Generator Generac

Generator Generac Alternator Equipped

What is the generator GENERAC company and what PRODUCTS does it MANUFACTURE?


Generac generators are manufactured by Generac Power Systems, headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin. State-of-the-art manufacturing facilities - where most of the company's 1500 employees report to work each day - are located in nearby Whitewater and Eagle, Wisconsin. Generac builds consumer and industrial products, among these its top-selling Guardian-series residential standby generators and a comprehensive line of portable models. The company also produces diesel and gaseous-based industrial units that are application specific - each custom built and perfectly sized for its purpose.




The early DAYS of the GENERAC-built backup power PRODUCT.


Familiar with the Craftsman line sold by Sears? It's been around forever, and Craftsman portable generators are all supplied by Generac. In fact, when Generac was founded in 1959, it was with the hope of attaining the lucrative Sears, Roebuck, and Company contract. Generac had yet to explore the possibility of manufacturing a line of backup power products that would wear its own name. This became a reality more than a decade later - when, in the 1970s, the company expanded its portable generator fleet, and also flirted with the recreational vehicle market.



Emergence of the Generac COMPANY we recognize TODAY.


The 1980s saw Generac and its (by then) well-established products enter the commercial and industrial markets with custom backup power solutions. These products were massive machines, designated for the backup of hospitals and airports, department stores and malls. It wouldn't be till the end of that decade that Generac brought its first home standby power system to market. Today, Generac is easily the market leader in that product segment, boasting air-cooled gaseous standby generators as large as twenty kilowatts and as small as six kilowatts. The line as a whole is versatile enough to satisfy most residential applications, regardless of size - and while significant competitors like Cummins Onan and Kohler have become direct competitors, none has been able to dethrone Generac as the principal supplier of residential standby units. Among the strengths of the Generac line are its compact dimensions and overall attractive appearance - often important considerations for the homeowner seeking backup electricity.



The CATERPILLAR years and their LEGAL aftermath.

Generac began producing generator sets bearing the Caterpillar name in 1992. For a time, Caterpillar, the much larger company, considered acquiring Generac - but the plan never came to fruition. In 1996, Caterpillar chose to terminate the deal in what Generac officials believed was a violation of their contract. Lawsuits were filed. The federal district court of Wisconsin sided with Caterpillar, issuing two separate orders to dispose of the action. On appeal, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court upheld the lower court's ruling and this effectively finished the litigation. Hard feelings aside, Caterpillar continued to purchase transfer equipment from Generac Power Systems. In 2002, CAT severed its relationship with Generac for good.



Generator Generac UNDERGOES a number of CHANGES and emerges the COMPANY we know today.



In the late '90s, dissatisfied with its portable products division, Generac made a deal to sell this segment of its operation to a private equity firm. Engine maker, Briggs & Stratton, later obtained the company. An agreement at the time of sale prevented Generac from re-entering the portable market with competing products - until 2007. Upon expiration of the "no-compete" agreement, the company did just that, entering the market with a host of (carefully-thought-out) products it had spent several years developing. Today Generac is a public company, again partly owned by an equity firm. Generac Power Systems is known as an employee-friendly enterprise, have received a "Best Places to Work" award for its geographic area (which includes Wisconsin's largest, Milwaukee, and a number of populus suburbs!). Its Guardian residential standby line has earned the Good Housekeeping Seal for product quality. Fifty plus years (and counting) after it was founded, Generac manufactures quality gaseous, diesel, and multi-fuel products, prime power systems, transfer equipment, and OEM replacement motors for customers in commercial, residential, RV, portable generator, and other arenas.