Franklin Electric Co., Inc.
A maker of pumps, electric motors, and fuel-transfer systems used around the world for moving water and fuel—think submersible well pumps, sump pumps, and the motors that power gas-station fuel dispensers. It was founded in 1944 in Bluffton, Indiana, by two electrical engineers who named it after Benjamin Franklin, whom they called America's first electrical engineer. Its first product was actually a lightweight backpack generator for paratroopers, and in 1949 it built the world's first practical submersible motor for water pumps.