Then…
Since the late 1800s, the Megger brand has been closely identified with electric testing equipment and measuring instruments for electrical power applications. But it also is the name of a large international company that maintains sales offices in more than 100 countries.
Established in 1889 as Evershed & Vignoles, the England-based manufacturer of electrical equipment almost immediately introduced the “Megger,” the first portable Meg Ohm Insulation Tester, to an eager marketplace.
Megger products grew under Evershed & Vignoles to include instrumentation for aircraft and steering gear for ships. During World War I, the company produced steering and target equipment for England’s Royal Navy and later expanded its UK location, employing some 500 workers in the late 1920s.
Employment swelled to more than 1,000 workers during World War II with key responsibility for development and production of aircraft instrumentation. Through the years, Megger has been at the forefront of technological innovation, developing not only the first practical insulation tester, but also the world's first multimeter. In 1950 Megger introduced the first commercial cable fault locator, and by the mid-1960s saw its employment rolls grow to more than 1,500 workers.
At various points over the last century, the company changed names and adopted new brands, often as a result of mergers and acquisitions. For many years, the James G. Biddle Co. in Pennsylvania served as the U.S. importer of Megger products, along with manufactured equipment marketed under its own Biddle name. Megger later bought the Biddle company, retaining the use of the Biddle trademark.
The “Megger” trademark was first registered in May 1903 by Evershed & Vignoles and it, along with "Biddle," are still closely guarded by the company today.
In fact, the company says that the Megger brand name is so well known that “maintenance professionals often incorrectly use it as a verb when they refer to doing an isolation test on wiring.”
Now…
For several years leading up to the end of the twentieth century, the company identified itself by the name AVO International, a name that reflected its global presence and influence in the marketplace, and represented the convergence of three formerly independent companies: Megger, Biddle, and Multi-Amp. But, with the market continuing to refer to AVO by its Megger brand, company leaders decided in 2002 to formally re-brand the company as Megger Ltd.
Today, Megger is deeply involved in insulation testing, low resistance and ground resistance testing, and a wide variety of electrical contractor maintenance tools such as multimeters, portable appliance testers, and clamp-on meters. The company also provides testing devices for critical maintenance areas including cable fault locating, earth/ground testing, low resistance measuring apparatus, and power quality testing. All together, Megger makes and sells more than 1,000 products spanning 30 distinct product groups.
The company reports that its facilities are certified to the ISO 9001 quality standard, with the Dover, England site also certified to ISO 14001, the international environmental standard.
Among the more recent additions to Megger's product range are instruments for testing telecommunications and data integrity. Working with both copper and optical technologies, and collaborating closely with major industry players, Megger developed a line of products aimed at increasing productivity and keeping test and measurement costs down.
In addition, Megger operates the highly regarded AVO Training Institute, which offers training for electrical maintenance and safety through its network of Megger offices, including those operating under the States name, a unit of the company that sells terminal blocks, test switches, and related equipment to major electric utilities.
Founded in 1963 and ISO 9001 certified since 1996, the AVO Training Institute has served more than 230,000 electrical maintenance and testing technicians and engineers from around the world, according to the company. The courses cover all types of electrical equipment, including circuit breakers, protective relays, transformers, substations, switchgear, batteries, cables, and more.
Megger products are manufactured at sites in Dallas; Valley Forge, PA, and Dover, England. Sales and technical support offices are located across the U.S. and Canada, as well as in Mexico City; Dover, England; Paris; Mumbai, and Bahrain.
To this day Megger products are referred to by a variety of names in the marketplace, including AVO, Biddle, Biddle AVO, and Biddle Megger.
But, as the company points out, “It all comes back to the premier company, Megger.”