Forge resumes production at ex-Bessemer

Homepage

Related Photos

David E. Dale/Allied News

Discussion

Add a comment on this story

March 18, 2010

Only one die lost in March 6 fire

By Carol Ann Gregg/ Staff Writer Allied News Thu Mar 18, 2010, 12:27 PM EDT

Story was published March 13, 2010.

Within five days of a devastating fire that destroyed the Wendell August Forge plant and showroom in Grove City, the company opened a new chapter in its history.

Employees, their families and friends had pulled together to salvage everything they could and moved it to temporary quarters in the former Cooper-Bessemer building on Lincoln Avenue, Grove City, with plans to reopen.

“Last Saturday we closed the book on a chapter in our history and today we are on page one of a new chapter,” said Will Knecht, owner and president of Wendell August Forge, at a press conference on Thursday.

“We were a team – now we are family.”

The company has 55 employees at the Grove City location, all of whom have been working this week. Instead of their regular duties, the employees have been recovering what they could from the site of the fire.

Knecht said that the company has heard from people in western Pennsylvania – from Erie to Pittsburgh, in eastern Ohio, across the country and around the world. They have called, sent e-mails and posted messages on Wendell August’s Facebook page.

In a short ceremony that Knecht started with prayer, the first of a 20,000-piece order was hammered by Jeff Brown, director of operations. The design is a replica of the ticket for the Pittsburgh Penquins’ final regular season game to take place in the Mellon Arena.

Master engraver, Dave Bruck, worked around the clock in his friend’s basement finishing the die of the ticket so that production could begin. The rectangular aluminum piece has the Penquins logo and the image of Mellon Arena.

Knecht said that the craftsmen have been divided into two teams. One team is beginning production of the Penguins order, which is to be completed by April 6. The other team is focused on restoring the 2,800 dies recovered from their former building.

“The insurance people say that after a week, the dies will begin to get pitted and oxidate,” Knecht said. “Our goal is to have all of the dies restored by the end of the week. I am so glad that my father had the foresight to have the dies stored in a fire proof area.”

The restoration is a three-step process. First the surface craftman sands the die with a very fine sandpaper. Then, the surface of the die is rubbed with an oil-water mixture. Finally, the surface of the die is rubbed with a very fine stone.

“It takes about 15 minutes to restore each die,” said Joseph Campbell, who was rubbing the surface of a die with the oil solution. The restored dies were lined up on metal shelves and it was estimated that about 500 were completed. Some were damaged more than others. Campbell said that those that were not too badly impacted by the fire only took about 5 minutes to restore.

“We only lost one die,” Knecht said. “It was split in half.”

The temporary quarters for the production line is located in an area that the company had vacated in April 2009. The owner of the property had not been able to find another tenant, so the space was still laid out and wired the same as when Wendell August had left it.

The executive offices will be located in space on the second level. People were in the process of painting the offices in bright colors. Office furniture will be delivered the first of the week.

Besides the press, several business leaders from the community attended the ceremonial restart of production for the company.

“We are looking for retail space in the Grove City area,” Knecht said. “We hope to have something open by April 1.”

It is hoped that phone service will be restored by Monday: 724-458-8360 and fax 724-458-0906. Patrons may also visit their Web site at www.wendellaugust.com.

Text Only

Local News

Viva Voce! benefits pantry
Viva Voce!, a vocal ensemble that features music from various eras and genres, will perform a benefit concert for the Grove City Community Food Pantry at 2 p.m. Sunday at Tower Presbyterian Church on South Broad Street, Grove City.

February 4, 2012
Tough times, tight space
There's more need than ever for places like the Northern Butler County Feed My Sheep Food Cupboard, which is planning yet another expansion to accommodate a growing number of clients.

February 3, 2012 1 Photo
Rape charges against 2 held for court
The cases against two New Castle men accused of raping a woman in September in Slippery Rock are proceeding to the Butler County Court of Common Pleas.

January 27, 2012
GCMC Baby New Year
Easton L. Culmer was the first Grove City area baby born in 2012 at Grove City Medical Center in Pine Township.

January 27, 2012 1 Photo
Outage goes as planned - this time
The third time was the charm as a scheduled power outage in Grove City went as planned Sunday.

January 27, 2012

Sports

Slippery Rock's Ryan Currie looks to pass against Hickory recently.

HIGH SCHOOL WINTER SPORTS: Lakeview 5 passes the test
STONEBORO – In high school, teachers will give pretests as a way for their students to prepare for an upcoming exam.
The Lakeview Sailors (13-4) received their ‘pretest’ last Monday in the form of Region 5-AA foe Iroquois (8-7) and passed it with a solid ‘A’ by beating the Braves 73-53.
“We really wanted to make this somewhat of a statement game,” Lakeview coach Gary Burke said. “We know Iroquois is fighting for their lives to get into District 10 playoffs. We knew they took Mercyhurst Prep to the wire Friday night. We wanted to prove that we can play the game pretty well down here in the south. It’s been a long time since (Mercer County) team has gone to the playoffs and performed well. This was a great test for us to give us that Erie County flavor. I couldn’t be happier with the performance.”

February 4, 2012 2 Photos
High School Football: Coleman too much in Rockets’ trip to Hickory
The foibles of the Philadelphia Eagles - poor tackling and turnovers - have been well documented through the NFL’s first five weeks. Friday night at Hornet Stadium, stalemated at the half with Slippery Rock High 14-all, Hickory was exhibiting some of those aforementioned shortcomings. But while floundering Philly feels its way toward finding a solution, the Hornets have their own anecdote: DeShawn Coleman.

October 19, 2011
Stay up to date with the Mercer County Sports Blog
Check out what's happening around the area with the schedules and scoreboards from high school football, NCAA football, other local sports, PC's Picks and the Allied News Bulletin Board. Click here

August 30, 2011 1 Photo
NCAA Football: Rock 6-1 after 17-3 win over Cal U
Slippery Rock University rode a length-of-the-field scoring drive by its offense and a goal-line stand by its No. 1-ranked defense late in the first half of action Saturday to a 17-3 win over 14th-ranked visiting California (Pa.).

October 19, 2011
NFL: Steelers top Jags as Mendenhall makes return
Mike Tomlin isn’t ready to say the Pittsburgh Steelers are back. Not after watching his team sleepwalk through the second half against Jacksonville on Sunday.

October 19, 2011 1 Photo

Death Listings

Deaths from Feb. 1, 2012
Bell, Elsie Margaret, 82, East Lackawannock Township.
Bucklew, Thomas "Tom" L., 41, Harrisville (Irwin Township), Venango County.
Davensizer, Gary Ray Sr., 60, Sharon.
Fletcher, Mildred M., 92, Hadley.
Keverline, Daniel E. "June," 79, Grove City, formerly of Kennerdell.
Michael, Dennis P., 70, Hilliards.
Myers, James J., 74, Stoneboro.
Nutt, Dorothy Cookson, 94, formerly of Grove City.
Thompson, Lynn Charles, 75, Butler.

February 4, 2012
Deaths from Jan. 28, 2012
Deaths from Jan. 25, 2012
Deaths from Jan. 21, 2012
Deaths from Jan. 18, 2012

Homepage

Search Results

Related Photos

Discussion

Forge resumes production at ex-Bessemer

Only one die lost in March 6 fire

Site Map