Tuesday, January 14, 2014

We still make things in this country: McCoy Foundry Co. Ltd., Hamilton, Ontario

I've had these useful pipe jaw inserts for many years:



Interesting that they would have used a clearly-identified RAE vice as part of their illustration.



In 1944, Archie McCoy and his father purchased a bankrupt foundry in Hamilton and built it into a successful business that made manhole covers, boat anchors, catch basins, barbells and a wide variety of custom castings ranging from the Gore Park fountain to subway brake shoes.  At the top of its game, more than 1000 manhole covers a week emerged from the foundry, destined for Hamilton, Toronto, Kingston, Windsor and Ottawa in Ontario, and for Dayton and Cincinatti in Ohio.  Nowadays, manhole covers are all sourced by cities from overseas suppliers.  Foreign competition has shrunk the foundry staff from 75 to 20.  At the time of a 2007 article in The Hamilton Spectator (Family Foundry still the real McCoys), the future was uncertain.  Fortunately, the McCoy Foundry is still operating as a source of custom foundry work, now located out of neighbouring Troy.  We wish them much continuing success.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I found this picture of an intact decal from a Rae vise made by the McCoy Foundry in Hamilton http://i.imgur.com/3yNFQXI.jpg .