History
- History
- W. S. Darley & Company was founded in 1908 by William S. Darley in Chicago, Illinois. The company started as a catalog style distributor of everything municipal governments needed, such as law enforcement, fire fighting and water works equipment. To put things in perspective, in 1908 the catalog distribution business was still in its infancy, with the Sears and Roebuck’s catalog being the new and innovative way to buy products. So Darley was at leading edge of the distribution business right from the beginning.
- Manufacturing
- In 1932 Darley manufactured its first centrifugal fire pump in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.
How we got into pump manufacturing is in an interesting story. The Darley catalog had a kit, where for $600 we could modify a Ford model T chasse into a fire truck, complete with all the current fire-fighting equipment. The kit allowed local municipalities to be able to afford a fire truck instead of relying on the local “Bucket Brigade”. The fire truck kit was a huge success. Unfortunately the Fire truck manufacturers of the day did not like this inexpensive incursion on their business, so they “black balled” Darley from obtaining the most critical part of the kit, the water pump. So, W.S. Darley hired the top pump engineer of the day. The engineer’s only condition for working for Darley was that the plant be built in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.
We continue to improve and enlarge our manufacturing facilities in Chippewa Falls, and today have two plants devoted exclusively to firefighting pump manufacturing.
During World War II, Darley was commissioned by the War Department to build pumps for our military. For our superior performance, Darley was awarded the coveted Army/Navy E award for excellence.
When the war was over, many of the fire trucks and pumps were left in countries all over the world. It wasn’t too long before foreign nations began contacting Darley for additional pumps and parts. Almost overnight, Darley found itself with an international business that spans over 100 countries. International business is a significant part of Darley’s business to this day, and we are one of the few US businesses that exports to China.
- Distribution
- Darley has remained strong in equipment distribution and catalog sales throughout our history. Distribution is run from our new corporate office in Itasca, Illinois. Our warehouses are located in Itasca, Chippewa Falls, and in a newly acquired location in Janesville, Iowa.
In January of 2008, Darley won a Defense Logistics contract for a new version of what used to be a Prime Vendor contract for Fire and Emergency Services (FES). The new contact is called a Tailored Logistics Support (TLS) program. Darley was one of six companies to win this coveted contract, but only Darley and one other company were awarded all of the regions under the TLS contract. This gave Darley worldwide distribution for Fire and Emergency equipment for all of the Department of Defense. Due to the FES TLS contact and Darley’s enhanced commitment to growing our military business, the Defense Division was started in May of 2008.
In January of 2009, Darley was awarded another TLS contract. This one was for Special Operational Equipment (SOE), and was also for worldwide distribution. The SOE TLS contract required gaining additional in-house and outside sales experience, and the Darley Defense Division is rapidly growing in order to support this expansive market.
- Commitment
- We remain a family owned and operated business committed to customer service and to our employees. Our company President and CEO is Paul Darley, one of the seven children of William “Bill” J. Darley who serves as Chairman of the Board and is the son of the founder, William S. Darley.
Darley is not just the name of the company. Darley is a family name. Paul Darley includes his direct phone number in every Darley catalog to ensure that he is approachable, and to protect the Darley name. Jeff Darley is the Executive Vice President for all manufacturing, Peter Darley is the Executive Vice President for Apparatus, James Long is the Executive Vice President of Distribution. Other company managers and employees include Jim Darley, Tom Darley, Steven Darley, Jason Darley, Ryan Darley and several other Darleys whose last names have changed through marriage.
We, at Darley, take the name and image of our company very seriously. We have been blessed to be in business for over 100 years by building strong relationships with customers and business partners. Our commitment to you is to carry on that tradition of placing the customer first for the next 100 years.
