Est. 1959
Heritage & History
Generac was founded in Waukesha, Wisconsin in 1959, initially producing small engines and generators for industrial and agricultural applications. For its first decades, the company operated as a supplier to other equipment manufacturers rather than a consumer brand. The pivot that transformed Generac into a household name came in the 1980s and 1990s, when the company's engineers developed smaller, more affordable automatic standby generators that could be marketed directly to homeowners rather than only to commercial and industrial buyers.
Before Generac's innovation in this category, whole-house backup power required large, expensive industrial generators well beyond the budget of typical homeowners. Generac engineered liquid-cooled and air-cooled automatic standby generators in the 7-to-20 kilowatt range that could power a home's essential systems — refrigerator, HVAC, lights, medical equipment — automatically within seconds of a utility outage, without the homeowner needing to intervene. This product category, which Generac largely created for the residential market, has grown substantially as extreme weather events make power outages more frequent and more prolonged, establishing the Waukesha company as the dominant brand in an increasingly important segment of American home infrastructure.
Made in Waukesha, Wisconsin
Generac's headquarters and primary manufacturing operations are based in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where the company was founded in 1959. The Waukesha facility, along with additional US manufacturing plants in Wisconsin and other states, handles the engineering, production, and testing of Generac's residential standby generator line — the product family that established the company's market leadership and consumer brand recognition.
Generator manufacturing requires a combination of precision engine production, sheet metal fabrication, electrical assembly, and weatherproof enclosure construction — a broad manufacturing capability that Generac has developed and maintained across its Wisconsin facilities over more than 65 years. Each standby generator undergoes load testing before shipping, verifying that the engine, alternator, and automatic transfer switch function correctly under the power demand conditions the generator will face in field operation. Generac also manufactures portable generators, pressure washers, and home energy storage systems in the United States, expanding its product line while maintaining the Wisconsin manufacturing base that built the brand. The Waukesha headquarters has grown significantly as the residential generator market has expanded, with Generac investing in production capacity to serve increasing demand from homeowners preparing for grid reliability challenges.
