Family Owned for 87 Years
Sellstrom Manufacturing Company, located in Palatine, Illinois, has been a leading manufacturer of personal safety equipment for over 85 years. The original Company was established in 1923 as Excell Sales Company and was located on North Clark Street in Chicago. G.E. Sellstrom and his wife, Ellen, were its founders. In the beginning, the principal product manufactured was a green "eyeshade" that reduced glare both indoors and outdoors. The first customers were barbers, office workers and picnickers.
Over the years, other products followed and the Company began to manufacture a full line of sunglasses, motorcycle goggles and lenses for taillights, flashlights, etc. With the start of World War II, Sellstrom's total product line went toward the war effort which included: welding helmets, face shields, welding goggles, and more.
In 1955, Sellstrom expanded again and moved to what is known today as Sellstrom Industrial Park in Palatine, making it one of the oldest manufacturing companies in the Palatine area. With the latest expansion completed in March of 1987, Sellstrom has grown to over 96,000 square feet of space.
Fall Protection Added to the Mix
In 1996, Sellstrom completed the acquisition of RTC - a fall protection company located in Wilmington, Delaware. The newly acquired operation Sellstrom/RTC and Sellstrom/RTC Custom Solutions was moved to Palatine in January of 1997.
For more than 30 years, Sellstrom/RTC Custom Solutions has been providing high quality, turnkey custom solutions for customers. The founder of RTC (Research and Trading Corporation) was one of the original fall protection pioneers and virtually invented the concept of Safety Engineering and introduced a scientific orientation to understanding the influence of mechanic forces on personal safety.
Sellstrom Manufacturing has grown to be one of the foremost family held personal protective manufacturers in the nation. Sellstrom's policy of giving their customers high quality products and the best service, all at competitive prices, will continue as has the Sellstrom name in the safety industry for over 85 years.
Proud to be ISO 9001:2000 Certified
Sellstrom Manufacturing Company has been a leader in protecting the world's workforce since 1923. Maintaining that leadership position necessarily entails continuous attention to improving processes in all areas of the company. Sellstrom developed a quality management system, to ensure that manufacturing procedures and product quality were constantly advancing. Meeting the requirements for ISO 9001:2000 certification - which Sellstrom achieved as a continuation of ISO 9002:1994 in 1994 - was largely a matter of training employees in ISO procedures and modifying the existing system to conform to the most current ISO standards.
The ISO 9001:2000 certification from ABS Quality Evaluations (an ISO registrar) serves as an impartial appraisal of Sellstrom's quality management system. This achievement affirms Sellstrom's conformance with the standards set forth by the International Organization for Standardization, and acknowledges the Sellstrom commitment to meeting the needs and requirements of its customers in the global marketplace. ISO certification requires ongoing evaluation. ABS Quality Evaluations continues to review Sellstrom Manufacturing Company on a twice-yearly basis to ensure that the quality systems are maintained. Every aspect of our business - including product development and design, production, testing and quality control, packaging, shipping, customer interaction and customer satisfaction - is closely monitored to ensure conformity with ISO standards. Our continued compliance assures that we will provide the highest-quality products and services possible.