Item 1. Business

Hubbell Incorporated (herein referred to as “Hubbell”, the “Company”, the “registrant”, “we”, “our” or “us”, which references shall include its divisions and subsidiaries as the context may require) was founded as a proprietorship in 1888, and was incorporated in Connecticut in 1905. Hubbell is primarily engaged in the design, manufacture and sale of quality electrical and electronic products for a broad range of non-residential and residential construction, industrial and utility applications. Products are either sourced complete, manufactured or assembled by subsidiaries in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the People’s Republic of China (“China”), the United Kingdom (“UK”), Brazil, Australia, Spain and Ireland. Hubbell also participates in joint ventures in Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines, and maintains offices in Singapore, Italy, China, India, Mexico, South Korea, Chile, and countries in the Middle East.

The Company’s reporting segments consist of the Electrical and the Power segments, as described below. See also Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis – “Executive Overview of the Business”, and “Results of Operations” as well as Note 20 — Industry Segments and Geographic Area Information in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Company’s annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports are made available free of charge through the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at http://www.hubbell.com as soon as practicable after such material is electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. The information contained on the Company’s website or connected to our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K and should not be considered part of this report.

Electrical Segment

The Electrical segment (57% of consolidated revenues in 2019, 59% in 2018 and 69% in 2017) comprises businesses that sell stock and custom products including standard and special application wiring device products, rough-in electrical products, connector and grounding products, lighting fixtures and controls, components and assemblies for the natural gas distribution market, as well as other electrical equipment.

Electrical segment products are typically used in and around industrial, commercial and institutional facilities by electrical contractors, maintenance personnel, electricians, utilities, and telecommunications companies. In addition, certain of our businesses design and manufacture industrial controls and communication systems used in the non-residential and industrial markets. Many of these products are designed such that they can also be used in harsh and hazardous locations where a potential for fire and explosion exists due to the presence of flammable gasses and vapors. Harsh and hazardous products are primarily used in the oil and gas (onshore and offshore) and mining industries. We also offer a variety of lighting fixtures, wiring devices and electrical products that have residential and utility applications, including residential products with Internet-of-Things ("IoT") enabled technologies.

These products are primarily sold through electrical and industrial distributors, home centers, retail and hardware outlets, lighting showrooms and residential product oriented internet sites. Special application products are primarily sold through wholesale distributors to contractors, industrial customers and original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”).

Hubbell maintains a sales and marketing organization to assist potential users with the application of certain products to their specific requirements, as well as to assist architects, engineers, industrial designers, OEMs and electrical contractors in the design of electrical systems to meet the specific requirements of industrial, non-residential and residential users. Hubbell is also represented by independent manufacturers’ sales agents for many of its product offerings.

The Electrical segment, manufactures and sells thousands of wiring and electrical products, lighting fixtures and controls for indoor and outdoor applications as well as specialty lighting and communications products. The segment also includes businesses that manufacture main-to-meter gas distribution products. The products within the segment have applications in the non-residential, residential, industrial, and energy-related (oil and gas) markets. Fast growing trends within the industry are the adoption of light emitting diode (“LED”) technology as the light source, as well as products with embedded IoT technologies. The Company has a broad array of LED-luminaire products within its portfolio and the majority of new product development efforts are oriented towards expanding those offerings. Within the Electrical segment, products include items such as:

These products are sold under various brands and/or trademarks, including:

Power Segment

The Power segment (43% of consolidated revenues in 2019, 41% in 2018 and 31% in 2017) consists of operations that design, manufacture and sell transmission and distribution components primarily for the electrical utilities industry. The water utility, telecommunications utility, civil construction and transportation industries are also served. Products are sold directly to utilities, and through distributors, as well as to contractors and construction and engineering firms. The 2018 acquisition of Meter Readings Holding Group, LLC ("Aclara Technologies" or "Aclara") expanded the Power portfolio to include endpoint metering devices and sensors, advanced metering infrastructure communications, and software and installation services sold to electrical, water, and gas utilities. While Hubbell believes its sales in this area are not materially dependent upon any customer or group of customers, a substantial decrease in purchases by electrical utilities would affect this segment.

Hubbell's Power segment manufactures and sells a wide variety of electrical distribution, transmission, substation and telecommunications products. These products and services include items such as:

These products are sold under the following brands and/or trademarks:

Information Applicable to All General Categories

International Operations

The Company has several operations located outside of the United States. These operations manufacture, assemble and/or procure and market Hubbell products and services for both the Electrical and Power segments.

See Note 20 — Industry Segments and Geographic Area Information in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and Item 1A. Risk Factors relating to manufacturing in and sourcing from foreign countries.

Customers

The Company did not have any customers whose annual consolidated purchases exceeded 10 percent of our total net sales in 2019, 2018 and 2017.

Raw Materials

Raw materials used in the manufacture of Hubbell products primarily include steel, aluminum, brass, copper, bronze, zinc, nickel, plastics, phenolics, elastomers and petrochemicals. Hubbell also purchases certain electrical and electronic components, including solenoids, lighting ballasts, printed circuit boards, integrated circuit chips and cord sets, from a number of suppliers. Hubbell is not materially dependent upon any one supplier for raw materials used in the manufacture of its products and equipment and, at the present time, raw materials and components essential to its operation are in adequate supply. However, some of these principal raw materials are sourced from a limited number of suppliers. See also Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.

Patents

Hubbell has approximately 2,400 active United States and foreign patents covering a portion of its products, which expire at various times. While Hubbell deems these patents to be of value, it does not consider its business to be dependent upon patent protection. Hubbell also licenses products under patents owned by others, as necessary, and grants licenses under certain of its patents.

Working Capital

Inventory, accounts receivable and accounts payable levels, payment terms and, where applicable, return policies are in accordance with the general practices of the electrical products industry and standard business procedures. See also Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Backlog

Substantially all of the backlog existing at December 31, 2019 in the Electrical segment is expected to be shipped to customers in 2020. In the Power segment, the backlog existing at December 31, 2019 includes backlog expected to be shipped during 2020, along with $395 million of backlog of contracts that span multiple years, primarily related to long-term contracts of the Aclara business to deliver and install meters and grid monitoring sensor technology. The backlog of orders believed to be firm at December 31, 2019 was approximately $1,037.0 million compared to $1,250.8 at December 31, 2018. Although this backlog is important, the majority of Hubbell’s revenues result from sales of inventoried products or products that have short periods of manufacture.

Competition

Hubbell experiences substantial competition in all categories of its business, but does not compete with the same companies in all of its product categories. The number and size of competitors vary considerably depending on the product line. Hubbell cannot specify with precision the number of competitors in each product category or their relative market position. However, some of its competitors are larger companies with substantial financial and other resources. Hubbell considers product performance, reliability, quality and technological innovation as important factors relevant to all areas of its business, and considers its reputation as a manufacturer of quality products to be an important factor in its business. In addition, product price, service levels and other factors can affect Hubbell’s ability to compete.

Environment

The Company is subject to various federal, state and local government requirements relating to the protection of employee health and safety and the environment. The Company believes that, as a general matter, its policies, practices and procedures are properly designed to prevent unreasonable risk of environmental damage and personal injury to its employees and its customers’ employees and that the handling, manufacture, use and disposal of hazardous or toxic substances are in accordance with environmental laws and regulations.

Like other companies engaged in similar businesses, the Company has incurred or acquired through business combinations, remedial response and voluntary cleanup costs for site contamination, and is a party to product liability and other lawsuits and claims associated with environmental matters, including past production of product containing toxic substances. Additional lawsuits, claims and costs involving environmental matters are likely to continue to arise in the future. However, considering past experience and reserves, the Company does not anticipate that these matters will have a material adverse affect on earnings, capital expenditures, financial condition or competitive position. See also Item 1A. Risk Factors and Note 15 — Commitments and Contingencies in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Employees

As of December 31, 2019, Hubbell had approximately 18,800 salaried and hourly employees of which approximately 10,300 of these employees, or 53%, are located in the United States. Approximately 2,500 of these U.S. employees are represented by 12 labor unions. Hubbell considers its labor relations to be satisfactory.

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