Clarksville Foundry, Inc.

A business steeped in heritage, Clarksville Foundry is one of the oldest foundries in America. With roots dating back over 150 years, the foundry withstood civil war, depression, technological changes and environmental mandates thanks to the owners’ unique vision and a strong desire to not merely survive – but thrive.

The threads that run through generations of ownership are constant: Customer service was always key. Product quality was paramount. Prompt deliveries were essential.

Since 1847, those strengths haven’t changed. But most everything else at Clarksville Foundry has.

We’ve invested in modern technology so we can quickly provide job estimates and information about past orders.

Details about any item we cast for you – whether it was yesterday or last year – are at our fingertips. Production dates. Chemical analysis. Number of units cast. With our custom-designed database, we can use the statistical history of your pours to fine-tune your future orders.

Clarksville Foundry can handle every detail of producing your castings from start to finish – which can save you time and expense.

With administrative offices, a pattern shop, foundry and finishing operations at the same site, we can handle every phase of your order, from blueprint to finished product.

Working from your specifications, we can computer-generate your estimate … usually providing it within 48 hours of your request.

Up-to-date technology provides flexibility and efficiency in the Foundry, whether we’re preparing molds, melting alloys or finishing your casting.

Clarksville Foundry’s casting services include: pattern making and castings up to 1,500 pounds, spectrometer analysis, green sand, airset molding and shell core capability. Machining and secondary operations are also available. As an iron foundry, we also specialize in casting services such as:

• Ductile iron castings
• Gray iron castings
• Prototype castings
• Cast iron castings
• Alloy cast iron
• Short-to-medium run production
• Foundry patterns
• Iron (ferrous) castings from blueprint or existing patterns

PROUD HISTORY

In the 1850s, the foundry specialized in iron stoves and grates — later diversifying into copper pipes, kettles, sheet iron and machine castings of all descriptions. During the Civil War, the company produced rifled cannon and balls, until the Union occupation of Clarksville in early 1862 brought foundry operations to a halt until 1867.

Following the war, the foundry again prospered. And by the 1890s, the foundry was a modern industrial establishment. While continuing its foundry business, the company expanded into new business ventures as well, manufacturing steam engines, tobacco screws and other machinery.

Thomas B. Foust acquired the Clarksville Foundry in 1912 and brought his sons into the business in the mid-1930s. Foust introduced several new product lines, including a variety of municipal castings such as manhole covers, drainage grates and meter boxes. Prosperity continued at the foundry during World War II, requiring the company to hire over 100 men to meet production demand.

However, in the mid 1970s, Clarksville Foundry was forced to cease operation for five months, overhauling the entire operation to comply with new environmental laws. An outdated coke-fired furnace was replaced with an oil-fired furnace, which 10 years later was converted to a modern, nonpolluting electric furnace.

When Charles Foust Jr. — grandson of T.B. Foust — became president in 1981, there were new and serious challenges that needed immediate attention. Foundries across the country were closing their doors as a result of foreign competition and high interest rates. But like his predecessors, Charlie Foust found a way to carve out a market niche for his company. The business emphasis was shifted form machining back to foundry operations, specializing in turnkey service and manufacturing short run, high quality castings in a variety of materials. As a result, a company on the verge of extinction became a thriving, modern business — earning its President, Charlie Foust, the distinction as Tennessee’s SBA Small Business Person of the Year for 1994.