Owners: Jack Watkins and Randall Watkins

Founded in 1978 in Beacon Falls, CT, by Jack Watkins and Randall Watkins, the Beacon Reel Company had its beginning with Jack and Randall servicing customers they had established through their wire drawing machine manufacturing business, the Watkins Brothers Machinery Corp. They started reconditioning drawing, shipping and structural reels, and doing minor welding, straightening of flanges, and repairing damaged beads and broken sleeves. Then they expanded into replacing barrels and restoring ribs, tines, cross members, and arbors.

At this point requests began coming in for custom fabrication. For this reason, the Watkins brothers started to design reels for wire drawing, cabling, stranding, and shipping requirements. This capability included DIN wire drawing, annealing, and process applications.

As the business grew, so did the need for more space and the company moved to its present location in New Milford, CT.