Our History

The origins of CAM date back to 1910, when the first DC motor repair equipment was designed and manufactured for factories, steel mills, mines, shipyards and streetcar systems by the Peerless Equipment Company of Hanover, Pennsylvania.

At around the same time The Mummert-Dixon Company of Hanover, PA was producing screw-cutting machines, wire weaving looms for the wire cloth industry and large grinding machines.

In the ‘20’s and ‘30’s, Electric Service Company of Philadelphia was the distributor for Peerless Equipment, and eventually Peerless became one of its divisions. During World War II, Electric Service received a very large order from the US Navy so they sent a young engineer – Charles McGough Jr., to Hanover to triple production.

After World War ll, railroads across America began aggressively moving from steam locomotives to the new technology of electric and diesel electric locomotives. This opened a new market for Peerless products and began a long association with the railway industry.

In the 1950’s, Electric Service liquidated itself and H.K. Porter Company of Pittsburgh, PA acquired the Peerless Equipment line. Three years later, the Mummert-Dixon Company, now owned by Mr. McGough, purchased the Peerless Electric Motor repair equipment division and moved it to the company’s plant at 215 Philadelphia Street where it has been made ever since.

In 1965, McGough reorganized the company under a new name, CAM Industries, and focused the company’s resources on the electric motor repair and manufacturing industry.

Driven by market demand, CAM’s product line grew rapidly to include automatic mica undercutters, tape/wire banding devices, automatic welders, special handling equipment and electric coil taping machines.

By the early 1970’s, the conversion of the North American locomotive fleets was completed and CAM became a global company with over half of all sales originating outside North America. This earned the company a series of US Department of Commerce’s E and E Star Awards for excellence in exporting. With clients in more than 60 countries, CAM Industries became the largest producer in the world of equipment to service the electric traction motors of locomotives.

CAM began providing turnkey motor repair facilities in the 80’s, supplying equipment, technical training and management instruction in modern maintenance techniques. Projects included railway motor maintenance workshops in Bulgaria, Korean, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and other countries,

Early in its history, Peerless had designed special machines to wrap insulating tape around the copper coils used in electric motors. In the 90’s, CAM used its expertise in tape wrapping systems, to develop a line of machines especially for the wire harness and cable markets. The company’s equipment is used in the manufacturing of aircraft, automobiles, jet engines, power station transformers and vinyl window products.

At the turn of this century, CAM widened its offerings again by designing, engineering and building custom automation and special material handling systems. This new endeavor is a natural outgrowth of the development work the company had been doing for many years in the motor, coil and wire harness industries.

With years of experience working hand-in-hand with some of the world’s largest companies, CAM is now utilizing the same concept, testing, design and engineering systems to solve production problems, increase throughput, rebuild and improve existing equipment and reduce labor for all kinds of industrial clients.

In 2005, we adopted a new name and marketing slogan to better express the many diverse services, equipment lines and clients we serve – railway, steel mill, defense, consumer, automotive, aerospace - domestic and international. It’s a name that demonstrates a firm commitment to each client – to listen, to understand, to innovate and offer the right solution.