Wipac is a British automotive engineering company based in
Buckingham
Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...
. The company resulted from a merger in 1941 of the British subsidiary of the American Witherbee Igniter Company (Wico) and British spark plug manufacturer Pacy to become the Wico-Pacy in
Bletchley
Bletchley is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, in the south-west of the city, split between the civil parishes in England, civil parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley, which In 2011 had a com ...
before eventually becoming the Wipac brand which became well known in the UK for car and motorbike accessories including driving lamps and
windscreen wiper
A windscreen wiper (Commonwealth English) or windshield wiper (American English) is a device used to remove rain, snow, ice, washer fluid, water, or other debris from a windscreen, vehicle's front window. Almost all motor vehicles, including ...
blades. Wipac moved to Buckingham in 1959 with 500 employees.
Wipac designed and manufactured the high intensity headlight mounted on the front of British Rail locomotives and multiple units from the mid 1980s. They subsequently designed the combined lighting cluster fitted to all British manufactured trains. The cluster consists of a high intensity headlamp, red tail light and smaller white 'marker' light. The Wipac cluster was fitted to virtually all British built multiple units, including classes 141, 142, 143, 144, 150, 151, 153, 155, 156, 158, 317, 319, 321, 322, 455 and 456. The single high intensity headlamp (known as a 'hair raiser') was fitted to all Southern Region slam-door units still in service post 1988, as well as DMMU trains of classes 101 to 128. Many Midland, Scottish and Eastern Region slam door units were also fitted in the 1990s.
In 1998 Wipac was acquired by
Carclo and in recent years became specifically known for
LED lights for vehicles including the high mounted stop lamp for the 1995
Cadillac Catera, one of the first multifunction LED tail lamps for the 2001
Porsche Carrera GT
The Porsche Carrera GT (Project Code 980) is a mid-engine sports car that was manufactured by German automobile manufacturer Porsche from 2003 to 2006. ''Sports Car International'' named the Carrera GT number one on its list of Sports Car Intern ...
, and the front and rear lights for the 2011
Lamborghini Aventador.
The company manufacturers vehicle antennas, producing 1.4 million in 2005.
In 2007 Wipac acquired
High Wycombe
High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...
based Ultra Auto Design.
In December 2019 the automotive lighting business of Wipac was acquired by Anrui Optoelectronics Ltd of China,
itself part of
Sanan Optoelectronics. The optics, eyecare and ultra brands were retained within Carclo.
References
{{Automotive industry in the United Kingdom
Companies based in Buckinghamshire
Manufacturing companies established in 1948
Auto parts suppliers of the United Kingdom