Charter Manufacturing history

Wells Manufacturing Company's 42,000-square foot plant opens on March 3, 1947 in Skokie, Illinois, manufacturing gray iron castings and valve tappets and specializing in castings for agricultural equipment, pumps and heating systems.

In 1948, at the request of Chrysler Corporation, the Mellowes family established Milwaukee Wire Products (MWP) to manufacture dipsticks for the internal combustion engine and powertrain industries.

In 1966, Peterson Steel is selected as the first regional distributor.

In September 1973, Wells Manufacturing Company purchases 38 acres in a new industrial park in Woodstock, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago.

The Dura-Bar Division pulls its first bar from the new Woodstock facility on March 15, 1976.

In 1978, John Mellowes formed Charter Rolling, which specialized in servicing the cold-heading and cold-forming markets.

The establishment of Charter Electrical Melting in 1981 completed the vertical integration initiative.

In 1985, Charter Steel opened a state-of-the-art processing plant for cleaning, coating, annealing and wire drawing.

They quickly added transaxle retaining rings and valve keys to the product portfolio before adding valve spring retainers in 1989.

In 1991, Charter Steel built a melt shop in Saukville, creating a completely integrated mini mill at one site.

Valve Train Components (VTC) began as part of a larger presswork group, but was established as an independent company in 1994.

Dura-Bar Research and Development moves into its new 40,900-square foot wing in May 1998.

In November 2000, it opened a full-service processing and distribution facility near Toledo, Ohio, to better serve its customers.

In 2002, the business expanded and diversified with the introduction of synchromesh sliding keys, which quickly became an important addition to the product portfolio.

The company broke ground on a $125 million expansion of the Cuyahoga Heights plant in the fall of 2004.

In 2005, the company acquired the assets of ProTube Design Limited, simultaneously expanding guide manufacturing capability, and allowing for exploration of other high volume automotive tube applications.

With the completion of the work in April 2006, the plant had a modern melting operation on site that allowed Charter Steel to expand its special quality steel lines including cold heading steel, bearing quality steel, and high carbon steel.

In 2007, this support was quickly followed with a local manufacturing presence as Milwaukee Wire Products acquired Valve Train Components (VTC) of Lichfield, England.

In 2008, Charter Automotive made further advancements toward supporting customers' global requirements when a warehouse and distribution facility was opened in Wuhu, China, designed to support the rapid expansion of the Chinese auto industry.

Dura-Bar's new warehouse in Changzhou opened June 1, 2011.

In 2013, Charter Automotive completed two additional large-scale expansion initiatives, which included the simultaneous relocation UK operations from Lichfield to Burntwood, and the opening of its newest manufacturing site in Changzhou, China.