Established in 1911 as the Automatic Telephone Manufacturing Company by British Insulated Cables. Established in Liverpool to make the Strowger system under licence from the Automatic Electric Company of Chicago to serve the Post Office.

In 1932 the name was changed to Automatic Electric Company to reflect their wider range of electrical products, including, heating appliances and traffic signals.

In 1936, the company was taken over by their parent company International Automatic Telephone Co and the name was changed to Automatic Telephone and Electric Co Ltd.