The Vacuum Power Equipment Company opened its doors for business in 1934, beginning a long tradition of manufacturing air brake and valve components for heavy trucks. In 1940, the corporate name was changed to “Velvac” in response to the popularity of the company’s Velvet Vacuum Brakes brand. In the mid 1950’s, Velvac began producing a range of “west coast” mirror heads for North American truck manufacturers, becoming an OEM supplier of mirrors to GM in 1956. This started Velvac’s growth and eventual leadership in supplying vision systems to the North American commercial vehicle market. Our product line has expanded over the years and now includes over 4,500 popular vehicle components.
As Velvac has grown over its 85 year history, the company’s primary manufacturing facilities have moved and been expanded five times. Today, the company is headquartered in New Berlin, WI, a western suburb of Milwaukee, and its primary manufacturing facility is located in Reynosa, Mexico, directly across the Mexico/U.S. border from McAllen, TX.
Velvac has always had driver safety at its core - the company’s Mission Statement begins: “To improve driver safety and well-being by….” Our commitment to our mission has never been stronger, as evidenced by our ever growing investments in new product development and the application of new technologies in support of driver safety and well-being. At Velvac, we are committed to keeping our customers in the commercial truck, recreational vehicle and specialty vehicle industries at the forefront of safety, aesthetics, and competitiveness. Velvac’s position as a preferred Tier-1 OEM product supplier, combined with our highly efficient manufacturing and supply chain management, allow us to offer our customers both proprietary products and a competitive, broad line of industry standard products, making Velvac our customers’ one-stop shop for vision systems, air and electrical products, fittings, fuel products, and other high volume and hard to find truck and commercial vehicle accessories.
The Velvac brand stands for high quality, innovative products and excellent customer service and support. At Velvac, our mission is to improve customer safety and well-being by offering superior products that keep owners and operators… in the Passing Lane.
In order to respond to the increasingly important role of electronics, software and vehicle connectivity emerging vision system technology, Velvac acquired the key assets and operations of Qualnetics, Inc. in Bellingham, WA in 2014, creating a new subsidiary company named Road-iQ to support the technology transformation occurring in the field of vision systems.
In April 2017, The Eastern Company acquired Velvac. The company operates as an independent subsidiary of Eastern.
Customer Service Second to None
We strive to make doing business with us easy. Experienced, friendly customer and technical solutions personnel team up with knowledgeable sales staff to answer questions and simplify ordering. Our B2B and B2C website allows customers access to account information 24/7, including order tracking details and order upload capabilities. EDI, VMI, data file transfers, advanced ship notices, along with traditional call center and fax support, round out the technological support Velvac provides to meet a wide variety of customer requirements.
Quality and Integrity Since 1934
Throughout its history, Velvac’s ownership has also been actively involved in the executive management of the company. However, Velvac has never been a traditional “family owned” business, as ownership has been sold from one group of executive managers to another. Dan McGrew, the 6th CEO in Velvac’s 85 year history, has recommitted the company to the historic values that made it successful, while building a world class team to take the company into the future.
Velvac is a IATF 16949 and ISO 14001 certified multinational company. Our logistics are C-TPAT certified and secure and our manufacturing facilities have been recognized for their record of safety and environmental safeguards (STPS Level 3).
As a leading supplier to truck equipment and RV aftermarkets as well as heavy truck, recreational and specialty vehicle OEMs, Velvac continually upgrades and expands its operations and quality systems to improve customer satisfaction and the reliability of its broad product line, while developing and manufacturing innovative new products to meet customers' changing needs. Coupling those ideals with the written guarantee behind every component offered gives the full picture of what Velvac stands for.