Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry proudly celebrates 115 years of recurrent growth

Wisconsin Aluminium Foundry (WAF) opened its doors in 1909. Back then, it had only three accounts, Wisconsin Motors, Harley Davidson and Evinrude Outboard.

In 2024, the still family-owned business celebrated its 115 anniversary where they are now a conglomerate of multiple divisions, including WAF, Wabash Castings (Wabash, Indiana), Dee Manufacturing (Crookston, Minnesota), Manitowoc Pattern & Machining (Manitowoc), All American 1930 (Manitowoc) and ATEK Metal Technologies (New Hampton, Iowa).

"Here we are 115 years later, and Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry remains family-owned and focused on growth through serving clients, employees and the community," Rich Schwartz, WAF Board of Directors chairperson, said.

The company's major operations are designing and manufacturing customised aluminium and copper-based alloy castings for various industries, such as residential, automotive, defence, marine, medical, oil, and agriculture.

WAF CEO Sachin Shivaram, who is first CEO to have joined the business in 2019 from outside the founding family, said, "It's extremely rare. When I tell people we're in our fifth generation of family ownership, they're always surprised – businesses rarely make it that long," he said, "It speaks to the philosophy of the family." 

Originally named Manitowoc Brass Foundry Company, Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry is home to more than 900 employees presently. The family understood from the early days that the business' future lay on the employees and that each team member had a pivotal role in the company's success. According to Shgivaram, the communities where the foundry is located also play a key role, supporting growth and expansion efforts. WAF participates in returning that support through active community involvement.

The company was later renamed Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry by Abraham Schwartz in 1912 and began augmenting product lines and offerings in the mid-1920s. 

Shivaram vouched that the foundry often invests back into the business, "They are dedicated to investing in the foundry – the building, new buildings, equipment, the people, etc.," he said. "With many businesses, they might put off purchasing new equipment – trying to make it last another year or two. Eventually, 20-30 years go by, and all of a sudden, you're left with an under-invested business. The Schwartz family is quite the opposite. At every turn, they've always decided to put money back into business and keep it going. I think that's how we've lasted." 

The company invested a milestone amount of USD 11 million in 2020 in the production facility, which also included a new production line.