| HISTORY
OF THYSSENKRUPP WAUPACA
 In
1871, on the banks of the Waupaca
River, John Rosche started the Pioneer
Foundry, just east of Main Street
in the City of Waupaca. Rosche operated
the foundry until 1886, when his son
Fred Rosche partnered with H.H. Suhs
to form Suhs – Rosche. They
specialized in the manufacture of
the Waupaca Chilled Plow. Some of
their other specialties were sleigh
shoes, sash weights for windows, and
the crusher jaws for use by the City
of Waupaca at its stone crushing plant.
Sometime after the turn of the century,
the foundry was sold to Leo Niemuth.
Several years later it was sold to
Charlie Dombrowski. Dombrowski ran
the foundry until his death in 1955.
His widow, a former schoolteacher
in Waupaca, sold the company to Clifford
Schwenn. After purchasing the foundry
Schwenn changed the name to Waupaca
Foundry, Inc. At this time the foundry
had 13 employees and poured 2 to 3
tons per day. In March 1955, Donald
Brunner left Brillion Iron Works and
joined Waupaca Foundry, Inc. as Plant
Manager of Operations. Immediately
a pattern vault addition was added
to the plant.
 In
May 1955, Fullerton Lumber Yard on
North Division Street was purchased.
It was at this location that the offices,
shop, shipping department and assembly
departments were maintained. By March
of 1957 the foundry was casting truck
brake drums, heavy truck axle parts,
water and air-cooled industrial equipment
parts, wood and metal working equipment
castings, electric motor housings,
and parts for electric door openers.
May 1957 saw the construction of
a concrete building 80 feet by 120
feet long, including a 16 x 40 foot
wing for the cupola. By July 1957
the gray corner stone was put into
place. August 1957 saw the construction
and completion of a 4-ton cupola with
a 45 foot stack. By October the first
iron was poured. All operations were
transferred to the new plant, and
the melting jumped to 30 tons per
day.
 In
December 1958 an addition was built,
followed by another addition in December
1959, and a third addition in December
1962. By March 1964, 78 tons per day
were being melted. In June 1964, 150
employees worked at the foundry, and
expansion continued.
In August an additional site for
another plant was pursued. The City
of Waupaca agreed to sell a 40-acre
parcel of land located east of Ware
Street. A main building was designed
on Ware Street 80 feet by 240 feet
with a lean-to structure 50 feet wide
extending along one side. The plans
called for a 30’ x 80’
cupola room, and a locker/shower room
40 feet by 56 feet.
On February 17, 1966, the foundry
poured 30 tons of gray iron per day
at new Plant 2. By the eleventh year,
the company had grown to 200 employees.
 On
July 15, 1966, expansion began at
Plant 2, and by August of the same
year melt increased to 80 tons per
day.
The first Disamatic molding machine
was installed in May of 1967. By July
of that year, 140 tons per day were
being poured, with 275 employees on
the payroll. The two plants occupied
a total floor space of 115,00 square
feet. A second Disamatic molding machine
was installed in September 1967, and
in August 1968 Disamatic number 3
went into operation.
In July 1968, Phillip W. Scott, President
of The Budd Company in Troy, Michigan,
announced that his company had acquired
Waupaca Foundry, Inc. The move made
Waupaca Foundry, Inc., a wholly-owned,
independently operated subsidiary
within The Budd Company automotive
division.
By October 1968, Plant 2 had received
another 37,000 square foot addition.
In March 1969, Plant 3 opened for
operation. Iron pouring extended to
18 hours a day, and the old cupola
was replaced by a larger unit, which
had the capacity to melt 24 tons per
hour.
In 1969 an in-plant training program
was implemented to diversify the skills
of production workers. The work force
at this time had grown to 311 employees.
Plant 3 was expanded in October 1971.
Donald Brunner became President of
Waupaca Foundry, Inc. in 1971, after
Clifford Schwenn retired.
In December 1972, a Feed and Seed
Company at the corner of North Division
and Mill St. was purchased. Plans
called for the building to be removed
and to construct an all-steel structure.
Employment at the end of 1972 was
430 people.
 On
May 8, 1973, plans to build a new
plant in northeast Wisconsin were
announced. Plant 4 was constructed
in Marinette, Wisconsin, and specialized
in processes not available in previous
plants. The Marinette facility was
designed to melt 12 tons per hour.
Plant 4 was completed and began production
in May 1974.
Two Disamatic molding machines were
installed at Plant 4 Marinette in
1976 and 1978.
In June of 1977 the Schwenn family
donated to the City of Waupaca the
original plot of land where Pioneer
Foundry was built. The plot of land
was turned into a city park.
In 1978, Thyssen, a German-based
company acquired The Budd Company.
In 1981 Waupaca Foundry employees
began designing and building the world’s
largest Disa molding machine. Called
“The Big Ox,” this automatic
molding machine went into production
at Plant 2 in January 1982.
 In
1986 Ductile Iron was introduced at
Plant 1, and a BMD Cleaning Machine
was installed in Plant 2. In 1989
Plants 2 and 3’s cupola was
enlarged and a second “Big Ox”
was added to Plant 2.
As part of its efforts to encourage
employee involvement, the foundry
introduced the Kaizen program in 1991.
Kaizen is a program that brings together
five or six employees from different
departments as a team, to work on
creative problem solving and new ways
to improve production or the flow
of materials.
Another Disamatic was added to Plant
4 in 1993. Also in 1993, a Disamatic
molding machine was added to Plant
3, and the Plant 2-3’s cupola
was enlarged again. In 1994 another
Disamatic was added to Plant 1. In
1995, a 6th Disamatic was added to
Plant 4, and in 1996 Plant 1 installed
another Disamatic.
In January of 1996 construction began
on Plant 5 in Tell City, Indiana.
By February 1997, Plant 5 was in operation
and was one of the most advanced and
modern foundries in the world.
Gary Thoe became President and Chief
Executive Officer of Waupaca Foundry
in 1997, following the retirement
of Don Brunner.
The largest vertical molding machine
in the world was installed in March
1999 at Tell City. The machine was
named “The Super Ox” and
was designed and built by Waupaca
Foundry employees. Then, in August
1999, another “Super Ox”
was installed at Tell City, completing
Phase 2 of Plant 5. The addition brought
the total number of vertical molding
machines company-wide to 29, with
a capacity of more than 380 tons per
hour, making Waupaca Foundry the largest
non-captive iron foundry in the world
with more than 2,300 employees.
In 1999, Thyssen and Krupp merged
to form ThyssenKrupp.
 In
March 2000, construction began on
Plant 6, located in Etowah, Tennessee.
This facility began operation in October
2001 with 4 Disamatic molding machines,
bringing the company-wide total to
33.
In 2002, Waupaca Foundry changed
its name to ThyssenKrupp Waupaca.
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