About Work Area Protection Corporation - EST. 1969

Work Area Protection Corporation (Work Area) was founded in 1969 by Richard A. Nelson and Hank Bolt as a basement operation in Elmhurst, Illinois, manufacturing signs and sign stands primarily for the utility market. As Work Area grew into other markets, we were awarded our first state contract for sign stands, making it necessary to vacate our basement operation for a larger facility in Addison, Illinois .

In 1978, Work Area moved our expanded operation to St. Charles, Illinois, our present home, and started manufacturing traffic cones. Work Area had grown to be one of the largest and most respected manufacturers in the field of temporary traffic control devices worldwide.

In December, 1986, Work Area became a subsidiary of Stabler Companies, Inc. (SCI). This acquisition was made to provide SCI with a well-known and respected nationwide distribution network.

On January 11, 2008 , Stabler Companies Inc. and its subsidiaries, Work Area Protection Corp., Precision Solar Controls Inc., SCI Products Inc. and its other divisions, were acquired by New Enterprise Stone and Lime Company (NESL) in New Enterprise, Pennsylvania.

“The acquisition of Stabler enables us to diversify our offerings of products, services and materials," said Donald L. Detwiler, president and CEO of New Enterprise. "Employees and clients will see few changes in Stabler's operations."

Work Area's well-deserved reputation was established by following one simple formula: provide the highest quality products at a competitive price and back each sale with service and delivery second to none; a formula we still use today.

Work Area's successful growth pattern continues with the addition of several new products, such as the Channelizer Cone, the Manhole Protector Ring and the Speed-Dependent Crash Attenuator, that complement the full line of products that Work Area markets worldwide.

Work Area continues to be the leader in the traffic safety industry by continuing to stay up to date in the development of innovative and proprietary technologies, which open a whole new market segment for us to provide our world-class customer service and full line of temporary traffic control products.

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