Lebaron Foundry, Inc history

William Aylward, who had moved to Neenah, Wisconsin, from Corning, New York, around 1859, foresaw the need to provide farmers with quality plows.

Neenah Foundry's roots stretch back to 1872, when the United States was recovering from the Civil War.

1875: The company steadily increases its capacity as William Aylward's sons--William, Jr., Edward Charles, and John--join the business over the next five years.

In 1886, William’s brother, James, joined the business and the company was renamed East Jordan Iron Works.

Established in Cleveland in 1893, Madison Foundry specialized in manufacturing municipal casting designs for area cities and the Ohio Department of Transportation.

1904: Manhole covers and sewer grates are first produced.

1922: The name Neenah Foundry Co. is adopted.

Western Iron Works, Inc. was founded in 1923 in San Angelo, Texas.

In 1928 Neenah Foundry began to manufacture industrial castings in support of a growing regional printing industry.

By 1942, the company was able to open a credit union as a benefit for its employees, and other improvements were on the horizon.

Automation and Expansion: 1946-71

Ed Aylward became company chairman in 1959, and his son Bill was named president.

In 1960, the company suffered a loss when he died following a short illness.

Founded in 1965, Vulcan Foundry was one of the first semi-automated construction casting producers in the south.

Although Neenah Foundry had served international customers for more than 20 years, in 1966 the company began to formally market its products abroad by sending catalogs around the globe.

The addition of Plant 3, dedicated to industrial castings, followed in 1967.

In July of 1969, Ed Aylward celebrated a 50-year tenure with the company his grandfather started.

When the foundry closed in 1982, it began purchasing construction castings for resale from Vulcan Foundry.

By 1985 Bill Aylward estimated that Japanese firms had cost American foundries 25 percent of their industrial market share, according to the January 27, 1985 Milwaukee Journal.

Andrews Metal Products in Youngstown, Ohio, had been fabricating steel manhole risers, catch basin risers, and valve box risers since 1988.

When the foundry ceased operation in 1996, EJ acquired its name, patterns and production tooling.

The most significant development in the company's history came in May 1997.

In 1998, the Water Products operation moved to a new facility in East Jordan, Michigan.

According to the July 2001 issue of Modern Casting, the system provided "the ability to track work-in-process cast components from molding to shipping.

According to the June 11, 2002 issue of the Post-Crescent, hydrogen peroxide, water, and ozone were combined with dust during the production process, which was then reused to produce sand molds for castings.

EJ acquired selected assets of Etheridge Foundry & Machine Company in August 2012.

In 2018, EJ began production of composite covers in Birr, Ireland.