Automation, Inc. is an American provider of industrial automation whose brands include , FactoryTalk software and LifecycleIQ Services.
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Automation employs approximately 24,500 people and has customers in more than 100 countries worldwide. The Fortune 500 company reported fiscal year 2021 global sales at $7 billion.

Automation traces its origins to 1903 and the formation of the Compression Rheostat Company, founded by Lynde Bradley and Dr. Stanton Allen with an initial investment of $1000.
In 1904, 19-year-old Harry Bradley joined his brother in the business.
The company's first patented product was a carbon disc compression-type motor controller for industrial cranes. The crane controller was demonstrated at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904.
In 1909, the company was renamed the Company.
expanded rapidly during World War I in response to government-contracted work. Its product line grew to include automatic starters and switches, circuit breakers, relays and other electric equipment.
In 1914, Fred Loock established the company's first sales office in New York.
Upon co-founder Stanton Allen's death in 1916, Lynde Bradley became president. Harry Bradley was appointed vice president and attorney Louis Quarles was named corporate secretary.
During the 1920s, the company grew its miniature rheostat business to support the burgeoning radio industry. By the middle of this decade, nearly 50 percent of the company's sales were attributed to the radio department. The decade closed with record company sales of $3 million.
By 1932, at the start of the Great Depression, the company was posting record losses. It reduced its workforce from 800 to 550 and cut wages by 50 percent, replacing employees' lost wages with preferred stock, which it eventually bought back at six percent interest.
Throughout this period, Lynde Bradley supported an aggressive research and development approach intended to "develop the company out of the Depression." Lynde Bradley's R&D strategy was successful. By 1937, employment had rebounded to pre-Depression levels and company sales reached an all-time high of nearly $4 million.
Automation is a global company focusing on industrial automation and digital transformation. In 2021, Automation adjusted its organizational structure into three operating segments—Intelligent Devices, Software & Control, and Lifecycle Services.

Automation has three primary areas of business operations:
—automated components and integrated control systems for safety, sensing, industrial control, power control and motion control.
FactoryTalk—software that supports advanced industrial applications including system design, operations, plant maintenance, and analytics.
LifecycleIQ Services—services to help connect, secure, mobilize, and scale manufacturing operations.