East Penn Manufacturing, Lyons, founder DeLight E. Breidegam, Jr. died Wednesday at age 88.
“East Penn Manufacturing is deeply saddened to announce that DeLight E. Breidegam, Jr., Chairman Emeritus and Founder of East Penn Manufacturing, passed away on September 9, 2015,” announced East Penn officials in a statement to media. “DeLight started East Penn with his father, DeLight Sr., in 1946. He laid the foundational groundwork that has made East Penn the company that it is today. There’s no doubt that he will be deeply missed, but his legacy continues to live on. In the areas we work, in the products we make, and the customers we serve, East Penn will continue to honor DeLight by being committed to his dream and inspired by his vision.”
According to http://www.eastpennmanufacturing.com/, in 1946, DeLight Jr. started a battery business with his father, DeLight Sr. in a small, one-room creamery in Bowers.
“Wartime made for scarce battery materials, but there was big demand for rebuilt batteries so returning GIs could get their vehicles running again. DeLight and his father filled that need by collecting old batteries and rebuilding them to new,” according to the website.
In 1947, Karl Gasche, a former associate of DeLight, Sr., joined the Breidegam family and became vice president of East Penn until his retirement in 1966. The name “Deka” is a combination of “DeLight” and “Karl,” according to the website.
Today East Penn has a product line of five automotive batteries with more than 8,000 employees, 450 product designs, and hundreds of awards for manufacturing and environmental excellence.