Sparton Corporation was founded as the Sparks-Withington Company in 1900 in Jackson, Michigan.  General W.H. Withington, head of the Withington-Cooley Company, manufacturer of agricultural implements, wanted his sons, Philip and Winthrop, to start a company that made steel parts for products being manufactured by his company. The brothers hired William Sparks to manage books and office records, and The Sparks-Withington Company was created.

In addition to steel parts, the Company’s product portfolio included flanges, nuts and caps for buggy wheels, as well as shaft tips and other materials used for buggies. As the automobile revolution came through Michigan in the early part of the century, the Company added hub caps, brake drums, radiator cooling fans, and car horns.  

In connection with the early manufacturing days of the car horn, it was decided to use the trade name “Sparton” for all of the products produced by the Company. The word was formed by using the first four letters of the name “Sparks” and the last three letters of the name “Withington.” 

During WWI, Sparton began manufacturing military equipment, including hand  grenades, helmets and aircraft engine parts. During WWII, Sparton produced more than 100,000 radio receivers, transmitters, antenna systems, radars and radio compasses.

From the 1920’s until the 1950’s, Sparton was known as “radio’s richest voice.”  Not only did Sparton manufacture high quality radios, but the Company also pioneered both black & white and color television in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

After WWII, Sparton engineers began a program using the company’s radio expertise to  develop a sonobuoy system for the U.S. Navy. Since its first contract in 1951, Sparton has delivered more than six million sonobuoys to the U.S. and Allied Navies worldwide.

During the 1960’s, the Company continued to produce automobile electronics, commercial radios and televisions, sonobuoys and controls for the military and precision instruments for aerospace. By the 1970’s, Sparton had purchased Michigan Oil Company and provided oil and gas exploration in Michigan, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Australia.

In the 1980’s, Sparton began manufacturing new monitoring and communication systems for border and perimeter security.  During the 1990’s, the Company shifted emphasis to providing contract manufacturing and engineering services to other companies. 

Today, Sparton is a broad-based provider of sophisticated electronic and electromechanical products through prime contracts, design and manufacturing services to technology-driven companies in diverse markets, including medical device & instrumentation, defense & security, and printed circuit board electronics.