Company Profile
Company Overview
It all started in a garage in 1952, when George Whelen III invented the first rotating aviation beacon.
A privately owned company, Whelen has experienced positive growth for more than six decades. The pride and commitment of its workforce, whose employment longevity averages over 22 years, is rewarded through a profit-sharing plan established by the Whelen family when the company was founded.
The development of the first aviation light helped launch Whelen into the automotive safety lighting industry as well. Whelen currently provides safety lighting for Police, Fire, EMS and DOT professionals as well as many other industries. The production volumes in the automotive sector have allowed Whelen to invest in the latest automated assembly equipment in order to compete world-wide. Last year, Whelen purchased over 44 million LEDs for use in their extensive family of products.
In the 1970’s, Whelen introduced the Outdoor Warning Siren – totally electronic and capable of not only warning tones but also high-powered voice messages. The Mass Notification Division has saved lives around the world.
Whelen Corporate Capabilities
At Whelen Engineering, our goal is to bring innovative, life-saving products to market more quickly, while maintaining strict quality control throughout the process. We have accomplished this through a vertical manufacturing initiative to eliminate or reduce out-sourcing, the use of robotics and state-of-the art production equipment, and perhaps most importantly, a motivated workforce of over 1,500 employees. This allows us to meet and adapt to our customers’ changing needs in the shortest amount of time.