BAILEY CONTROLS (formerly Bailey Meter) was an industry leader in the manufacture of industrial control systems and equipment, with an international reputation for its accurate and reliable automatic control systems. Bailey Meter was founded by Ervin G. Bailey in Boston in 1916, but within 3 years Bailey moved it to Cleveland with headquarters at E. 46th and Euclid and 100 employees. The company was expanding by 1921 and had established offices in Cincinnati, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh, with a subsidiary in Canada. Although purchased by Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) in 1924, Bailey continued to produce industrial controls and equipment under its own name. When General Electric became one-third owner of the Bailey Meter division in 1927, the division took over GE's flow-meter business and moved to 1050 Ivanhoe Rd., where it prospered. At the onset of World War II, Bailey meter employed 1,000 workers and during the war it became a major supplier of meters and controls for navy ships. In 1953 Bailey was made a wholly owned subsidiary of B&W and began acquiring an international clientele. It opened an assembly plant and later an administration building at 29801 Euclid Ave. in Wickliffe. However, the Ivanhoe plant continued to operate until 1976, when the company's facilities were consolidated at the Wickliffe location. Babcock & Wilcox and its divisions were bought by Ray McDermott Inc. in 1978, and Bailey Meter became Bailey Controls. The company had about 1,177 employees at its Wickliffe location in 1989 when it was sold to the Italian-based Elsag Group to become Elsag Bailey Process Automation. In 1998, Elsag Bailey merged with ABB.
"Bailey Meter Record," Quarterly Publication, March 1950 (WRHS).