Telsmith Inc. designs and manufactures stone processing equipment, including jaw crushers, cone crushers, impact crushers, screens, and feeders. The company is known for its Iron Giant, Gyrasphere, and Vibro-King lines.[1] Telsmith Inc. is part of the Astec group of companies.
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[edit] History
[edit] Establishing Smith & Post Co.
In 1906, entrepreneurs Thomas L. Smith and Paul W. Post formed a company to serve the aggregate market.[2] The company, Smith & Post Co., was incorporated on October 30th. Smith had previously established the T.L. Smith Co. for the production of tilting concrete mixers, and the partners decided that the two companies could share a manufacturing plant to cut down on the startup costs that Smith & Post Co.would incur. Additionally, Smith and Post began to market the new company through the T.L. Smith Co. sales network.
The first product introduced by Smith & Post Co. was the Symons Pillar Shaft gyratory crusher. Two years after the company was established, approximately 50 units were in use.[3] New products introduced by 1910 included a jaw crusher, a rotary screen, an elevator conveyor, and portable plants.
[edit] Restructuring the Company
In 1910, Post decided to retire from the business, and sold his stock to Smith. Following this event, Smith’s son Charles moved to Milwaukee to assist his father with the operation of the T.L. Smith. In 1914, Charles requested a transfer to the crusher shop, and was permitted to run it at his discretion. Once in control, Charles began to separate the Smith & Post and T.L. Smith companies and changed the name of the company to Smith Engineering Works. Charles then established his own sales network. He branded the company's products as Telsmith, a name derived from his father, T.L. Smith. In 1918, Charles was named president of Smith Engineering Works.
[edit] A Growing Business
The current space could not accommodate the company’s volume of production so, in 1924, property was purchased to set up a new manufacturing plant. The Capitol Drive plant in Milwaukee would remain the company’s main facility until the 1980s.
As customers in the aggregate market began to seek smaller stone (half an inch or 1.27 cm), Smith Engineering Works continued to develop new products. These included the Reduction crusher, the Telsmith Cone, the Intercone crusher, and the Gyrasphere crusher. The Gyrasphere, developed in the mid-1930s, gained widespread popularity.[4]
The company continued to grow following World War II as a post-war market began to take shape. In 1945, the company went public, offering up a third of the company's shares to potential investors. Five years later, to increase the firm's marketing capacity, a variety of companies including Pegson Ltd., Francaise Blaw-Knox, Samuel Osborn, and Hadfields Steel Works began to market Telsmith products in Britain, France, Africa, and Australia.
Five years after the death of Charles Smith in 1951 and the takeover by Donald Barnes, the interstate highway system was implemented, propelling a growing demand for larger crushing equipment and aggregate production. In response to this, Smith Engineering Works began developing new products. By the late 1960s, the company had introduced the Telsmith 4248 jaw crusher, and the 66-inch (168-cm) Gyrasphere crusher.
[edit] Telsmith – Division of Barber-Greene
In 1960, following the retirement of then president, Donald Barnes, Charles Smith's son Gerald, became the company’s president. Smith decided to sell Smith Engineering Works to the Barber-Greene Co., resulting in the creation of Telsmith as a division of Barber-Greene. This acquisition saw employment at Telsmith jump by 65 percent in the 1960s.[5]
In 1970, after the sudden death of Gerald Smith, Jake Smith (no relation) took over as president. Following this change of hands, Telsmith purchased land in Mequon, Wisconsin, and opened a new plant there in 1973. Jake Smith retired in 1984, and the following year, Bob Stafford was named vice president of operations for Barber-Greene and general manager of the Telsmith division.
The 1980s proved to be a difficult time financially for both Barber-Greene and the Telsmith division. In 1987, president and CEO of Astec Industries, J. Don Brock, acquired Barber-Greene, including Telsmith. Four years later, Brock sold Barber-Greene to Caterpillar, but kept Telsmith. Brock appointed Stafford as the new president of the Telsmith division after he had successfully doubled Telsmith’s sales in its first year under Astec in 1987.[6] Brock then allowed him to direct the company independently.
[edit] Growing Telsmith in the 1990s
Under the leadership of Stafford, Telsmith underwent expansion and restructuring. The company’s Mequon plant was expanded, while its older Capitol Drive plant was shut down permanently. The acquisition of companies including KPI, JCI, BTI, and PEP, changed the scope of company and the Astec Aggregate group of companies was formed. In 1999, Bob Stafford was appointed vice president of Astec Aggregate division.
[edit] The Company Today
Telsmith remains a key member of the Astec Industries group.[7] The company’s international headquarters, located in Mequon, Wisconsin, include a 217,000 square foot manufacturing plant.[8] The company, currently led by Rick Patek, celebrated its centennial in 2006.
[edit] Equipment List
[edit] References
- ↑ Company Profile. Telsmith. 2008-09-09.
- ↑ Telsmith History. Telsmith. 2008-09-09.
- ↑ Telsmith History. Telsmith. 2008-09-09.
- ↑ Telsmith History. Telsmith. 2008-09-09.
- ↑ Telsmith History. Telsmith. 2008-09-09.
- ↑ Telsmith History. Telsmith. 2008-09-09.
- ↑ Company Story. Thomas Net. 2008-09-09.
- ↑ Company Story. Thomas Net. 2008-09-09.
