Marking a monumental milestone this year, Ohmite Manufacturing represents true industry excellence 

Boasting an impressive 100-year legacy, Ohmite Manufacturing (‘Ohmite’) is a truly special company. Specializing in the manufacture of resistive products for high energy applications, its products are used by world-leading brands, transportation companies, and the royal family, and have even made their way into outer space. From working alongside Thomas Edison, building the grid, to the present day, it’s safe to say that Ohmite has not merely revolutionized the electronics industry, but rather has been pivotal to its inception. 

The business was founded back in 1925 by David T. Seigel, initially based in a small shop in Chicago and established with the intention of manufacturing carbon and wirewound resistors for the growing radio manufacturing industry. As the electronics industry advanced and the demand for reliable components increased, the company scaled its operations and moved to a new, state-of-the-art facility in Skokie, Illinois. Over the years that followed, Ohmite continued to grow and evolve with the changing market and technological advancements, acquiring additional businesses along the way. Today, Ohmite is renowned across the electronics industry as a manufacturing powerhouse with a fine culture, serving a vast span of sectors all over the world, including transportation, medical, energy, industrial, military, defense, consumer products, and contract manufacturing. 

In 2025, Ohmite is proud to celebrate its 100-year anniversary, a spectacular achievement in innovation and manufacturing excellence. In commemoration of this milestone, Manufacturing Today sat down with Gregory (Greg) Pace, President and Chief Executive Officer, who shared his insight on the longevity and continuing success of the company and discussed what the next chapter may hold. Greg starts by introducing the business and its scope of capabilities. 

“Ohmite is a Chicago-based company headquartered in Warrenville, owned by The Heico Companies, LLC, and we’ve got some wonderful people here,” he begins. “We were founded to help support the growth of the electrical grid across the United States, and we’re still known for suppling very reliable legacy products, but we’re also known for our development of new products to meet the needs of other industries all over the world – avionics, industrial, military, consumer, medical and energy especially. We’re very proud that we’re 100 years old. There aren’t many of us who have been around for 100 years! 

“We get calls from engineers globally and many times we must come up with custom solutions. Our products are everywhere. We’re in hair care products; we’re on satellites that have left the solar system. We work with folks launching rockets into space, with Tesla, NASA, and His Majesty’s military. We’re also known for the dimming agents on supersonic aircraft. We really do operate in niche sectors. We don’t mind the commodity business, but we’re really known for partnering either directly with OEM manufacturers or distribution channel partners to come up with the solution they’re looking for. Our culture is to say yes and then figure it out as we go along. We make products from the size of your fingernail all the way up to the size of a double bed and beyond.” 

Ohmite’s stellar reputation derives from its dedicated customers, channel partner and independent rep partnerships with a commitment to quality. Its extensive portfolio provides everything from resistors, to load banks to heat sinks, and rheostats to power controls; all customizable and manufactured with expert craftmanship using the highest quality materials. In recent years, Ohmite has expanded its offerings into the ceramics market. In 2018, the company acquired the ceramic resistor business of Sandvik, a Swedish engineering company specializing in products, services and metal machining for mining, which has presented lots of exciting opportunities for the company. 

“Ceramics is a big growth area for us right now, and they offer wonderful technology specifically geared towards wind power, fusion power and downhole drilling,” Greg explains. “We are the only manufacturer in the world of power ceramic resistors, wire wound resistors and thick film resistors. Heavier duty ceramics has really been the gate-opener into global mainstream markets for us, and we’ve brought it to the public through our relationships with our channel partners and are independent rep partners.” 

Of course, Ohmite’s longevity and success couldn’t have been possible without its incredible team; passion runs through its workforce and extends beyond the factory in the form of customer satisfaction. To honor 100 years of success, Greg and the Ohmite team are excited to celebrate the anniversary and acknowledge the support that continues to contribute to Ohmite’s success. 

“It’s taken us the better part of 15-to-20 years to drive our culture of customer support, offering exceptional quality at a fair price and on time. Co-ordinating all our global locations can be difficult, especially when there’s different languages involved, but it makes for a lot of fun and camaraderie. It all starts at home with trust and celebrating different languages and cultures. I’m very fortunate to walk amongst people I recognize in Matamoros, Mexico, Truro, England and of course here in Warrenville, IL, and we communicate very well even though we don’t speak the same language,” Greg reveals. “I’ve been with the company since 2003 and have been President & CEO since 2012, and I still reflect on our people and the value they bring. We’re going to be having a big celebration to let our people know that they’re valued, not only in Warrenville but all over the world. We will never forget to honor and respect our people. We’re set to have a wonderful party in Mexico where we’ll all dress up in traditional outfits and have a fiesta, and we’re also going to celebrate in Cornwall too. 

“The longevity of our company, I believe, is due to the success and the investments made by our holding company, HEICO, into Ohmite, and the people that I’m fortunate enough to work alongside. We sell our products through independent reps who have mentored, coached and been loyal to Ohmite for many years. We thank them all. There’s been good times and bad; right now, we’re on a high, and want to continue this trend. Further, our success also comes from our channel distribution partners who have stuck with us through it all. It’s that trust factor – good, old-fashioned trust, combined with great communication which is why we think Ohmite is still here thriving today. Our people are good and hard-working, so we’ve been able to keep and modify our vision to adapt with the times.” 

Amidst the anniversary celebrations, it’s clear that Ohmite is well-positioned to continue its growth trajectory, paying homage to its innovation and success. As our conversation concludes, Greg takes a moment to reflect on Ohmite’s most important asset – something that’ll never change no matter what the future holds. 

“We wouldn’t be here without our fabulous team. We’re very stable and we trust each other,” Greg finishes. “My dad was a management consultant – a very smart man, well educated – and he used to say that if you put talented people in a room together, there’s going to be sparks, and we always have sparks. At the end of the day, we’ll then go and get dinner or have a beer, put our arms around each other and off we go. That’s one of the key areas of our culture; there are no grudges and no office politics; I’ve been really lucky. And we share that globally. We’d love to expand further internationally one day, but it’s got to be the right situation. I think we’ll be around for another good number of years for sure.”  

https://www.ohmite.com