Westerbeke Corporation, Avon, Massachusetts was founded in 1937 by John H. Westerbeke Sr. The company is engaged in the design, manufacture and sale of diesel and gasoline marine engines and generators, industrial diesel generators, as well as marine air conditioners.

The company is well-known and highly regarded in the marine industry. Westerbeke customers include many of the world’s most prestigious boat builders: companies who build million dollar yachts and power boats such as Hinckley Yachts, Little Harbor, Grand Banks and scores of other builders.

Westerbeke also supplies the world’s largest production boat builders with generators and engines. Our customers include, Sea Ray, Bayliner, Catalina Yachts and Beneteau. These four companies alone represent over 30% of the U. S. pleasure boat market.

Westerbeke also supplies government agencies that have unusually stringent performance requirements. For example, Westerbeke engines power over 1,100 U. S. Navy Motor Whaleboats, and over 1,400 U. S. Coast Guard Lifeboats. In addition, Westerbeke engines and/or generators are used in fire boats, police boats, harbor pilot boats, and high speed drug patrol boats in the U. S. and in other countries. Westerbeke products have been certified by the American Bureau of Shipping and Lloyd’s of London and carry the "CE" mark

Westerbeke is active in boating industry associations. The Company is a member of the NMMA (National Marine Manufacturers Association), the NEMA (National Engine Manufacturers Association), and the ABYC (American Boat and Yacht Council). Westerbeke has been an exhibitor in the Annapolis Sail and Powerboat shows, the Miami boat show and Chicago IMTEC trade show since those shows began. Westerbeke also participates directly and indirectly through our distributors in numerous other boat shows throughout the world.

Since the company began, Westerbeke has designed and built diesel engines and generators for a wide variety of uses. As early as 1938, Westerbeke was one of the first companies to introduce the Detroit Diesel 6-71 into marine use. In 1959, the company began to marinize small diesel engine blocks from Perkins. This created the market for small marine diesels primarily for sailboat auxiliary power. The same engines were also used for marine diesel generators. In the 1980’s the Company revolutionized the marine diesel market by introducing a line of quiet, compact, lightweight dependable generators that were the smallest available anywhere. Presently, Westerbeke marinizes diesel and gasoline engines from several leading manufacturers. Our engines range from 12 to 108 horsepower and our generators range from 4.5 to 32 kilowatts.

Westerbeke has also designed and built engines and generators for highly specialized applications, several of which are non-marine. These include special sub-zero cold start generators for the Aurora Australis project at the reactivated Admiral Byrd base in the Antarctic. Westerbeke developed and was issued a US patent on a LubeCell - a device which injects oil into the cylinders to improve cold weather startup of diesel engines.

The Company also designed and built a paralleling system for Westerbeke diesel generators installed aboard ninety-eight foot U. S. Coast Guard Cutters, that enabled the generators to be run in parallel with each other and with shore power.  

Westerbeke designed and built an eight hundred kilowatt standby diesel generator in use by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Lottery Commission. The Company designed and built a three hundred fifty kilowatt diesel generator meeting the stringent sound specification of no more than fifty decibels at fifty feet. Westerbeke constructed custom mobile generators for use by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency in measuring air quality in the Adirondack Mountains. Westerbeke also supplies diesel generators for a wide variety of vehicles including fire trucks, emergency vehicles, ambulances, mobile medical facilities and refrigerated trucks and containers.

The Company employs over 100 full time people. Westerbeke occupies a 3,700 square meter manufacturing facility and a 2,000 square meter Distribution and Parts Warehouse Center in Avon, Massachusetts.

Westerbeke has extensive in-house design and machining capability, utilizing CAD/CAM and CNC equipment to produce complex components such as manifolds, bell housings, and other custom parts. This equipment provides our customers with high quality components where tight tolerances are critical to performance and product longevity.

Company production lines are organized so as to provide maximum flexibility to cater to special customer needs. The Company has well-established planning, control and inventory programs to support that flexibility.

All production activity takes place within a well-structured quality program. We work very closely with our suppliers to assure the quality of the components they provide. Shop personnel carefully monitor the quality of our products as they progress through the plant. Every engine and generator is fully tested under load in our test facility before shipment.

With over sixty years experience in manufacturing diesel engines and generators, Westerbeke’s expertise is unsurpassed in the marine industry. This expertise has translated into state-of-the-art compact lightweight products, with unique features.

Westerbeke sells its products through a world wide network of Master Distributors. The Company also sells directly to major OEM customers such as Sea Ray Boats, Bayliner, Baja, Boston Whaler, Beneteau, Cabo and Catalina Yachts.