Nexus Controls was unveiled as a Baker Hughes business on October 9th 2019. But the Nexus Controls story begins long before that. Our business today exists as the collective experience and history of multiple companies whose lineage spans 150 years. Our history is what’s made us a leader in the power, DCS, and industrial controls markets. It’s important to us because it’s who we are.
Explore TimelineIn 1869, at Promontory Summit in the Utah Territory, a ceremonial golden spike is driven into the last segment of the now-complete Transcontinental Railroad—a monumental achievement in industrial technology that opens doors to advancement of all kinds. Exemplifying this age of innovation, another industrial achievement occurs the very next year and sets in motion the events that will lead to the formation of the Nexus Controls business more than a century later.
The 1950s are a decade of optimistic progress. Post-WWII, the world throws itself into industry and innovation. We begin to see life in a new light, thanks to the introduction of color television, and we learn more about ourselves than ever before with discoveries like the first model of human DNA. Woodward Governor Company and General Electric keep pace, introducing products and forging relationships that will ultimately shape the Nexus Controls brand.
With the newly-formed Hydro and Engine & Turbine Controls retrofit businesses up and running, the Woodward Governor Company and General Electric make an important debut in a decade that sees other historic firsts like the start of construction on the Berlin Wall in 1962 and the Beatles’ arrival in America in 1964.
The 1970s see the world start to go digital, with the early part of the decade seeing the advent of the floppy disk, the pocket calculator, and the cellular phone. Digital products help virtually every person and industry work smarter and more efficiently. Woodward Governor Company and General Electric are no exception, making moves in the decade that harness digital technology to power progress — a practice that remains at the heart of the Nexus Controls business.
The things that happened in the 1980s-both in the world and in our business-had such an impact that they can still be felt by us all today. The decade started with one of the most historic sports moments of the century: the USA’s victory over the Soviet hockey team in the 1980 Winter Olympics in the famed “Miracle on Ice” game. And Woodward Governor Company and General Electric were creating some electricity on their own.
Perhaps the most significant innovation of the 20th century arrives in the 1990s with the World Wide Web becoming available to the public. It connects people and businesses like nothing before it. The Hydro Controls and Engine & Turbine Controls retrofit businesses bring things together as well, rolling out new integrated solutions encompassing hardware, software, and support that provide end-to-end capability.
The new millennium begins with the world holding its collective breath over concerns about Y2K computer issues. As the clock strikes midnight, the lights stay on and we avoid catastrophe. However, one notable event significantly expands the future Nexus Controls Business portfolio.
As we watch the last Space Shuttle mission blast off in 2011, big moves are occurring within General Electric. The Control Solutions business is shifted from the GE Power portfolio into the GE Oil & Gas business, and the collective Global Control Services knowledge is leveraged to launch a new controller product line of the future.
Over sixty two years after the formation of the Woodward Governor Company Hydro and Engine &Turbine Controls Businesses, General Electric Corporation sells its controlling interest in Baker Hughes and the company strikes out on its own. Control Solutions takes on its own brand—Nexus Controls, a Baker Hughes business.
Our history has led us here, proudly serving our customers and successfully delivering over 10,000 site-specific outcomes, while also building up an installed base of over 1,700 Nexus Controller sites. We’ve been here all along, but we’re certainly not stopping here.
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