Emerson – ASCO

Emerson-ASCO is a leading producer of solenoid and process valving.  ASCO was founded in 1888 as The Electric Automatic Pump Company in Jersey City, New Jersey where they manufactured electric water pumps until the end of the 19th century.  The company name was officially changed to The Automatic Switch Company (ASCO) in 1905 when they transitioned to manufacturing control valves for air, gas, oil and water.  In 1910 ASCO developed the first solenoid valve which used electromagnetic induction to energize an internal plunger which opened the valve when energized.  This style of solenoid valve came to be known as a direct operated solenoid valve and are typically limited to small form factors due to the limited force the electric current could produce.  In 1928 ASCO introduced their first pilot-operated solenoid valve which used pilot pressure to overcome the immense forces created by high pressure, large diameter applications.  Throughout the mid-1900s ASCO continued to develop and produce application specific solenoids like miniaturized valves for medicinal sciences and explosion proof valves for hazardous environments.  In 1985 ASCO was acquired by Emerson who merged them with Jucomatic in 1988, one of the largest producers of pneumatic valves in Europe.  In 2008 ASCO was merged with Numatics, one of the largest producers of pneumatic and automation products in North America enabling them to provide products for every aspect of fluid control and automation.  MacroMotion has been an authorized distributor of ASCO since 2011 which marked our transition from hydraulic and pneumatic services and sales to a full-service fluid power operation.