Columbia Steel Casting Co., Inc. history

The development of the steam shovel allowed loading of larger feed material, and by 1910, gyratory crusher feed sizes had grown from 18” to 48”.

In 1916, Hobart M. Bird — whose descendants continue to operate Columbia to this day — first joined the company as a member of the foundry team.

Our next installment begins in 1920 and moves through four-decades of repeated challenges for our company and the country.

The Roaring ’20s In 1923 the first three-phase electric arc steel melting furnace west of the Mississippi River was installed at Columbia Steel.

In 1931, Columbia returned to local ownership when United States Steel sold the company to a group of local investors who officially changed its name from Columbia Engineering Works to Columbia Steel Casting Company.

In 1938, Alexander Clark retired, and Hobart Bird took over as president.

Hobart’s son Hobart “Bud” Bird entered the University of Oregon in 1941 but sought entrance to the Coast Guard Academy after the war started.

When Hobart passed away unexpectedly in 1946, Bud Bird left his Coast Guard career and took over the company’s leadership.

In 1950, the company was the first all-manganese foundry in the United States to use olivine molding sand, which eliminated the problems of silica sand reacting with the manganese steel casting surface.

In 1965, the largest gyratory rock crusher mantle Columbia made was 12,000 pounds and 67 inches tall.

She started her career in the company’s accounting and data processing department in 1972 while pursuing a master’s degree in finance.

The company delivered its first shredder parts for metal recycling in 1973 after Columbia staff conducted in-depth research into the industry and developed new processes to manufacture more durable parts.

By 1974, the company installed its first spectrophotometer to analyze new martensitic steels.

Columbia expanded the melt shop in 1975, adding 10-ton and 3-ton top charge furnaces.

America entered an economic downturn in 1981 that proved the need for more innovative product design and alloy formulation.

In 1982, Columbia introduced its Wearathon Dragline Chain.

In 1986, the company introduced a premium manganese steel, trade named Xtralloy®, which proved highly successful in aggregate and mining crushers.

Columbia moved the bar even further in 1988 by launching its Xtend Process® bi-metallic overlay process, which reduced wear rates on high-strength steel parts to even lower levels.

By 1990, Columbia Steel was one of the larger domestic manufacturers of replacement wear parts for industry.

In 1996, Columbia Steel launched its first website and began using computerized three-dimensional drawing programs and solid modeling.

Today’s Columbia Steel In 2016, Columbia Steel celebrated 115 years of service to its customers.

In early 2020, COVID-19 began spreading worldwide, forcing many businesses to close temporarily.

What does it mean to be a “family business”? As Columbia Steel celebrates its 120th anniversary in 2021, CEO Martha Cox reflects on our history and future in an interview in Scrap News.