Werts Welding & Tank Service first opened its doors in March of 1957. Its founder, Robert R. Werts, became interested in welding while in high school during the 1940s. After serving in the Army during WWII, Robert worked at a local welding shop for 6 years. A
fter his experience there, he and his wife Verna decided to open their own welding business. They
began their business in a portion of a 30′ x 40′ building across the street from their current facility in Wood River, Illinois.
Shortly after the construction of their first building in 1958, a local trucking company approached Robert to repair a damaged petroleum tanker. This repair began the journey of Werts Welding & Tank Service, Inc.
Robert and Verna’s son, Dwight, joined the company in 1977 and eventually became President & CEO. The third generation of the Werts family has now entered the business.
The legacy that Robert and Verna started back in 1957 continues to grow today
as Werts is currently celebrating 60 years of business. Since starting out as a one-stop shop, Werts has grown into the national tank trailer parts and repair leader with 8 locations.
Bruce Cornelius, Corporate Parts Sales Manager, reflects on a successful relationship that’s contributed to decades of mutual success.
We’ve been working with OPW since 1980 and OPW has always been more responsive to what the market needs and wants, instead of what an engineer decided to make. Other suppliers think they know what the industry wants but OPW has people out in the field that are talking and listening before building products. There’s never a doubt that they have our best interests in mind.
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here to learn more about Werts Welding and join the #OPW125 celebration on our
125th Anniversary website!