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The Iron Men
2007 NUCA Associate of the Year — East Jordan Iron Works — Focus on Family and Quality
By Jason Morgan
Its red-hued essence seeps up through rocks and hardened earth, swirling in rivers and streams. Its strength, dependability and longevity makes it the sixth most abundant element in the universe (fourth on our planet). So it’s no wonder that the 2007 National Utility Contractors Assocation (NUCA) Associate of the Year incorporates this element into their name and operations. Beginning with castings for machines, ships, agricultural uses and railroads to becoming one of the leading manufacturers of municipal and utility castings, East Jordan Iron Works (EJIW) has grown its strength on its family members — now in the fourth and fifth generations.
Transforming a small Midwest company into a global construction castings and infrastructure products business doesn’t happen overnight. The company’s humble origins began with William E. Malpass and his father-in-law Richard W. Round in East Jordan, Mich., in 1883. Establishing a foundry in November of that year to service the local lumber industry, EJIW began producing its castings. More than 30 years later, the lumber industry had taken a downward turn and EJIW shifted to producing municipal street castings, water works valves and fire hydrants.
By the 1950s and ‘60s, the third generation of ownership converted the foundry to an automated high-pressure molding line complex, complete with integrated automatic sand processing and mechanized casting handling facilities. In the name of growth and prosperity, EJIW acquired many highly-respected, well-run companies in the industry, including, most recently, the INFRA-RISER product line from GNR Technologies, the municipal casting business of McCoy Foundry of Canada, Cavanagh Foundry of Ireland, and Norinco — a leading European manufacturer and distributor of ductile iron access covers and frames for infrastructure such as water, sewer, gas, telecommunications and cable.
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| Joe Lazzati accepted the award at the opening general session at the Utility Construction EXPO this past January. |
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EJIW can, today, be characterized by three product types — street castings, water products and fabricated products.
“The North American municipal castings market has tremendous product diversity,” says Rich Brandell, marketing manager for EJIW. “To successfully compete, EJIW must provide a wide range of designs with custom messaging, images, security features and drainage options. EJIW manufactures tens of thousands of products for markets in all 50 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico.”
In terms of water products, you’ve probably seen an EJIW hydrant — it has been producing hydrants and valves for decades. And as for fabrication products, EJIW operates out of its fabrication facility in Youngstown, Ohio, and produces products ranging from metal adjusting rings and specialty products for adjusting manhole structures to metal hatch assemblies and steel frames, grates and covers.
EJIW operates state-of-the-art foundries in Michigan and Oklahoma, an automated hydrant and valve production facility in Michigan and metal fabrication centers in Maryland and Colorado. In addition to a cornucopia of product offerings, timeliness is of the utmost importance. And EJIW delivers with a focus on family direction.
“A family-owned business can make business decisions because they are the right course of action, not because there must be an immediate financial return,” says Brandell. “EJIW allocates resources to safety, quality, environmental controls and production technology. Many of these investments do not realize an immediate return, but are fundamental for the long term benefit of the company, employees, communities and customers. Disciplined reinvestment is required for the continued viability of our company.”
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