The company was founded in 1867 by George Herman Babcock and Stephen Wilcox. During the Second World War, more than half of the US Navy fleet was powered by B&W boilers.
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company has major operations in various US states including Virginia, Ohio, Mississippi, Indiana, Tennessee, and Texas. They also have facilities in Denmark and Germany, among other countries. B&W employs about 12,700 people aside from the approximately 10,400 people employed through their joint ventures with companies in China and India. It is publicly held and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BWC.