The Ford Meter Box Company
The Ford Meter Box Company is a prominent manufacturer of products for the waterworks industry. Ford is headquartered in Wabash, Indiana, where it also operates a brass foundry. Products manufactured there include water meter setting materials, valves, couplings, meter boxes, and other fittings for the waterworks industry. Ford also has a manufacturing plant in Pell City, Alabama, where they manufacture pipe products such as pipe tapping sleeves, repair clamps, and pipe restraints. Ford sells their products in North America as well as worldwide, through a network of distributors.
Ford Meter Box was founded by Edwin Ford, who invented the meter box, applied for his patent on December 20, 1898.[1] The meter box was invented as a place to install water meters outside of homes that did not have basements. Ford's early experimentation found that meters could be installed in pits, so that they would be protected from freezing. Along with meter boxes, Ford also began manufacturing meter setting products to put in the meter boxes. Ford later expanded their product lines to other materials for the water distribution industry. The company is still a privately held company with ownership partially held by descendants of the founder.