondescript item has just over 100 reviews. “beautiful product, ” one four - star critique reads. “the perfect mug, ” says another .
while there are a lot of unknown finer details in the history to the mug that are probably lost forever, one indisputable fact remains: there is no greater example of a truly american coffee mug than what came out of the victor factory in those 40 - some years. if you’ve got one, drink from it with pride–even if your table isn’t moving with the waves .
roadside
, a journal devoted to the appreciation of the american diner, ran an article in their spring 1994 publication about the victor mugs. it provided a description of how the mugs were made. a plug of soft clay was placed in a mold and a plunger lowered to press out the inside cavity. the clay form was then placed on a spinning
bat
and a blade pressed up against the outside to cut out the convex profile. the handles were cast from liquid clay poured in plaster molds. the handles were then dipped in clay slip to aid in binding it to the mug. applying the handles to the mug was the most difficult operation of producing the mugs. there were only three women who worked as
handle stickers
. they could smooth the handle better because they had smaller fingers. each woman had her own slightly different
victor
stamp so flaws could be traced back. the completed mug was then dipped by hand into liquid glaze and placed on a rack to dry. victor mugs were produced in a variety of glaze colors: white, black, mahogany, sky - gray, chocolate, light blue, and white with a green stripe around the lip. the green stripe was painted on by hand by one of the
handle stickers
as the mug spun on a bat. one particular rare and unusual victor mug was made in the early 1970' s by a supervisor as a christmas gift for the
big bosses
. only 2, 000 were made with a rich cobalt - blue glaze .
“in 1945, they decided, because of the war and capacity, they wanted to investigate making additional products, ” kranes explained, “that would give employees steady work and ensure weekly wages for the year for all their victor employees. ” the solution: high - quality, heavy duty chinaware, “which is the same material, raw materials, that you’d use for insulators, ” kranes continued .
germain said that thanks to her victor article, she is still “quoted everywhere, ” attesting to the popularity of the lore surrounding this particular diner icon. roadside magazine founder randy garbin confirmed in an email, “when we ran the story, we started to hear from diner owners complaining that customers were stealing the mugs. ” that issue was one of the best - selling back issues they made .
after the war, it was decided that since they were already in the business of making chinaware, they might as well continue. in the mid 1940’s the line was expanded to include a redesign where the cup was slightly smaller and they added a handle and some color options. what made the victor mug particularly easy to create was the quality of the clays being used, which were already used in many of their high - end insulators found in applications like electrical substations. the mug and handle were created separately and then attached to one another by hand before being fired in a kiln. the qualities within the materials allowed the handle to adhere pretty well, and the connection points could easily be hand - detailed so it looked like one molded piece. when you hear someone say, “they don’t make ’em like they used to! ” they are talking precisely about the victor coffee mug. the materials that kept your coffee hot were the same ones that kept your electrical lines from shorting out .
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as a result of this study it was decided to start the fabrication of high quality, heavy duty chinaware - a product manufactured from the same raw materials as insulators and a process that would utilize similar ceramic production methods and craftsmanship .
the war gave impetus to the development of the chinaware business. orders for great quantities of rugged cups and bowis built to military specifications have been and are being delivered to the army and navy .
in the postwar era, steady employment for scores of new workers is planned to take care of the increasing demand for this type of chinaware .
fred locke was one of the great early contributors to the successful establishment and growth of the electric power industry in north america. in 1893 he developed and patented a process for manufacturing wet process porcelain for use in insulators for power lines. his accomplishment was in no small way a key contribution to the eventual growth of the electric power industry. prior to fred’s accomplishments, insulators were at best unreliable for the demands of this growing industry .
all porcelain products are manufactured using wet process porcelain to ensure reliable, trouble free operation for the life of the installation of the product. insulators are available in two porcelain classes – standard strength silica porcelain for normal applications and high strength alumina porcelain for severe duty .
polymeric insulators are manufactured from epdm rubber for normal duty application and silicone rubber for contaminated environments. polymeric products are injection molded using the latest in cold runner molding technology .
we can and do design insulators for specific non - standard applications to meet the varying needs of customers and our engineers are available to assist you in developing insulators for your particular application .
tap here to turn on desktop notifications to get the news sent straight to you .
what an unadorned coffee - holder has to do with power lines and the u. s. military .
yet as one pores through the listings, nostalgia and emotion stand out much more than praises of design or unemotional review .
“reminds me of being in ny, in a diner, drinking coffee... not of the starbucks persuasion... good, old - fashioned coffee! ” wrote user ndrea aspromonte [ sic ] in 2014. another user, gary c. , chimed in the same year: “just like in the navy. ” user darrii titled their review “memories of my childhood. ”
it’s hard to imagine any old product on the massive retail site eliciting as sentimental a response. it seems there’s just something about mugs - - especially ones that look like they could have been plucked from another era - - and the too easily romanticized baggage that goes with them, from a time before ventis and pumpkin spice .
perhaps it’s the cozy feeling they evoke, of chilly mornings, of fresh pots of coffee and the whole day ahead; of a gently dipped tea bag, the slow - motion plume of color steeping into hot water .
the standard hot liquid - holder is typically referred to as the cylinder c - handle mug. it' s
the most pedestrian mug you’ll see ,
explained fishs eddy managing director peter kranes .
it looks like a cylinder, about 12 ounces, a big c handle .
he likened it to the
i love ny
mugs you see in souvenir shops. unfortunately, these types of mugs are as ubiquitous as they are humdrum, lacking in personality compared to a mug with an off - white sheen, a cheeky diner logo, colored glaze or slightly wonky handle .
chances are if you have one, you know. today, the mugs are collectors’ items, selling on ebay and etsy for around $ 6 to $ 15 a piece or more, depending on style. not a goldmine, but clearly something of value, however small .
a bonus fact from kranes: due to the insulating properties of the mug, it could withstand approximately 765, 000 volts of electricity. the same properties help to keep hot beverages in the mug hot .
in the roadside article, germain tours the factory with employee nelson mckee. the mug handles, she learns, were applied from a plaster mold by hand to the side of the mug. mckee informs her there were just three handle stickers, all women. “they could smooth the handle better because they had smaller fingers, ” he explained .
when asked about the draw of diner nostalgia, garbin explained, “most of us, at the very least, recognize the fact that no one is building these things anymore, and that something uniquely american and of very high quality is disappearing from the landscape. ” his comments echo the ones of the aforementioned amazon reviewers: diners and their assorted memorabilia are associated with childhood memories, simpler times, or merely just good comfort food .
first - person essays, features, interviews and q & as; about life today .
we' ll start with a real challenge. this one has plagued every fan of
the garden of earthly delights .
the correct pronunciation: hi - rahn - eh - mus bosh .
with the advent of world war ii, manufacturing in the u. s. either slowed altogether or manufacturing plants altered their product lines to produce items specifically to serve military efforts. much like a certain new york writer that you all know, coffee was imperative to the success of most naval officers. sea tossed ships, however, made it tough to keep your coffee mug in one spot. all that rocking back and forth meant sliding mugs and more than a few cracked cups .
at the height of the mug manufacturing, there were about 15 employees working in that section. there were numerous people who put the handles on, and later, it became necessary to know exactly who put which handle onto which mug. imagine if a run of mugs suddenly had problems. how do you figure out which employee needs more training ?
creator + owner + author = chief exploring officer. chris has been traveling back and forth across new york for years studying and discovering the tucked away gems of the state and chronicling the journey
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urltoken
ow that i have replenished my stock, i am willing to offer the remainder to those aficionados who will appreciate the rewards of paying a fair price for superior quality .
the photo was taken on may 20, 1916 on flag preparedness day at the locke plant in lima, ny. (courtesy of doug morgan, the lima town historian )
the victor insulator company based in victor , ny ( founded 1893 by fred m. locke ) is the oldest insulator company in north america . they originally made glass insulators for electrical lines . they suspended operations during the great depression , but resumed operations in 1935 as victor insulators . in 1984 , the managers purchased the company from brown boveri and resumed operating under the name . they also made diner coffee mugs in the 1940s , 1950s & 1960s which are considered iconic to diner culture aficionados . they are still making insulators at the same location to this day . 
the victor insulator company based in victor, ny (founded 1893 by fred m. locke) is the oldest insulator company in north america. they originally made glass insulators for electrical lines. they suspended operations during the great depression, but resumed operations in 1935 as victor insulators. in 1984, the managers purchased the company from brown boveri and resumed operating under the name. they also made diner coffee mugs in the 1940s, 1950s & 1960s which are considered iconic to diner culture aficionados. they are still making insulators at the same location to this day.
the victor insulator company based in victor, ny (founded 1893 by fred m. locke) is the oldest insulator company in north america. they originally made glass insulators for electrical lines. they suspended operations during the great depression, but resumed operations in 1935 as victor insulators. in 1984, the managers purchased the company from brown boveri and resumed operating under the name. they also made diner coffee mugs in the 1940s, 1950s & 1960s which are considered iconic to diner culture aficionados. they are still making insulators at the same location to this day.