WARN Industries has built off-road recovery equipment since 1948, beginning with locking wheel hubs and expanding into the electric winch that made the brand a standard. The lineup covers truck, Jeep and SUV winches, powersports winches, industrial and hydraulic hoists, bumpers, mounting systems and rigging gear, manufactured in Clackamas, Oregon.
Arthur and Sadie Warn founded WARN Industries in 1948 with an idea for converting surplus World War II Jeeps into practical road vehicles. Arthur's locking wheel hub was the product that did it, and it went on to reshape the four-wheel-drive market. By 1954 WARN hubs were offered as factory optional equipment by major domestic automakers, and over the following decades the company supplied hubs as original equipment to Chrysler, Ford, GM, Kia, Nissan and others.
The defining moment came in 1959 with the electric winch. Before it, a vehicle-mounted winch ran off a power take-off and needed the engine turning to work. An electric winch could pull even with the vehicle stalled on a hill, which changed what recovery meant for four-wheelers, racers and ranchers. The M8274 arrived in 1974 and remains in the line. Today's truck, Jeep and SUV winches include the VR EVO, ZEON and ZEON Platinum families.
As the ATV market grew through the 1980s, WARN introduced the first purpose-built powersports winch and created a category. The current ATV and UTV winch range includes the VRX and AXON lines, the latter using a combined motor and contactor unit that cuts installation time substantially. Vehicle-specific winch mounts, bumpers and plow systems complete the fitment.
On the work side, WARN builds electric and hydraulic industrial winches and hoists for towing, utility, military and severe-duty applications, from the compact Drill Winch through 30,000 pound Series XL units and the modular Series G2. Recovery is supported by a full rigging range of straps, shackles, snatch blocks and dampers.
The company operates 180,000 square feet of manufacturing, engineering and office space in Clackamas, Oregon, employs close to 400 people, holds more than 100 patents and produces over 600 products under ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and IATF 16949 certified systems.
