About WEL Companies

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About WEL Companies

Built upon the principles of

great customer service

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.  

About Group Photo

1955
1955: Wally Tielens' first truck
1968
1968: Wally with truck before incorporating
1980
1980: First outdoor office
1980
1980: Owner operator truck
1982
1982: Second outdoor office
1983
1983: Third outdoor office
1985
1985: Building of shop and office in Bellevue
1986
1986: Memphis, TN office

Mission Statement

Drive For Greater Things!

Vision Statement

Building a world where people, families, businesses, and communities thrive, for generations to come.

WEL’s Values

Put People First

In every decision we make, we prioritize people. We seek to build mutual respect and trust in everything we do. We treat people like they are part of the family.

Explore Possibilites

We are innovative problem-solvers, who push the limits of what is possible. We learn from the past and embrace change to build a stronger future.

Lead the Way

We empower ourselves and others to take the lead, turning opportunities into action, that has an impact. We set the bar and help people find the path forward.

In It Together

We build valued relationships by investing in each other. We have each other’s backs and when we win, we win together.

WEL is still a family owned business!

Our many great employees, customers, and the adherence to core and family values have allowed WEL to continue to grow from its humble roots to a diversified transportation, logistics, and warehousing company now running over 500 trucks 800 trailers.

About Culture

Culture—YOU belong here

Communication. Relationships. Accessibility. When you’re part of the WEL Companies team, you’re treated like family. Many trucking companies do a decent job with logistics, technology, and compensation. We do all that, and more … because the value of a positive, supportive open-door culture is priceless. Keeping great drivers on our team is vital to our future success. That’s why we help them build a career grounded in respect, support, and long-term fulfillment. In turn, they’re driven to uphold WEL’s industry-leading track record in safety and performance.

Community strong

Truckload Shipping

Truckers Against Trafficking

WEL Companies is a proud member of Truckers Against Trafficking. We recognize that members of the trucking industries are invaluable in the fight against this heinous crime.

Wreaths Across America

WEL Companies believes in giving back to the communities we call home. One example of that is our involvement with Wreaths Across America, a foundation dedicated to remembering our fallen soldiers by placing wreaths on their graves.

The Truck Convoy for Special Olympics

We take pride in being able to participate in the world’s largest truck convoy to help raise awareness and funding for The Special Olympics. To date, this has helped to raise over $1 million!

Paul’s Pantry Food Drive

WEL, alongside 4 other local businesses, competes in a friendly battle to see who can supply the most food for our local food panty over the span of a month. This effort generates over 8,000 items in total!

Meet WEL Companies’

Drivers of Distinction.

WEL Companies is proud of all of our drivers and their commitment to maintaining industry-leading safety and performance measures. Together, we have built a great reputation with the DOT, our loyal customers, and the trucking community. We’d like to congratulate the following drivers on making Wisconsin’s roads safer and providing “over and above” reliable transportation.

Certifications/​Affiliations

When it comes to our impeccable service and reputation, don’t just take our word for it. In addition to a long list of satisfied clients, we’re proud to highlight our deep industry roots with a number of awards and affiliations.

Wisconsin Warehouse AssociationWisconsin Warehouse Association
Storage, shipment, and delivery to the highest USDA and FDA standardsStorage, shipment, and delivery to the highest USDA and FDA standards
Wisconsin Motor Carriers AssociationWisconsin Motor Carriers Association
Satisfactory DOT safety rating—the highest possible scoreSatisfactory DOT safety rating—the highest possible score
Our high SmartWay™ score of 1.25 and our status as a SmartWay™ Transport PartnerOur high SmartWay™ score of 1.25 and our status as a SmartWay™ Transport Partner
Truckload Carriers AssociationTruckload Carriers Association
Women in TruckingWomen in Trucking
Universal Trucking Benefits AssociationUniversal Trucking Benefits Association
Active Violence Emergency Response TrainingActive Violence Emergency Response Training
Truckers Against TraffickingTruckers Against Trafficking