State Brass Foundry and Machine, Inc.

State Brass Foundry and Machine, Inc. manufactures ferrous and non ferrous centrifugal and static castings for all types of industrial applications. The plant, established in 1922, is centrally located in Salt Lake City and affords easy access to major truck, railroad and air transportation. All castings meet or exceed government and industry standards in accordance with our quality assurance program. Modern specialized manufacturing equipment, combined with the technology gained through nearly a century of experience enable State Brass to offer over ninety different alloy selections. Other services offered by State Brass included finish machining, welding and fabrication, chemical and physical testing and non-destructive examination.

You will find State Brass an excellent source for your casting requirements. Inquiries and quotations are available from our knowledgeable sales and technical staff. We are looking forward to serving your casting needs.

At the turn of the century Woolley’s Grocery Store was located at approximately 1400 South State Street. A drive down State Street today will show the changes that time has fashioned, for what was considered “far out” then is “down town” now.

Back in the early 1920’s Robert “Archie” Austin and Joe Riddle felt the need for a bronze and aluminum foundry, while being employed at the Old American Foundry. Venturing out to accomplish this was no easy task. Any and all jobs were welcome. The two men handled all the work themselves.

In 1938 Mr. Austin’s son-in-law, Don Archer, began moonlighting at the foundry to help out. Riddle offered to sell out to Archer who thought the offer was a joke and accepted in that vein. The next thing he knew he was a 50 percent owner.

In April of 1944, Austin’s son, Robert L. Austin, who at that time was employed at Bethlehem Steel in San Francisco, California, joined the business.

The company grew and expanded. Many of the castings produced needed to be machined so instead of farming them out they opened their own machine shop in the early 1950’s. When more space was needed for the machine shop the Master Cleaning and Shirt Laundry next door became available. It was purchased and the machine shop relocated there.

More equipment was added until once again more space was needed. In 1967 construction began on a new 6,000 square foot shop. It was a very unique task because the new shop was built over the top of the old building. As a section of new floor was poured and set, a section of the old roof was removed. With the aid of their new crane, the equipment was moved to its new location.

A third generation came into the business in 1972 when Archer’s son Dennis “Kim” Archer joined the company. 1974 was a real year for decisions. Rising fuel costs and consumer requests caused a replacement of the old natural gas furnaces with more modern Induction Furnaces thus giving State Brass new capabilities. With the new furnaces we could also melt irons, steels and stainless steels in addition to the bronzes and aluminums.

In 1985 we added a centrifugal casting operation. In 1995 an even larger centrifugal machine was installed. We were also happy to add Kim's son, Don Archer, now the fourth generation in the business. Continued growth and expansion has made State Brass Foundry the “little giant” that it is today.

Over the years we have enjoyed associations with some great employees. State Brass would not be where it is today without them. We would like to thank all of the past and present employees who have put in time at STATE BRASS FOUNDRY & MACHINE.