Product Details
CompanyDetroit Gray Iron and Steel Foundries, Inc. Certificate TypeCommon Stock Date IssuedOctober 30, 1972CanceledNoPrinterCorpex-WolbergSignaturesMachine printedApproximate Size12" (w) by 8" (h)ImagesShow the exact certificate you will receiveGuaranteed AuthenticYesAdditional DetailsNA
Historical Context
The Detroit Gray Iron Foundry was formed in 1916 by industrialist Hugh Martin when Martin acquired the property of the former Michigan Bolt & Nut Works along Iron Street.
The company focused on unusual job productions that larger foundries wouldn’t handle, and advertised small castings that a could be completed while the client waited on-site as well as 24-hour service on larger castings. The company developed methods of very accurate molding techniques and branched out to serve automobile and automobile body manufacturers in Detroit, Pontiac, Flint, Toledo, and South Bend. By 1927, the foundry was turning out 200 tons of castings per day for the automobile industry.
On June 19, 1929, Detroit Gray Iron began trading on the Detroit Stock Exchange. The company had grown to cover most of the block of Wight Street between Iron and Meldrum Streets, and was capable of producing 100 tons daily.
In March 1950, Detroit Gray Iron expanded to Lansing with the acquisition of the former Novo Engine Company foundry at 705 Sheridan Street. The company formed the Lansing Foundry Company to head its Lansing operations, which would specialize in iron and semi-steel castings weighing up to 35 tons. The company then paid $135,000 for additional Novo Engine Company buildings on Porter Street in December 1954 for an expansion.
The Detroit Gray Iron Foundry was renamed to the Detroit Gray Iron & Steel Foundries on April 16, 1958, to better reflect the products of the company and its subsidiaries, which included:
- Detroit Gray Iron & Steel in Detroit, specializing in steel castings up to 12 tons
- Lansing Foundry in Lansing, specializing in iron and semi-steel castings up to 35 tons
- Valley Steel Castings in Bay City, specializing in steel castings up to 20 tons
- Oakland Foundry in Rochester, specializing in small production cast iron parts up to 45 pounds
In 1960, the company changed its name to Detroit Industrial Products as the company began making not only castings, but servo-systems and gears. Detroit Industrial Products began talks to merge with Technical Tape of Delaware in October 1962, which was formalized in May 1963. Technical Tape produced pressure-sensitive tapes and polyethylene products.
Foreign competition slowly eroded Detroit Industrial Product’s core business, and by 1974, the company was in bankruptcy. The Global Metals Company, formed in 1978, took over the foundry until it closed in 1987. With much of the complex in complete collapse, the city demolished the long vacant foundry in 2015.
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