Adapt and Adopt: The Story of Stainless Foundry & Engineering

Throughout its history, Stainless Foundry & Engineering has remained dedicated to delivering high-quality castings and engineering solutions, adapting to industry advancements and adopting new processes to best suit customer needs. The following is a summary of where we’ve been and where we’re going.

 

 

The Origin Story

SF&E is nearing 80 years in business and we don’t have to look far to remember our roots – SF&E still operates from its original Milwaukee location on N. 35th St. The company was created in 1946 with the mission to serve customers and its employees. Even today, we have the honor of working alongside second and third generation SF&E employees as well as many others who have celebrated more than 20, 30, and 40 years with the company.

The building that would become Stainless Foundry & Engineering, 1926

  • 1946: John McBroom, Sr., and Harvey Kutchera co-founded Stainless Foundry as a one-room sand foundry focused on closed impellers for pumps and parts that were intricate and difficult to cast. The company had 12 employees and poured parts up to 300 pounds.

 

  • 1950s: Expanded operations to include engineering services, offering design and consulting to complement our casting capabilities.
    • 1956: Stainless Foundry purchased assets of Illium Corporation from Burgess Parr in Freeport, Illinois, including a series of patents to special corrosion-resistant alloys.

Left to Right: John McBroom, Sr., SF&E co-founder, Dan Lucas, superintendent; and Harvey Kutchera, SF&E co-founder, 1951

  • 1960s: Invested in advanced casting technologies, enhancing precision and quality of parts. McBroom’s son, John McBroom, Jr., becomes CEO.
    • 1968: Investment casting was added as a service, along with an 11,000 square-foot expansion for the cleaning room. Investment casting would help Stainless Foundry meet industry demand for precision parts.

Stainless Foundry & Engineering Employee Photo, 1966

  • 1970s: Diversified into producing castings for the power generation and petrochemical sectors, further broadening our market reach.

Stainless Foundry & Engineering, 1976

1980s: Established a reputation for expertise in complex and large-scale castings, solidifying our position in high-specification industries.

    • 1987: Expanded corporate offices into the building next door, located at 5110 N. 35th St.
    • 1989: Machining was added as a service, offering customers the ability to receive a finished part instead of finishing it themselves.

 

Driven by Data

The importance of precision, durability, and reliability of each part became paramount for a foundry to maintain long-term relationships with their manufacturing customers. SF&E tackled this from every angle – combining hand-drawn pattern making knowledge with simulation and modeling capabilities of MAGMASOFT®, overhauling communication management, broadening offerings in quality assurance and testing, and investing in automation equipment to improve the work environment. All of these efforts directly benefit the customer with clear expectations and quality pours.

 

  • 1990s: Implemented state-of-the-art engineering solutions, integrating computer-aided design (CAD) and automation to improve production processes.

 

  • 2000s: Ownership transition and expansion
    • 2007: McBroom Jr. retired and Guard Hill Holdings (GHH) acquired the business. Shortly after, GHH expanded facilities and capabilities to meet growing demand, maintaining a commitment to quality and innovation.
    • 2009: Expanded in-house machining property on Dean Road in Milwaukee.

 

  • 2010s: Continued to serve diverse industries, including aerospace, defense, nuclear, petrochemicals, food and beverage, oil & gas and pulp & paper, with a focus on customer satisfaction and technical excellence.
  • 2019: a multi-year, multi-phased Throughput Improvement Project commenced, which included capital investments in employee training and certification, additional equipment, and updated floor plans. Once complete, the Throughput Improvement Project allowed SF&E to double its foundry capacity for blasting and cleaning room operations, make room to concentrate on high specification work, and bring more specialties in-house.

Stainless Foundry & Engineering, 2021

Accelerating Growth

Adapting and adopting is what we’ve always done, so we have never been better equipped to tackle new customer challenges and position our foundry for sustained growth in the future.

 

  • 2020s: The company  has 155 employees and has poured parts up to 7,000 pounds. We continue to add partnerships, technology, equipment, certifications and alloys to expand where industries like military, nuclear, and oil & gas need us.
    • 2020: Added white iron alloy for heavy abrasion mining pump castings, HK30Nb heat resistant stainless steel for both sand and investment castings and completed SF&E’s largest impeller pour in company history.
    • 2021: We continued to fine tune and enhance our knowledge of C96400 copper-nickel and Monel nickel-copper to accommodate growth in the military market. We also ramped up our brass and bronze casting offerings that SF&E was known for decades ago in order to meet growing demand.
    • 2022: Increased capacity and throughput by developing outside suppliers for machining, molding, welding, and grinding.
    • 2023: Growth in nuclear and military industries comes with an increased demand for audits, procedures and attention to detail. SF&E implemented regular training for employees to ensure continued compliance with exacting specifications.
    • 2024: Stainless Foundry & Engineering was acquired by Ashland Capital & Imperial Group. The new ownership has a vision to enhance SF&E’s reputation as a data-driven one-stop-shop foundry offering sustainable, market standard on-time delivery, high quality and   effective communication.

Investment Casting at Stainless Foundry & Engineering

Sand Casting at Stainless Foundry & Engineering

SF&E has a rich history of providing high-quality castings and engineering solutions. We take pride in our ability to find and retain the best talent for our customers’ needs, whether that means developing skills in-house or establishing long-term relationships with outside suppliers.

If you are looking for a new foundry partner, contact us today.

Other News Articles

Adapt and Adopt: The Story of Stainless Foundry & Engineering

Throughout its history, Stainless Foundry & Engineering has remained dedicated to delivering high-quality castings and engineering solutions, adapting to industry advancements and adopting new processes to best suit customer needs. The following is a summary of where we’ve been and where we’re going.     The Origin Story SF&E is nearing 80 years in business […]

Customer-Centric Improvements Fuel Sustainable Growth

The number of industries relying on castings for pumps and valves continue to expand, and the volume of demand within each industry continues to grow. At the same time, the U.S. foundry landscape faces consolidation—making trusted partnerships more essential than ever. A customer-focused approach is ideal to solidify relationships, processes, quality, and longevity.

The Critical Work of Pressure Vessel Parts

Pressure vessels move media, including oil, compressed gas, hot water, chemicals, steam, and acid throughout a system. These systems are often essential to military, oil and gas, nuclear, food and beverage, or petrochemical operations, where it is critical that the pressure is retained. A boiler system on an aircraft carrier, a pump at an oil […]

Photo Story: Current Trends in Machining

Machining puts the finishing touches on a casting – smoothing out rough edges to improve the surface area, removing excess material to meet tight tolerances, and adding shine. In recent years, advancements in Computer Numerical Control (CNC) technology, 5-axis machining and automated processes have been major drivers in foundry machining. Foundries like Stainless Foundry & […]

Stainless Steel World Magazine Feature

Stainless Steel World Magazine highlighted the pressure standard usage and compliances required for high-spec casting production in the USA, UK, and EU. Read the full article for a deep dive into manufacturing high-specification castings with SF&E’s Director of Quality and Technical Services, Michael Porfilio.

Return to the News Page