General Signal Corporation

Product Details

Company
General Signal Corporation

Certificate Type
Common Stock

Date Issued
Specimen, circa mid 1900’s

Canceled
Yes

Printer
Security-Columbian Bank Note Company

Signatures
Machine printed

Approximate Size
12″ (w) by 8 1/4″ (h)

Images
Show the exact certificate you will receive

Guaranteed Authentic
Yes

Additional Details
NA

Reference

$50 to $75

Historical Context

General Signal was founded in 1904 in New York as the General Railway Signal Company and primarily operated as a railway supplier. The company diversified its product base, most notably in the 1960s, and grew steadily into the 1980s when, after a foray into the world of high-tech semiconductor manufacturing, it ran into overwhelming competition and ended up going back to its more traditionally profitable markets.

One of General Signal’s biggest transit deals was a contract to supply transit controls for the Washington, DC Metro System in the late 1970s – a $42 million deal. They also won contracts for mass transit controls in other cities and other municipal traffic systems as well. By 1980 General Signal was one of the fastest growing conglomerates, with assets of more than $260 billion and sales of $1.5 billion. The firm went into the utilities industry, acquiring Leeds & Northrup, a leader in utility controls. The acquisition reaped large benefits for General Signal, with an increased demand for electricity and the conversion from oil to coal requiring a new set of controls.

In 1995, the company was acquired by SPX Corporation.

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