It was while the Mississippi river locks and roller dam between the Rock Island Arsenal and Davenport were being constructed during the early 1930's that the elder Mr. Briegel conceived of the idea of producing connectors for thin-wall electrical conduits. Four copper lines were needed for the operation of the locks, one each for air, water, gas, and oil. It was impossible to obtain lines of sufficient length and when separate lines were fitted together, the problem was to keep them from pulling apart. "Dad went over there with his indenter tool and used it on the copper lines after the expanding machine was applied to join the lines," Ted explained recently. "It was the first time the expanding machine was used." Thus the idea of using this system to join electrical conduits was developed by Mr. Briegel. He went down to Quincy to discuss the process with [his son] Ted, who suggested an improvement - use a coupling on the outside of the conduit and eliminate the need for electricians to purchase an expanding machine as part of their equipment. The elder Mr. Briegel agreed that Ted had a good suggestion - a case of a father accepting a son's advice. That was the beginning of the Briegel Method Tool Co. and eventually the approval of the Underwriters Laboratory was obtained.

Theodore W. Briegel - Founder

The Move to Galva.