F.W.Murphy was born out of one man’s search for simple, reliable engine protection.

While Frank W "Pat" Murphy was a sales manager for a major equipment distributor in the 1930’s, he found that his customers’ main complaint was "burned up" engines. They were equipped with poor quality, non-indicating safety switches which were difficult to test and often inoperative. Pat decided to develop a simpler yet more effective ‘Safety Switch’:

Pat’s idea, later renamed the SWICHGAGE® was to combine an indicating gauge with a switch that would stop the engine when low oil pressure or high coolant temperature existed was a simple design, easy to understand, and it worked. The invention was first installed on a number of unattended oil field engines. Operators loved the new design because they could see the operating gauge, could adjust the trip point to their needs, and could test the switch for operation.

His invention was so well accepted, Pat decided to devote 100% of his time to manufacturing his "Murphy Safety Switch". Production began with Pat and his wife, Rosalie, building the instruments on their kitchen table in Mt.Carmel, Illinois.

F.W.Murphy’s construction facilities have come a long way.

Hundreds of Murphy products monitor and control compressors, pumps, generators, and more. Control systems for industrial operations monitor pressure, temperature, liquid level, overspeed, time and vibra­tion. They cover it all, from simple start/stop operations to sophisticated automation systems incorporation micro controllers and remote telemetry. Many products and systems carry major authority approval.

Constant improvements and new product developments give Murphy customers the most advanced technology including PID control, links with computer supervised systems, and remote monitoring via the Internet. For added efficiency of equipment and personnel, Murphy systems can include automatic dialling to mobile telephones, pagers, and answering services. Murphy’s success is based on their associates’ desire to provide excellence in customer service. They provide cost-effective, perfectly suited products for our customers, and have been doing it since 1939. Over 60 years of developing control solutions without limits.