Hendrix by Marmon Utility products, seen here in the field with a local utility lineman, are prepped for installation of the company's insulated tree wire and Aerial Cable Systems at a regional job site. Photo courtesy of Marmon Utility

MILFORD – Nearly 100 guests and leaders of Marmon Utility LLC, the company behind the Hendrix and Kerite brands, gathered together on Aug. 7 at Marmon Utility to celebrate the grand opening of a new manufacturing wing.

The 80,000 square feet of space, equipped with state-of-the art technologies, was opened that day. In addition, the occasion made a fine opportunity to herald the 75th Anniversary of the company’s Hendrix brand, which also originated in Milford.

Marmon Utility is a Berkshire Hathaway company, under an umbrella company, Marmon Holdings. The website, marmonholdings.com, states it comprises 11 industry groups, 30,000 team members and more than 120 autonomous businesses. Revenue is reportedly $13 billion.

“Our legacy is grounded in more than a century of innovation and supporting the infrastructure that powers communities,” said Paul Tetreault, Vice President of Operations at Marmon Utility.

“As part of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies, we are proud to celebrate 75 years of the Hendrix brand and its role in advancing reliable electric infrastructure around the world,” he added.

A reel of Hendrix cable is mounted and ready for installation on a job site as Hendrix by Marmon Utility marks its 75th Anniversary. Photo courtesy of Marmon Utility

He said the new building at the Marmon Utility headquarters was designed as an investment to support increased demand for Hendrix Aerial Cable Systems, to be processed with new technology and enhanced operational capabilities.

The addition of 30 new jobs, reinforcing the company’s long-term commitment to innovation and to the Milford community, was cheered by dozens of employees at the event.

The celebration included a proclamation from Commissioner Lucy Lange, on behalf of Governor Kelly Ayotte recognizing the 75th Anniversary and Marmon Utility’s stellar impact on New Hampshire manufacturing and the economy of Milford.

The event peaked with an honoring of the legacy of Bill Hendrix, who founded Hendrix Wire & Cable Inc., in 1951.

Hendrix’s invention of an overhead electrical distribution system component known as the Aerial Spacer Cable System, was designed by him to secure the parallel lengths of wiring atop utility poles with a sturdy yet flexible bracket-type device.

Hendrix cable productions and aerial cable systems have been manufactured in New England for 75 years through the continuous development of excellence in product engineering and the manufacturing automation that streamlines their efficiency. Photo courtesy of Marmon Utility

The Hendrix invention, backed by Marmon Utility manufacturing, installation and maintenance, is now a globally used system proven to reduce power outages, resist breakage by tree falls and better stabilize electrical cables, here and abroad.

Marmon Utility is based in the United States and operates three manufacturing sites, including Milford and Amherst, both in New Hampshire, and Seymour, in Connecticut. The Connecticut location was founded in 1854 as the Kerite Company by Austin Goodyear Day, the nephew of Charles Goodyear.

Marmon Utility acquired the company and markets its products under the Kerite brand. It specializes in manufacturing high-performance power cables used worldwide.

Kerite is the proprietary name of a rubber insulation compound invented by Austin Goodyear Day. The trio of Marmon Utility’s New England manufacturing facilities are the mainstay stewards of underground cables.

Company histories boast that Kerite cables were installed for the completion of the Panama Canal in the 1900s and laid beneath New York Harbor in the 1800s.

Marmon Utility's new 80,000 square foot manufacturing wing will be used to produce new product solutions for electric transmission applications, as the first section of a new product line of equipment was installed in July. Photo courtesy of Marmon Utility

“This celebration is about the people who made our success possible, including our employees, customers, community partners, and the generations of innovators who came before us,” noted Tetreault.

“We are grateful for their support and look forward to building on that legacy for years to come,” he added.

More information on the products, the services and the new manufacturing wing open at Marmon Utility, 53 Old Wilton Road in Milford, is available online at marmonutility.com.

The Marmon Utility ribbon cutting marking the opening of a new building facility and the opportunity to honor the 75th anniversary of Hendrix by Marmon Utility, included these company professionals, from left, Jeff Wall, a quality engineer from Nashua, Dan Frechette, a shipping and loading expert from Chelmsford, Mass., and Jacob Corbett, an esteemed process engineer from Manchester, all a part of the team whose efforts support the high level of craftsmanship at Marmon Utility. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON

A proud part of the engineering, planning, safety, and production team at Marmon Utility whose roles help bring electricity to thousands worldwide through the installation of miles and miles of Hendrix and Kerite cables manufactured by Marmon Utility, include these specialists, from left, Richard Heckbert, of Brookline; Grant Bonczar, of Milford; Hector Rodriguez, of Goffstown, Ben Landry, of Worcester, Mass., and Jacob Corbett, of Manchester. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON

Lennart Walqui, director of Operations for Marmon Utility, displays some examples of Hendrix and Kerite power cables of variable size whose uses throughout the world, overhead and underground, fulfill any need of reliable electricity. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON.

Celebrants, from left, Paul Tetreaut, Vice President of Operations at Marmon Utility in Milford and a resident of York, Maine, Mike Lemelin, Vice President of Engineering at Marmon Utility in Milford and a resident of Bedford, and Kim Grenier, Director of Human Services at Milford's Marmon Utility and a resident of Bow, display the speedy Marmon WASP, the iconic race car that won the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911. The vehicle was cloned in full detail by engineers from Marmon Holdings, Inc., in 2023, to "bring its groundbreaking spirit into the present — and the future." Photo by LORETTA JACKSON

Poised to welcome supporters celebrating a new facility of 80,000 square feet, an expansion for Marmot Utility at 53 Old Wilton Road in Milford, and a concurrent celebration acknowledging the 75th Anniversary of Hendrix by Marmon, are company leaders and special guests, ribbon cutters, from left, Mike Lemelin, Vice President of Engineering; Paul Dargie, Democratic State Rep. for Hillsborough District 43; Kim Grenier, Director of Human Resources, Marmon Utility; Lucy Lange, Commissioner for the Department of Business and Economic Affairs; Dave Wheeler, Councilor with the New Hampshire Executive Council; Paul Tetreault, Vice President of Operations for Marmon Utility; Chris Pappas, Congressman and U.S. Rep. for New Hampshire's First Congressional District, and Vanessa Sheehan, State Rep. for the New Hampshire House of Representatives' Hillsborough District 43.. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON