Progressive Foundry, originally a supplier of cast iron washing machine parts, was started in the 1920's by Richard Tietjen. It all began in the basement of the At Last Washing Machine Factory where it continued until 1934 when the washing machine factory closed. From 1934 until the death of Richard Tietjen in 1941 it was operated by Tietjen with the help of his sons, Herman and Harold, and expanded both in plant size and equipment and ultimately employed forty workers. Herman became sole owner in 1944 when Harold was killed in action during World War II.
	By 1946 the plant had grown to cover an area of one-half square block and produced grey iron castings for manufacturers throughout the Midwest. From the early 1950's until 1966, the company changed owners several times passing from Harold Tietjen to Harold Schroeder to Larry Siemens and John Fisher in 1960, and finally to Safetran Systems of Louisville, Kentucky, in 1966. Safetran, a manufacturer of railroad traffic signals operated the foundry until it was purchased by Mike Hodges and Pete VanKirk in 1981. In 1985, VanKirk bought Hodges' share and has continued the foundry as a family business until the present.
	During the past fifteen years Progressive Foundry has grown from 35,000 to 100,000 square feet with state of the art molding and mold handling equipment. The grinding and shipping department has been moved and is now in a new building with conveyor belts to move castings to locations for final grinding and inspection. All patterns are stored off site in a fire-safe building for their safety. Our market has expanded in the Midwest and Southwest and on to the west coast. Progressive Foundry has become a high-production jobbing foundry for small and large orders in grey iron castings.

© 2006 Progressive Foundry, Inc.
This page was last updated on 11/15/2006
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