In 1926, Frank Hannon had an idea to start a small electrical contracting business. Working out of the basement in his 4th Street Northwest, Canton home he provided electrical services to commercial and industrial customers. Frank's idea grew, and soon he was out of the basement and into a building. This first workshop was built on Berdel Avenue, with a ground floor and an outhouse out back. The b
uilding still stands to this day, overlooking a spur of the Wheeling-Lake Erie Railroad that is about 1,000 feet from the present-day headquarters. Hannon then moved into a former Canton Township bus garage in 1936 (seen above). It was here that Frank continued his vision of forming a company dedicated to serving mill, mine and manufacturing companies with the highest quality workmanship and fast turn-around service at a fair price. That theme has continued for over 89 years and it is all thanks to dedicated employees, past and present. Unfortunately, Frank's life was cut short by an automobile accident, through no fault of his own, and after lingering in recovery for four years, he passed on in 1950. His wife, Ruth Hannon, became President and his son, Tom (who had been raised on the second floor of the workshop) became Vice President and General Manager at the age of 19. To this day, Tom continues to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Ever expanding, the Hanco International division was formed in 1951 to manufacture and market equipment for the mining industry and power companies. The same year, patents were granted to Tom in numerous countries, and two years later, Hanco International Europa B.V. was incorporated in the Netherlands, followed by Hanco proprietary LTD in Australia. Currently, with repair facilities located in Canton, Dover, Zanesville and Painesville, Ohio; and Ambridge, Pennsylvania, Hannon Electric Company sells and rebuilds electro- mechanical equipment used by industry, mine, mill, utility and municipality. Although Frank Hannon is no longer with us, his innovations and dreams live on even today. His total dedication to quality and customer service is evident in all of the divisions he inspired so many years ago. Now, three generations later, the company still embraces that same philosophy Frank Hannon built his reputation on: "To Serve - To Profit - To Employ - To Grow."
