When ILSCO Corp. first opened its doors in 1894 in Cincinnati, the company manufactured incandescent lights and stoves. As technology evolved, so did ILSCO’s manufacturing expertise, capabilities and product offerings.

For the last several decades, ILSCO has been making electrical connectors for the OEM, wholesale and utility markets. The company’s product lines encompass nearly 15,000 connectors.

ILSCO employs 220 people in its Cincinnati location, and the company has four additional manufacturing facilities in the United States and Canada. Its customer base includes residential contractors and construction, industrial, telecommunication, renewable energy, and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) companies.

Traditionally, ILSCO used full-revolution mechanical presses to form its connectors. But in early 2011, company management broke with tradition and replaced its three mechanical presses with one 75-ton hydraulic press made by Greenerd Press & Machine Company Inc.

“After some investigation, we determined that hydraulic was a better option for us,” says Keith Tipton, manufacturing engineer at ILSCO. “This press has improved our operation of forming connectors in copper. It is also used for punching, trimming and marking connectors in aluminum.”

An open-gap press, it features a heavy, welded C-frame that provides maximum rigidity and minimum deflection for accurate parts and long tool life. The press has a large throat clearance, which accommodates large dies. Tipton says the large clearance has enabled ILSCO to standardize die sets and reduce setup time by more than 50 percent.

The company also likes the press’s stroke length, which is adjustable from about 1 inch to a maximum of 18 inches. Ad-justments take less than 5 seconds and are worker-safe because they occur outside the throat.

ILSCO can reduce press tonnage to 20 percent of the maximum, depending on the application, and still be sure that the press delivers full power over the entire stroke length. Built-in overload protection makes sure the press never exceeds the set tonnage.

Another feature ILSCO likes is the press’s extended vertical capacity. Known as daylight, this is the clearance from the top of the bolster to the underside of the ram in its maximum up position.

The press is designed for quick changeovers between jobs and has a compact frame that shortens the operator’s reach and reduces fatigue. Manifold block hydraulic systems minimize system leaks and maintenance. A removable table makes it easy to add T-slots or drill and tap tool-mounting holes.

For more information on hydraulic presses, call 603-889-4101 or visit www.greenerd.com.