PINE BROOK, N.J. – Feb. 14 is a special day for a lot of people, but for WEXCO Industries, it’s much more than Cupid and valentines. On that date this year, WEXCO Industries marked the company’s 20th anniversary of supplying windshield wiper systems and components to the heavy duty and automotive markets.

Founded by Steve Schwartz and Paula Lombard, the company once known as Wipers Express has grown into a multi-national supplier of private label wiper programs to several automotive entities and engineered wiper systems to the agriculture, construction, bus and trucking sectors.

Beginning as an automotive aftermarket distributor with a warehouse in Cedar Grove, N.J., the company quickly gained a foothold in the market with high-quality blades and custom service. WEXCO’s growth initially mirrored the growth of the quick lube industry, as oil change locations offered wiper blade changes as one of their services. It was in this market, through a close association with the Jiffy Lube chain, that WEXCO developed and distributed the Rain-x wiper blade through its first years.

In 1994, looking to expand its products and services into the heavy duty market, WEXCO formed a joint venture with Dyna S.A., and created Dyna N.A., a wholly owned subsidiary. Adding these heavy duty wiper blades and arms to its product line opened several new markets to WEXCO, allowing it to supply original equipment manufacturers by 1997. By offering the same service levels to the OE customers that had been afforded to the aftermarket, demand increased sharply in the ensuing years, the company says, and in 2005, WEXCO took a major step by purchasing the wiper systems business from Johnson Electric (JE). The JE business included the former United Technologies and American Bosch lines, so capability to design a wide variety of wiper systems, from Class 8 trucks, school buses, tractors, construction, and RV’s to motorized golf carts, was now available.

In 2006, WEXCO was certified as a Women Owned Business by the WBENC (Woman’s Business Enterprise National Council), allowing the company to compete for business that had been allocated to diversity spend. Spurred on by the increasingly strict quality requirements of the customer base, WEXCO was certified to the ISO9000:2000 standard, later upgrading to the 9001:2008 standard in 2010.

In 2009, the company launched its AutoTex PINK line of wiper blades. Supported by a multi-faceted marketing program and creative online social networking, AutoTex PINK donates the maximum allowable amount to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, and the Breast Cancer Society of Canada for every sale of its metal framed and frameless windshield wiper blades.

Now, heading into its third decade, the company says it continues to grow from its base in Pine Brook, N.J. On the OE side, looking to raise its own internal quality standards, WEXCO is pursuing certification to the ISO14000 and TS16949 standards. On the aftermarket side, the AutoTex PINK line is expanding through a network of distributors, while new private label programs are being added at a regular pace.