East JordanIron Works was founded in East Jordan, Michigan in 1883. The company was established in November 1883 by William Malpass and his father-in-law, Richard W. Round, to service the logging industry in East Jordan and around Northern Michigan. In the early years of operation, EJIW manufactured castings for necessities such as machine parts, ship parts, agricultural uses, and railroads. In 1905, the foundry was destroyed by a fire but was then rebuilt using bricks made in its hometown of East Jordan. In the 1920s, lumbering operations began to decrease after the advent of the Great Depression. By World War II, lumbering had moved out of the area, and EJIW then shifted their large-scale production to street castings, water works valves, and fire hydrants as well as war materials needed for the war effort such as tank parts. East Jordan Iron Works was renamed to EJ in 2012 to consolidate multiple owned holdings under a single brand. EJ owns and operates four foundries, with locations in East Jordan, Michigan; Ardmore, Oklahoma; Birr, Ireland ; and Picardy, France. The Ardmore foundry was built in 2000 and opened for operation in 2001. EJ also owns and operates sales offices and distribution centers, as well as fabricated product facilities. EJ now supplies products to infrastructure projects in 6 of the 7 continents. Groundbreaking for a new, state-of-the-art EJ foundry in nearby Elmira Township began around the beginning of 2017, and was completed in November 2018. The company moved into the new building, and began operations in it shortly after. There is no timetable for the old foundry's demolition.
Sales and products
EJ's main manufacturing facility, corporate headquarters, and hydrant & valve assembly lines are located in East Jordan. The foundry production facility in Ardmore also provides numerous castings for EJ sales operations. EJ is a producer and supplier of construction castings to hundreds of U.S. cities, townships, counties, and states. The EJ product line includes manhole frames and manhole covers, utility castings for the telecommunications industry, trench grates, tree grates, detectable warning plates, airport and design specific castings, monument boxes, meter boxes, valve boxes, drainage grates, curb inlets, and catch basins. EJ construction castings can be found in major metropolitan areas, as well as world-wide. Reinvestment in production facilities has allowed for EJ to become a leader in the construction products industry.
