This is the story of four engineers who had a vision for a different kind of electronics design firm.

Jim Ralson and his partner were working at Excel Controls designing components for a large residential appliance manufacturer when they met Todd Thomas and his partner from Elan Environmental. All four men had a simple, yet groundbreaking vision: to design and supply innovative, lower volume, higher quality appliance controls to customers in commercial food service, high-end residential and industrial markets.

In 1999, the quartet opened Elan Industries out of a 3,000 square foot facility in Hickory Hills, Illinois. As Todd says, all they had to sell was experience, and they sold it by helping clients see that Elan engineers had the innovation to deliver the product they desired. From that initial client (who is still with them today), they built a solid reputation for developing products that were loved by the end user, yet dependable and affordable for the OEM. Todd and Jim watched as Elan electronic controls became an integral part of high-end commercial appliances and won awards for their clients. It was time to grow.

In 2004, Elan moved to Bolingbrook, Illinois into a 10,000 square foot facility to expand their manufacturing capabilities and concentrate on custom design. Soon after, the company split off their instrumentation sales to focus on design of electronic controls. Client success became Elan’s success as the need for manufacturing increased. In 2015, Elan moved within Bolingbrook to their current, spacious, 35,000 square foot plant where they plan to continue increasing their in-house manufacturing.

Elan products are the unsung heros of many successful residential and commercial appliances found in thousands of homes, restaurants and food service facilities worldwide. Todd Thomas and Jim Ralson, two of the original founders, still lead the company today. As production continues to increase, Elan remains focused on the innovation and vision that has built their reputation and makes their clients more successful every day.