It is 1933, at the height of The Great Depression. Automobile manufacturing has fallen from a peak of 4,587,400 in 1929, to a disastrous low of 1,135,491. There are less than a million cars in Los Angeles, but congestion and control have already become problems. Arthur Loomis and Charles Chase start a small toy and specialty lighting company and meet Leo Jennings, a City Electrician for Beverly Hills. Leo asks the partners if they could build a stop sign with a built-in flashing red light, controlled by a bi-metal sun valve which would turn the light on and off depending on the time of day. Loomis and Chase agree and ask Leo to join them. The "Econolite" is born, and the name sticks.

By 1935, automobile production had climbed back to over 3 million units, and Econolite had become the installation contractor for General Electric's Traffic Signal Division. In 1937, Econolite became the permanent distributor for G.E.'s complete traffic signal product line, including signals, mechanical fixed-time controllers, and highway lighting. This relationship continued until 1949. Westates Electrical Construction Company was formed and continued as an electrical contractor in 1966.

As the automobile population continued to grow, it became apparent to the partners that newer traffic actuated controllers, pioneered by Automatic Signal Company in Norwalk, Connecticut, would have great potential in the West. Through a formal agreement, Econolite began selling Automatic Signal Products to the City and County of Los Angeles on an informal basis in 1939.

Explosive growth took place after the second World War and automobile manufacturers began turning out cars in record numbers. Likewise, the need for signals and traffic control devices followed. In 1947, Econolite began manufacturing its own line of traffic signal parts and accessories to supplement the growing sales of G.E. and Automatic Signal control products. By 1948, sales efforts had become so successful that Automatic Signal expanded Econolite distributorship to include California, Arizona, and Nevada. In 1950, the northwest states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho were added. Econolite had become the primary traffic signal supply source in six western states. This rapid expansion required a move to a new 5-acre, 96,000 square-foot facility on Bellanca Avenue in Los Angeles.

In 1956, Econolite began the manufacture of a full signal head line, including both 8 inch and 12 inch aluminum signal heads, and by 1957 it had purchased the entire traffic signal product line from G.E., including the famous Type "F" mechanical fixed-time controller. Some of G.E.'s distributors continued with Econolite. Traffic Control, Corp. of Illinois remains an Econolite distributor to this day.

By 1960, Econolite controlled all Automatic Signal distribution in the 13 Western states, and was acquired by Tamar Electronics in 1961. By 1963, Econolite controlled Automatic Signal distribution in 17 states with the acquisition of Kar-Trol in Texas.

Rapid expansion into electronic traffic control began in 1966, with the introduction of the first solid-state, digital, fixed-time controller, and Econolite prepared to move into the manufacturing of more advanced, digital, actuated controllers. A decision to separate from Automatic Signal resulted in 1967. On February 10, 1968, Econolite became independent, ending a successful 30-year relationship.

Econolite went on to establish the first fully successful line of digital actuated controllers with the introduction of the D-2000, D-4000, and, finally the famous D-8000 "Quad" Controller in 1969. The company moved to its present address in Anaheim in 1971, and LTV Ling Altec became Altec Corporation.

Because of aerospace advances, digital electronics exploded in quantum development leaps, bringing about a rapid succession of digital controller advances. It also became apparent that the customer was moving toward some form of "standardization" or "interchangeability". Industry members approached the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, and in 1971, the first ever Traffic Controls Division was formed. Econolite became a primary initial member and has since "championed" the development of industry-wide standards.

Econolite pioneered the first microprocessor-based traffic controller, the SEC-8000 in 1973. Then, strongly promoting the NEMA approach, the first NEMA-based TS-1 traffic controller, the SPC-8000, was conceived in 1975. Dedicated to upgrading and improving the NEMA design, Econolite then produced the EMC controller line in 1977; and the very successful KMC line of controllers in 1979.

In February of 1978, the company became Econolite Control Products, Inc. when acquired by private owners, Mike Doyle and Steve Onderdonk. The new owners re-organize and streamlined the company, returning it to profitability within an astounding 3-month period. Mike Doyle remains the CEO at Econolite to this day.

The company celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 1983, as the North American leader in traffic control products manufacturing. The year 1983 also marked the beginning of a period of important technical breakthroughs for traffic systems control. The introduction of the "closed-loop" system. Employing on-street arterial masters to control groups of intersections through telemetry interconnect, the "closed-loop" system also uses commercial telephone dial-up techniques to communicate directly with a personal computer. This enables remote manipulation of both the masters and the locals as well as instant access to performance criteria and surveillance information. The first Econolite system became known as "Master Monitor", which evolved throughout the 80's and 90's into "Central Monitor", Zone Monitors III and IV, and today's current system, "Aries". The cumulative total of these systems installed by Econolite is now well over 500, with some 2,000 on-street masters in place.

Another "first" for Econolite's systems was the introduction of Intersection Monitor in 1985; a device which allowed the "closed-loop" system to virtually monitor any controller, regardless of manufacturer or type.

In 1985, Econolite Canada was incorporated in Scarborough, Ontario, to serve a solid base of existing Econolite customers previously serviced by Canadian General Electric. Three offices in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec were opened as well as a manufacturing facility to provide product and service to our Canadian customers. In 1988, Electromega Ltee became the official Econolite distributor for the province of Quebec and the Maritimes.

By 1987, the NEMA traffic controller underwent further evolution, with the introductions of Econolite's ASC-8000 Controller. This controller package has since evolved into the current ASC/2S controller line. By the end of the 80's, Econolite had expanded its Canadian facility to 8,000 square feet to meet Canadian market demands. In 1989, Econolite acquired Trafcon of Jacksonville, Florida, to serve as sales, service, and manufacturing headquarters for the Southeast.

With the introduction of Autoscope in the early 90's, Econolite began selling an entirely new line of traffic products referred to as "machine vision". This was accomplished through a strategic partnership with Image Sensing Systems and the University of Minnesota. From the original Autoscope 2003, introduced in 1992, to the even more capable and lower-cost 1995 release of Autoscope 2004, to the current Autoscope SOLO PRO, introduced in 2000, Econolite has carefully applied new and advancing digital camera technologies to wide-area detection, and is the acknowledged leader in this field, with more installations to date than all of its competitors combined.

Since 1992, Econolite has moved rapidly into NEMA TS-1 and TS-2 controller and cabinet formats, while thoughtfully maintaining downward compatibility to minimize customer cost. The company now manufactures more NEMA compatible traffic signal controller cabinets than any other producer, in the widest variety of available formats. Econolite NEMA controllers and cabinets are acknowledged as the industry standard.

Econolite, in strategic partnership with Gardner Transportation Systems, introduced a large-scale central control system in 1997 called "icons®". This new system, employing open architecture and the latest in system communications and graphics, meets new Federal guidelines as an Advanced Transportation Management System (ATMS). Since its introduction, Econolite has installed multiple systems.

In the year 2000, Econolite was proud to receive its ISO 9001 accreditation from AOQC Moody International, Inc., which is the highest level of certification required by the International Organization for Standardization.

2002 proved to be an exciting and profitable year for Econolite when the company focused its efforts on strengthening its customer service by adding a new division of maintenance support. Team Econolite™ offers an array of service options including monthly maintenance, extraordinary maintenance, equipment repair and/or replacement, cabinet testing, engineering services, and intersection modifications.

On October 16, 2002, Econolite teamed with TrafficWerks™ to provide Autoscope Solo Pro™ video detection system customers with TrafficWerks' real-time traffic data retrieval and management systems. This system can easily interface with multiple wireless communications systems, such as CDPD, narrow-band FM, and spread spectrum radio.

Another big milestone for Econolite occurred in 2002, when the company acquired the assets of AECOM Systems Integration Group (ASIG). ASIG was a business unit of AECOM Technology Corporation, a global technical professional services firm. The acquisition added to Econolite's product mix the PYRAMIDS™ central distributed control and management system and OASIS™, a master/local 2070 software. This acquisition put Econolite in a key market position by allowing the company to provide software solutions for NEMA, 170, 2070 and ATC users.

Perhaps of most significance in 2002 was the addition of David St. Amant, a 28-year veteran of the electronic components distribution industry. David took on the roles of Econolite's President and COO. His tireless commitment to quality and innovation has made David a highly valued and respected member of the Econolite family.

In 2003 Econolite celebrated its 70th Anniversary with an enhanced slate of Autoscope products that included Autoscope 2020, Autoscope RackVision, and the new Wizard automatic camera set-up feature on all models. These additions to the Autoscope line have allowed customers even greater breadth of choice when implementing video detection.

At the start of 2004, Econolite announced that Signal Control Products, Inc. of Hillsborough, New Jersey, had become a new, exclusive distributor for Econolite.

As Econolite moved into 2005, the company strengthened its focus on the international market, particularly in South America. Since then, business has expanded across the globe, and now Econolite products are available (both directly and through exclusive distributors) in over 30 countries worldwide.

2005 saw dramatic new Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) technologies emerge as Econolite partnered with 6 other transportation solution companies to launch the Intelligent IntersectionTM at World Congress as part of the Innovative Mobility Showcase. Together with Caltrans, PATH, Cornet, DaimlerChrysler Research and Technology North America, Mark IV, and NAVTEQ, Econolite demonstrated a state-of-the-art signalized intersection that provides an exchange of information between the driver and the intersection's operation. The primary objective is to demonstrate how effective data sharing, coordinated traffic signal timing, and ubiquitous traveler information can advance the effectiveness of a typical transportation system and provide useful information to the driving public.

Econolite demonstrated the possibilities of VII in the 2006 AASHTO Convoy, which retraced the route that President Eisenhower took in 1956 to survey the state of the nation's highway infrastructure. That original journey, in turn, led to the founding of the Interstate Highway system as we know it today. At several stops along the way, Econolite and its partners Connexis, DaimlerChrysler, Raytheon, Shel Leader, and TechnoCom set up and operated the Intelligent Intersection to much acclaim from onlookers.

2006 was also a big year for our customers. The city of Baton Rouge celebrated the installation of their 500th Autoscope video detection device as a part of its recovery from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Nationwide, we are pleased to say that over 50,000 Autoscope devices are currently on the streets, reducing travel time and supporting traveler information.

July 2006 welcomed Safetran Traffic Systems, Inc. into the Econolite family of companies. Safetran has been a respected brand in the 170/2070 market for almost 30 years. Together, the Econolite and Safetran brands ensure innovative solutions, quality products, and extensive industry knowledge.

In 2007, Econolite introduced the Autoscope® Terra™ product suite, including the new Autoscope Solo® Terra™ sensor, the Autoscope® RackVision™ Terra™, the Terra Interface Panel, and the Terra Access Point.  Econolite also launched an updated version of its website, making it easier and faster for customers to find the information they need.

As we push forward into 2008 and beyond, Econolite will continue to lead the charge in offering the latest technologies and innovative solutions that foster safer roads, cleaner air, and improved quality of life for everyone on the world's roadways. With 75 years of industry experience and customer satisfaction at our fingertips, we know what it takes to give peace of mind to everyone on the streets as they move from one destination to another. More history to be made...