In 1946, World War II veterans Donald Helsel, Richard Helsel, and Clarence ‘Jep’ Jepperson returned home to begin life after the war. Pursuing their desire to operate their own motor repair and electrical supply shop, they began a small company out of the two car garage behind the Helsel residence located at 16th and Chicago Road in Chicago Heights, Illinois. The company continued to grow as they gained recognition from others for providing quality goods and services through hard work and dedication to customers. Eventually in 1960, the company moved to its new and present location: 197th and Halsted Streets in Chicago Heights.
Helsel-Jepperson has continued to expand its business currently boasting a full lighting showroom and an industrial counter with a combined 100+ different manufacturers and over 25,000 unique items stocked in house. Because of our wide coverage of electrical goods, Helsel-Jepperson—servicing home owners, industrial companies, contractors, churches, and schools—is considered one of the largest electrical suppliers in the Midwest. Much of our growth and success can be attributed to our friendly, knowledgeable, and experienced staff. Expertise salespeople in both the technical and application side of products allow for customers to explore all options for any problem, small or large. In addition to maintaining a large inventory and quality in-building service, we strive to ensure that the entirety of the customer’s experience is seamless and without problem. This entails free and prompt delivery for customers as well as daily pickups from vendors to maintain inventory and to allow for quick acquisition of specialty items for customer orders.
We have remained a family owned and operated business with over 30 employees and six family members of Donald Helsel—Joe, Dave, Kathy, Delores, Josh, and Joey Helsel—working daily to further enhance customer service. We believe our family based business model helps us to fulfill the needs of customers both large and small while still offering friendly, pleasant customer experience to every customer that walks through our door. Without your loyalty throughout the years we could not have achieved our goal to be the top choice for commercial and industrial lighting and electrical supply needs in the greater Chicagoland area. Thank you all very much for your ongoing support of our family owned business!
