In 1975, Bruce Tielens had a simple vision for a family business called Wisconsin Express Lines. Partnering with his father Wally, the company quickly grew into an industry leading refrigerated trucking business, providing both truckload and less-than-truckload services. 

The business soon blossomed into more than 150 trucks and trailers by 1987, providing nationwide service to some of the largest companies in the food, beverage, and dairy industries. 

In 1988, Bruce and his brother Randy purchased the business from their father and changed the company name to WEL Companies. In addition to the name change, WEL added warehousing services to their portfolio to more closely reflect their migration to logistics services.  

Sadly, during this time, Bruce and Randy’s father, Wally, passed away in 2005 followed by Randy in 2013. Their spirit continues to drive our reputation for customer service and driver respect. It was at this time that Bruce needed to refocus the company’s energy to effectively manage and develop WEL Companies. This drove the decision to scale back on the number of operating warehouses and truck count for the time being and slowly growing back as time progressed.  

Today, Bruce finds himself in his father’s shoes, being the CEO of WEL and working alongside his children, Chris, Dalton and Sarah, who are involved in a variety of areas throughout the business. Sarah began her career in 1992 in the paperwork department. She excelled in multiple roles throughout the company, working her way back to the Paperwork department as WEL’s Paperwork Manager. In 1995, Chris Tielens began his journey as a Warehouse Stock Technician, working his way into his current role as COO overseeing Shared Services and Support. In 2006, Dalton joined the family business as a Shop and Warehouse Coordinator working his way up to his current role as President overseeing Business Development and Growth.