NORTHVILLE, Mich., Oct. 21, 2024 – What began in 1924 as a rubber and tire manufacturer’s small, in-house yarn braiding operation has become today’s foremost source of sophisticated systems protection products for customers in the automotive, aerospace, railway, industrial and other markets.
And as that now-global enterprise, Tenneco Systems Protection, marks 100 years of innovation and manufacturing excellence on October 23, its team members are ready to celebrate with special events and other commemorative activities in System Protection facilities across North America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Systems Protection, manufacturer of Bentley-Harris® products, is the world’s premier supplier of best-in-class protection solutions for the energy, industrial and transportation markets. Its products include innovative, high-quality sleeving and shielding solutions that provide bundling and component protection against abrasion, thermal degradation, noise, and electromagnetic interference.
“Systems Protection is one of several great manufacturing success stories represented in Tenneco’s global business portfolio,” said Talal, Vice President, Systems Protection. “Like many of our businesses and brands, it began with visionary leaders who saw the opportunity to address emerging market needs, and it has continued to grow by demonstrating its unique ability to solve customer problems and enable exciting new opportunities to advance global mobility.”
Systems Protection was established Oct. 23, 1924, as Bentley-Harris Manufacturing by Bill Bentley Sr. and Joe Harris, who had been employed by a Pennsylvania-based rubber and tire manufacturer that had discontinued its in-house braiding and coating of cotton yarn for use in tire beads. The business initially focused on the development of electrical insulation for radios but expanded its reach to manufacturers of motors, generators, transformers, and other electrical applications during the 1930s and ’40s.
Bentley-Harris was a noted innovator in each of its categories, being the first to braid fiberglass yarn and to coat braided material with silicone rubber. This heritage of innovation continued throughout succeeding decades. In 1960, Bentley-Harris was acquired by Raychem Corporation, inventor of heat-shrinkable tubing and other products used to insulate and protect electrical wire and related components. Under its new owner, Bentley-Harris expanded into new industrial and white goods applications as well as the aviation market. In 1971, the business received a U.S. patent for thermal gasket products used to seal the doors of newly introduced self-cleaning ovens. Recognizing the ever-growing range of applications for systems protection technologies, Raychem in 1978 acquired French textile manufacturer CFI, broadening its customer base and creating valuable synergies between its two textile manufacturing businesses.
In the early 1980s, Bentley-Harris established itself as a systems protection pioneer for automotive applications. Its automotive portfolio, beginning with fiberglass insulation used in exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) components and monofilament braid for wire harnesses, grew quickly as vehicle manufacturers continually downsized engine compartments to reduce weight and improve aerodynamic efficiency and introduced electronic engine controls to increase fuel efficiency, reduce harmful emissions and extend engine life. These changes resulted in tighter component spacing and related abrasion concerns; increased operating temperatures and greater risk of electromagnetic interference.
Bentley-Harris expanded into other product categories, as well. In the aviation/aerospace market, the company introduced protection products for commercial aircraft, fighter jets, business jets, unmanned aerial vehicles, and satellites.
Through a series of acquisitions, Bentley-Harris became part of larger and increasingly diverse manufacturers. In 1988, it was acquired by U.K.-based T&N plc, which itself was acquired a decade later by U.S.-based Federal-Mogul Corporation. Tenneco acquired Federal-Mogul in 2017, bringing together two of the world’s largest manufacturers of original equipment and replacement products for light- and commercial-vehicle, off-highway, agricultural, railway, industrial, aviation/aerospace and other applications.
As part of Tenneco’s Performance Solutions segment, the Systems Protection business has continued to help OEMs and other customers enhance vehicle/equipment safety and reliability, reduce maintenance costs and address the unique requirements of emerging technologies. Systems Protection recently introduced a variety of thermal runaway battery protection products for the automotive HEV and EV categories as well as products that provide optimal protection from abrasion, crash and other harsh environments found in power distribution and cooling systems.
“Since 1924, it has been the people of Systems Protection and Bentley-Harris who have driven our success with customers in virtually every market around the world,” Kakish said. “I’m certain our talented, creative and committed team members, working together locally and across the globe, will continue to fuel our competitive advantage for the next 100 years.”
Bentley-Harris Manufacturing Co. was born in 1924 when Bill Bentley and Joe Harris bought the cotton braiding business from Lee Tire and Rubber Company.
Early advertising from 1946 spotlights BH fiberglass sleeving for home appliance, radios and industrial equipment applications.
In the 1920s, a new market for electrical insulation was emerging. Initially, nearly all of Bentley-Harris fiberglass sleeving was supplied to Atwater Kent, a pioneer radio manufacturer.
The original Bentley-Harris Manufacturing site was in Conshohoken, PA (USA), pictured here in 1936.
