photograph
Catalog Number
2023.23.4Description
Color photograph of the Western Foundry property ca. 2002. This photograph was taken by Hope College employee Tom Renner and shared with the Holland Museum courtesy of Hope College. Hope College purchased this property as a location for their De Vos Fieldhouse.This particular photograph shows the factory sign out front.
History
The Western Foundry Company was a division of the Consolidated Foundries and Manufacturing Corp. Western was located in Holland, MI at 310 East 8th Street (1942, 1960 and 1990 city directories). They produced castings such as pressure vessels, boiler controls, clutch and flywheel housings, gears, sheaves and compressor components.Managers of Western Foundry included FJ Biener (1942), Herbert Merwin (1945), Elmer Andringa (1949) and Carl Johnson (1954). President's included Elmer Andringa (1968), D.B. Ziegler (1979), Robert Barteaux (1984) and William G. Lucas (1990).
In 1974 Western Foundry had a staff of 100 and sales of $6 million. Profit steadily declined over the next twenty years. By 1995 there were rumors of a field house being built on the property. The Foundry closed in 2002, the year Hope College purchased the property, making way for the De Vos Fieldhouse.