Enterprise Engine and Foundry

  Enterprise Foundry was founded in San Francisco in 1885 to make large castings for heavy machinery, mostly for the gold rush. The company was incorporated in 1908 and in 1917 they started producing a single cylinder 8 hp industrial diesel engine under the Enterprise Engine and Foundry name. Image of an early engine here.

  A merger with the Western Machinery Company made the new company the premier internal combustion manufacturer on the west cast. They were well placed to become a major supplier of marine and generator engines for the US Navy during WW2. In the musical chairs of company ownership changes, reader Terry discovered they merged with Adel Aircraft Fasteners in the mid-fifties, why it seemed aircraft fittings and marine diesel engines were somehow related is a mystery. But larger and larger industrial engines were being produced, now up in the 8000 hp range. 

 The next next 30 years were not good for business as the shipping industry and export markets shrunk, ownership changed many times during that time.  The company has survived currently owned by Cooper Machinery Services of Houston, Texas, supplying large industrial and backup generator engines all over the world.