Grede history

Building on his success with Liberty Foundry, William Grede bought another foundry, in nearby Waukesha, Wisconsin, in 1927.

In 1932, Grede entered into a venture with a struggling Milwaukee firm, Milwaukee Steel Foundry Company.

William Grede continued to build his company after World War II. In 1947, Grede Foundries built a new foundry in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Grede Foundries was at the forefront of the industry in producing ductile iron by 1950.

Jacobs hired Jack Steele in 1966 as the company's full-time marketing director.

Then in 1977, Grede bought another foundry in Kansas, the Hartmann Manufacturing Co. of Hutchinson, Kansas. It bought the land for this in 1974, paying $1.5 million for a parcel of real estate adjacent to Milwaukee Steel.

In 1981 the company announced that it would spend $34 million on upgrades and expansion at all its plants.

1984: Company moves into the Southeast with purchase of South Carolina foundry.

In 1986, Grede bought two foundries from the Eaton Corp.

Bruce E. Jacobs, son of Burleigh Jacobs and grandson of founder William Grede, became president of the company in 1987.

Closer to home, Grede bought a Fredonia, Wisconsin company, Fredonia Foundry, in 1988.

In 1995, Grede bought a steel foundry in St Cloud, Minnesota, and converted it to a ductile iron shop.

In 2000, Grede began construction of a new foundry in Mexico, to be operated as a joint venture with a Mexican firm, Proeza S.A. de C.V. of Monterrey.