Thomas & Betts Corp., Memphis, Tenn., said it will discontinue the manufacture and sales of several product lines, including metering equipment, safety switches, meter packs and residential load centers.

The move, which includes product lines that came with its acquisition of Anchor Electric and the 1994 purchase of portions of the Challenger/Westinghouse circuit-protection line, is part of the company's strategy to focus on its core industrial and commercial business. While T&B will no longer manufacture residential load centers, the company will continue to manufacture and sell residential circuit breakers, including classified breakers, T&B residential breakers, molded-case circuit breakers and Zinsco circuit breakers, said Nick Cassella, vice president, global marketing for T&B's electrical division.

T&B originally bought the Anchor metering equipment line and the other products affected by this announcement to build its residential platform. But Cassella said the company is discontinuing these businesses because it was not getting the volume of business it needed from load centers, and because the Anchor business — while a good business — was not a focus for T&B's salespeople.

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