HISTORY –

Glenn Stahl, Founder

Stahl Specialty Company first opened its doors just after the end of World War II.  Like most new businesses starting out after the war, the company began in one simple, rented room.  Glenn Stahl was not only the owner, yet the only employee.  In fact, 1946 – the company’s first year in business – had a total payroll of just $45.86.

In the early ‘50’s, Stahl was contacted about casting a mower deck for a new rotary lawn mower that was just developed.  Unaware that the industry considered a casting of this size to be too big for the permanent mold process, Stahl simply built the mold and started pouring castings.  The aluminum lawn mower deck quickly became one of the first high-volume products for the company.

In addition to the rotary lawn mower deck, another of Stahl’s first high-volume jobs was the gas outdoor barbeque grill housing.  This product, which was developed in the mid-60’s, is still in production today.

Stahl also had something totally unheard of at the time: it’s own tool room.  This enabled Stahl to build it’s own tools, and to make changes to these molds on the same day, a timely response that was unique to the industry.

Stahl quickly discovered the enormity of the market for high quality aluminum castings. Through the 70’s and beyond, the company produced everything from simple, lightweight handles for construction tools, bases for computer terminals, and arrows for weather vanes, to huge housing and cooling tower fan blade hubs weighing several hundred pounds.

Also in the 70’s, the company opened an additional foundry in Warrensburg, MO.  This foundry was set up to produce high volume parts on a rotary casting machine.  This unique machine was interfaced to a robot which automatically ladled molten aluminum, enabling a single operator to control up to eight casting stations.

In the 80’s, Stahl Specialty Company pioneered the “cell manufacturing” concept.  The utmost in efficiency; castings are completely manufactured, processed and packaged for shipping all within a few feet of where the aluminum came in as an ingot.

Although the production machining department was initiated many years before, in the 90’s, the customer demanded a complete product, a machined casting.  Stahl developed the capability to produce sophisticated part geometries, completely machined and pressure tested, assembled, and ready for the assembly line.