Why Pier Foundry?

Pier Foundry and Pattern Shop is passionately committed to providing you with the highest level of service, support and value which you expect from a grey iron and ductile iron casting manufacturer.

We are an ISO certified provider of grey iron, ductile iron and austempered ductile iron castings of superior quality, at a competitive price with one of the shortest lead times in the industry. We can produce pattern tooling and sample castings in as short as 2 weeks.

We offer 130 years of manufacturing experience, a knowledgeable and friendly sales staff and a full complement of engineering support and technical services. We encourage our customers to get us involved early in the design process and offer assistance in design and castability from concept through production. Let Pier Foundry be the one stop shop for all of your casting needs.

History

In 1889 on the St. Paul bank of the Mississippi River, a small, gray iron foundry was established under the name of its owner, M.V. Johnson. Although records do not tell us the exact size of the original foundry, we know it was a small, wooden structure with cupola melting, similar to all the foundries of those early days. We do know that the location is the same today as then. Records also indicate that it is one of the oldest Twin City area foundries still in operation. Around the time of the First World War, Mr. Johnson sold the foundry to Olaf Krook, who changed the name from Johnson Foundry to Pier Foundry, taking the name from wooden piers left in the river from a failed bridge project.

In 1951, the foundry changed hands again to the Grilz family. A young man by the name of Donald Grilz, a pattern maker at American Hoist & Derrick Company, purchased the foundry. Along with his father, Mathias Grilz, Don started production in his new business. After long hours at the “Hoist” (as it was called by locals) Don would join his father and crew of 3 or 4 men, molding and pouring all through the night.

The initial years were an up-hill battle for the small foundry plagued by floods, fire and labor disputes. But, Don and his father were determined, and that determination saw them through the adversity of the early years. Pier Foundry continued forward adding space and upgrading equipment to handle the needs of the growing customer base. Nearly a century after its birth, the largest expansion and modernization took place with millions of dollars invested in new production areas and new production equipment.

Today Pier Foundry is one of the most efficient, and modern jobbing shops in the Upper Midwest. With the addition of electric melting, automatic molding and material handling, Pier Foundry has progressed from a small stove grate foundry at the turn of the last century to the highly automated production foundry it is today.