The companies that preceded SAE Towers have been producing transmission towers and building transmission lines since 1926, when it all started with SAE Lecco of Italy. From the 1950s until the mid-1990s, SAE of Italy, followed by SBE of Brazil, supplied over one million tons of lattice towers to concessionaires in Brazil, the United States, Canada and other countries in the Americas.
These companies have left an indelible mark on the industry's history over the years, having supplied towers for over 500,000 km of transmission lines, enough to circle the globe some twelve times.
The SAE Towers of today grew out of the lattice steel tower manufacturing division of ABB Ltd., which had operations and personnel in the United States, Mexico and Brazil. In 2010 SAE Towers became part of KEC International Limited, a recognized, respected public company with over 60 years experience in turnkey transmission line construction and a successful track record of executing transmission tower projects in 50 countries. KEC is listed on India's leading stock exchange and has annual revenues of close to USD 1.3 billion.