Founder of the joint-stock company Westfalische Metalllndu-strie (WMI) was Sally Wind-muller, and the first products of the factory are lanterns for candles, kerosene lamps, brass horns and fittings for horse-drawn carts and bicycles. Because the end of the 19th century is also the birth of a car, it was almost immediately advisable to expand the offer, also about parts for the first automobiles. They were demonstrated in 1903 r. at the motor show in Berlin, where at the same time the young producer won an award for the construction of carbide lighting. In 1908 r. the name "Helia" appeared (not M.: heli = clear), which was christened an acetylene reflector with a paraboloid reflector and a mirror concave mirror. Compared to the previously commonly used candle and oil lanterns, he had at his disposal 50 times greater power of the luminous flux and twice the range (into 300 m, thanks extra, flat-convex converging lens). At the same time, the production of battery lamps was started and the plants were expanded, which were becoming too small in relation to the needs.

Introduction of approx. 1910 r. electric light bulbs have changed the market demands. WMI now offered headlamps with profiled lenses, with adjustment by means of a pull rod, which prevented dazzling other road users, red position lights and yellow (then!) STOP lights, number plate lighting and generators. The effect of the high beam and dipped beam was also obtained, using two headlamps inclined at different angles. The company's development resulted in the opening of a branch in London, Paris, Vienna, Barcelona, Milan and New York. However, the good streak was interrupted by the outbreak of World War I and the need to carry out orders for the army. Shortly after the end of hostilities, ownership changes took place in the company; left them by S.. Windmuller (1921 r.), and the Hueck family took over the majority stake (1923 r.).
The invention of v 1924 r. the double-filament bulb was a chance for WMI to regain a lost position. New solutions helped to strengthen it, m.in. electric brake lamps and electric horns. The culmination of this stage was the registration of the trademark "Helia" and the associated graphic symbol with the German Patent Office. The owners systematically expanded the range of products, now also including reflectors, rear view mirrors, lighters, circuit breakers, switches, wipers and other parts and accessories. In 1930 r. they were joined by shoulder turn signals, fog lamps and special headlamps designed for driving in curves. Activity outside Germany resumed, by undertaking exports to the UK. Britain, Scandinavian countries, The Netherlands and its colonies, Chin, India and South America. In the post-profit years 30., after Hitler took power, State interference in the economy and the boom in the automotive industry meant further prosperity for the company. In addition to cooperation with the industry, scheduled training of locksmiths and toolmakers was conducted, cooperation was also established with the Dutch department store Sluyter, which gave rise to a worldwide distribution network. In 1935 r. the company received an order for the production of headlights and lamps for Volkswagen prototypes, a year later it was signed (subject to exclusivity) contract for the supply of lighting elements for the Ford plant in Cologne. Valid in the Third Reich from 1937 r. regulations, specifying the technical conditions of vehicles, were beneficial to companies such, like WMI, stimulating the demand for branded products. Therefore, employment in the plants soon exceeded 1000 people, a turnover – million marks (1939 r.).
During the Second World War, the search for new technologies began, partly due to difficulties with access to natural resources. Glass e.g.. replaced with plastic (refined resins). In 1942 r. a method of producing yellow and red rear lamp lenses was developed in the form of a uniform duroplast molding. During this period, approx. 30% turnover was the supply of components for bicycles, in addition, headlamps for motorcycles and boats were manufactured.

The warfare spared the factory in Lippstadt, therefore already in 1945 r. with the consent of the British occupation authorities 45 employees stood by their workshops. Initially, they produced single batches of spare parts for the needs of trade and for the Allied armies.

Currency reform 1948 r. gave rise to the German "economic miracle". The reconstruction of the country with the participation of the USA and Western countries was tantamount to a rapid increase in the standard of living and the revival of the automotive industry.

From 1950 r. Several years of intensive reconstruction and modernization of the WMI plants are dated. It is accompanied by a change in the legal form of the enterprise – transformation from a joint stock company into a limited liability company. and separation from the structure of the first companies – children. At the same time, contracts with Ford and Volkswagen were renewed, providing lighting sets for the so-called. first vehicle equipment. In the Ford Tau-nus z 1951 In the year, modern direction indicator lamps were used for the first time in place of the previously used signal arrows, Borgward soon followed. Years 1957/58 brought further innovations: asymmetric dipped beam and rear combination lamp with reflex reflector, equipped with optical prisms in the shade. The turn of the years 50. and 60. this is the period of opening new factories (e.g. in Paderborn and Bremen) and mastering new technological processes and using new materials, m.in. thermoplastics. Thanks to this, it turns out to be possible to meet the increasingly stringent requirements of customers, both technically, and aesthetic (styling). In 1959 r. WMI GmbH becomes a limited partnership (KG). From mid-years 50. there is also the creation of branches and foreign representative offices (Switzerland, Australia, Mexico, Spain and South Africa), as well as taking over plants in the machine and metal industry in Germany. In 1961 r. WMI employs over 7 thousand. people and turns over 100 million marks a year.