BF History Part 6:

Our last article covered the purchase of the Harrington Foundry by A.J. Hall and Elmer Kime. We also saw how the now Benton Foundry began to grow as a subsidiary of Hallstead Foundry. Our foundry did exactly what the new ownership had planned and that was to handle the overflow work at Hallstead. The business was running very smoothly and was very profitable.

Then on March 14, 1974 the most significant event in the history of Hallstead Foundry occurred. An event that would cause disruption, turmoil and many uncertainties for the future of this thriving business. Mr. A.J. Hall passed away. Gone now was the man who provided leadership, personality and vision for Hallstead Foundry. Mr. Hall had a unique relationship with all employees and customers because of his “roll up the sleeves” and “jump right in and work” approach to management. It was a sad time for both Hallstead and Benton Foundries.

Immediately following Mr. Hall’s death the management team of Hallstead and Benton Foundries began the tedious task of deciding the future of over 300 employees at the two locations.
The company stock after Mr. Hall’s death was split down the middle between the Hall and Kime families. From the Hall family there were; Mrs. Helen Hall (wife of A.J. Hall), Alfred B. (Fritz) Hall, Raymond (Butch) Hall and Linda Hall Adams (daughter of A.J. Hall). The Kime family had; Elmer Kime (co-founder), Robert, Charles, and Dave Kime (Elmer’s sons) and Ada Kime Alexander (daughter of Elmer Kime).

There had always been a difference in business philosophy between both families. This would cause an immediate road block in deciding how the business would continue to be managed. The basic difference between A.J. Hall and Elmer Kime was that Mr. Hall believed in keeping up with new technology by buying new state-of-the-art equipment. Fritz Hall had the same philosophy, of reinvesting in the company, and did right up to his passing. The Kimes had the philosophy that, “It is working well, let’s leave it the way it is.” They were in a dangerous comfort zone. During this time period, the iron industry was losing foundries because they failed to keep up with the advancing technology that was being developed.
Several meetings were held at Hallstead with all of the shareholders present. Differences were aired and both families were trying to establish common ground. A major turning point occurred when Linda Hall Adams (daughter of A.J. Hall) gave her voting rights to her husband Dave Adams. For personal reasons Dave Adams voted Linda’s share of stocks in favor of the Kime Family. This upset the 50/50 balance between families.

Immediately the Kime family made many changes to the corporation which translated to Fritz and Butch Hall working for the Kimes. This was a totally unacceptable arrangement to both Fritz and Butch. The business was built and operated on a 50/50 relationship between the two families and now it was all changed by the swing vote of Dave Adams.
From this point on, basically for the remainder of 1974, the daily duties of Fritz and Butch were severely curtailed. Anything they proposed in the form of new projects or equipment went on hold or were completely rejected.

The Hall Brothers then decided to correct this unacceptable business relationship. They made some shrewd legal maneuvers that resulted in the Hall Brothers taking over Benton Foundry and the Kimes and Linda Hall Adams taking over Hallstead Foundry. This was done trough a stock swap. At first this didn’t look shrewd, since Hallstead Foundry was several times larger and more profitable than Benton Foundry. It looked at first as though the Halls had incurred a significant loss as a result of the stock swap. However, when the dust settled, the Kimes were left with a significant tax bill to the point that it curtailed any equipment expansion for several years to come. The significance of this shrewd swap would play out over the next twenty plus years.

On December 31, 1974 Fritz and Butch Hall took over Benton Foundry. This was a foundry which had about 65 employees and poured 20 ton of iron per day. It was also a foundry which really did not have recognition with customers, since everything they sold was under Hallstead Foundry’s name. All total there were 7 customers that did business with Benton Foundry. Another major hurdle Fritz and Butch had to overcome was the employees. The Benton Foundry employees were told by Hallstead management that the Halls would run it into bankruptcy within 6 months. They were also told that Hallstead had the right of first refusal on Benton Foundry and would take it back over. They would once again be a part of the successful Hallstead Foundry. There were numerous newspaper articles sent to Benton Foundry and placed on the employee bulletin board by unknown sources. These articles contained information provided by the Kimes and were negative toward the Halls. They portrayed Hallstead Foundry as flourishing due to the Halls being out of the business. This created a morale problem with Benton Foundry employees. The following article was an excerpt from a local newspaper: The Binghamton, N.Y. Press & Sun-Bulletin said “Changes at the Hallstead Foundry started in 1974 when A.J. Hall, one of the founders of the 47-year old business, died. The responsibilities of operating the foundry were split between Elmer Kime, the other founder, and the descendants of A.J. Hall. Differences in business philosophy kept the company from operating at peak efficiency, Bob Kime, explained.

The differences were settled in 1974 when the Kime family took over full operation of the Hallstead Foundry and the Hall family left to operate a small foundry in Benton, PA.” There were other articles designed to put the Halls in a bad light and make the Kime family look successful.

This did not deter Fritz and Butch Hall. They continued to march in spite of the adversity that was given to them by the Kime family. It made them more determined to take Benton Foundry from running at a break even level with old equipment to a profitable leader in the iron industry with state-of-the-art equipment. In 1974, Hallstead Foundry was very profitable, had a great reputation, a solid customer base, super employees and the size that could handle customer growth. The Kime family had an unbelievable edge over what the Hall family was undertaking.

Fritz and Butch Hall started by getting things organized within Benton Foundry. They took the work ethic taught to them by their father and incorporated it with the employees at Benton Foundry. They then worked on their customer base and increased it with many of Hallstead’s customers, as well as, new customers. Slowly they began to improve the technology at Benton Foundry and soon it became a manufacturer to contend with.

Then the inevitable happened. On Monday, April 13, 1987 the employees of Hallstead Foundry picked up their final pay check. Hallstead Foundry, Inc. the largest employer in the Hallstead and Great Bend area, permanently closed its doors on April 17, 1987. The Kimes filed to dissolve the business in federal bankruptcy court. This ended a well established business of over 50 years. All of the work that was done by Alfred J. Hall and Elmer Kime, to build a two-man operation in to a thriving manufacturer of over 200 people, was up in smoke. Poor management practices, a failure to reinvest in the business and failure to maintain a solid customer base attributed to the downfall of Hallstead Foundry. A number of customers immediately requested their business be placed with the now formidable Benton Foundry.

In 1985 Butch Hall pursued other opportunities and had a friendly parting from his brother Fritz and Benton Foundry. Butch’s shares of stock in Benton Foundry were then divided among Fritz’s son Jeff and his daughter Kimberley. Benton Foundry was now under ownership of another generation of Halls. Jeff, being a more active participant in the business, started out working at the foundry part-time while attending high school. Upon graduation from Drexel University, in Philadelphia, he took over as Human Resource Manager and directed plant operations. Later he would become the Vice President of Manufacturing and then onto to his current role as President of Benton Foundry.

By the end of 1996, it had been 21 years since Fritz and Butch took over this 20-ton per day foundry in rural North Central Pennsylvania. There was much adversity to overcome, and much determination needed to succeed, especially during the early years. But in 1996, Benton was nearing completion of an 8-million-dollar expansion project, including two, 10-metric ton furnaces. At that time, it was the largest expansion in their history. They employed 200 people, working two shifts and pouring roughly 100 tons of iron per day. Benton Foundry was growing to become a real competitor in the North American cast metals industry. This aligned with Fritz’s goal to be the best iron jobbing foundry in North America. In the next article of our Benton Foundry history, we will continue our journey to what Benton Foundry is today.

Sean Burke

Our condolences go out to the family of Sean Burke. Sean worked in our maintenance department as a maintenance technician for the last year. Sean also served in the PA Army National Guard and achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant. Sean passed on May 24, 2024.

William (Bill) Keefe Jr.

Our condolences go out to the family of Bill Keefe. Bill was a longtime employee of 41 years. He spent the last several years working in our grinding room as a manual grinder. In previous years Bill worked as a molder’s helper. Bill retired in 2022. He was a good worker, an avid fisherman, he enjoyed hunting and he was known for his sense of humor. Bill passed on April 4, 2024.

David (Dave) A. Hartman

Our condolences go out to the family of Dave Hartman. Dave worked many years at the foundry as a lead maintenance mechanic, retiring in July of 2013. Dave loved horses, farming, and working with his hands (especially refurbishing vintage farm equipment). Dave was a jack of all trades, a good worker and a good friend to many. Dave passed on April 9, 2024.

Joann Hess Heimbach

Our condolences go out to the family of Joann Heimbach. Joann worked in our grinding room for over six years during the 1990s, retiring in November of 1999. Joann enjoyed all kinds of crafts, quilting, gardening, baking and puzzles. After she retired, she would often stop in around the holidays and share her goodies and crafts. Joann passed on April 28, 2024.

Randy G. Swisher

Our condolences go out to the family of Randy Swisher. Randy worked at the foundry several years ago. He worked here from 1987 to 1994 in our grinding room, mostly as a floor grinder. Randy passed on March 29, 2024.

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ur efforts continue with respect to developing our training programs, continuing education/tuition reimbursement program along with trying to recruit those with the skills and knowledge that we need. Our process technician apprenticeship program continues. If you are interested, please see the Human Resource Department for further information. Current employees pursuing or who have recently received degrees are as follows. – Nick Wilson is pursuing an Automated Manufacturing Technology degree and Gabe Keller is pursuing a Welding & Fabrication Engineering Technology degree at Pennsylvania College of Technology. David Buma just completed his Diesel Technology degree from Pennsylvania College of Technology. Timmy Schechterly is pursuing an Electrical Engineering Technology degree from Penn State (Wilkes-Barre). Kyle Hall is pursuing a master’s degree in Engineering Management at Wilkes University. Joe Tabor earned his Advanced Process Control certificate from PSU (Hazleton).

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enton Foundry was recently honored by being one of eight manufacturers that received a 2024 MAEA Award (Manufacturers and Employers Award) that demonstrated excellence in 2023. The eight Northeast PA manufacturers honored, along with the reason for the honor are: Hydro Extrusions (Community Involvement), Diaz Manufacturing (Process Improvement), Zimmerman Machine, Inc. (Process Improvement – Small Business), InterMetro Industries, Corp. (Product Innovation), Mrs. T’s Pierogies (Product Innovation), EMD Electronics (Expansion), Benton Foundry, Inc. (EHS—Environmental, Health & Safety).

We were honored for the measures we took during our recent expansion to mitigate potential negative effects on our local environment, neighboring natural waters and habitats, as well as maximizing efforts toward beneficially affecting them. This included our installation of 1.6 acres of engineered wetlands in a High- Quality Watershed. We removed a diseased and dying riparian buffer from the native trout stream and replaced it with a robust and disease resistant one. The addition of our rain garden was designed to mitigate the sediment from our parking lot before recharging the runoff to groundwater. We added a vegetation swale, storm-water-quality filters, several check dams and an underground water retention basin along with filter bags at storm drains. This was an effort to recharge the groundwater supply with more high quality water – thus reducing our rainwater runoff instead of increasing it despite our added square footage and additional driveways. This aspect of our expansion would not have been possible without the coordination of several local individuals, leaders and organizations. We would like to personally thank Aaron Sisler (Borton Lawson, now Verdantas), Barry Travelpiece (Columbia County Conservation District), Ted Oman & Associates, Steve Bason (Cedar Run Environmental Services), Jared Dressler ( PA DEP) and Amy Elliott (Army Corps of Engineers).

We take pride in our commitment to environmental initiatives to ensure eco-friendly casting operations and we were honored to receive this recognition.

The NEPA Manufactures and Employers Association has been in existence since 1964. They supply cost effective information, help with employer-employee relationship matters, and deliver services that lower the cost of doing business, ease the burden of compliance and help to increase productivity. They provide their members with unique, value-added services, including navigating complex legal landscapes and providing top-tier training to elevate workforces . MAEA is a private, non-profit, membership based organization that serves 24 counties.

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enton Foundry just completed our spring highway cleanup Project. The Pennsylvania Adopt-AHighway program currently has 4,284 volunteers covering 9,293 miles (average of 2.2 miles per volunteer organization). We cover the area of Route 487 from Camp Lavigne Road to PA-118 which is 4.2 miles and is technically 8 parcels (or segments) of adoptable highway. Our official zone is smaller than this but we use these two points. We coordinated our efforts with the local Penn-DOT office in Bloomsburg. This year we collected 29 bags of trash, miscellaneous debris like tires, plumbing, automotive body panels, a bit of furniture and a pallet. We would like to thank our clean-up crew consisting of Lily Schechterly, Della Norton, Kenny O’Brecht, Jonas Roper, and Albert Phillips, coordinated by Kevin Trychta. Other nearby participants are Bear Fuel who cleans-up the section of PA-118 from Comstock Road to Route 487, Williams Pipeline who takes care of the section of PA-118 from Mountain Road to Route 239 and Raven Creek Presbyterian Church who takes care of Lower Raven Creak Road.

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ecently, Jeff Hall was approached by Paul Reichart, who is on the board of directors for the NCCCC (Northern Columbia County Cultural Center) to make replacement feet for an old coal/wood stove. This round belly stove is going to be displayed in the Orangeville Train Station Refurbishment Museum, with other historic artifacts. The Museum is located on Railroad Street in Orangeville, PA. We agreed to make the feet as a donation to this interesting historic cause.

Nathan Foust, a long-time Benton Foundry employee who works in our pattern shop, took the one existing foot that Paul had and made two beautiful castings, using some oldschool foundry methods. He used a fallow board with urethane poured into it to make the offset needed in the parting. He then made a core mold and poured it vertically. This process is a lost art in the foundry industry, as we know it today. Paul said the replacement feet look better than the he ever expected. “Thank you Nate for an excellent job!”

While Paul was here, he shared other interesting historical information on our local area that we will feature in future publications.

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he crusty or scaly looking masses we see on trees and rocks while walking through the woods is a common sight to most of us, but very few people know what a lichen actually is. We’ll see in a minute that biologists and scientists are also still discovering what they are. The main structure of a lichen is made of a fungus which provides the support for the rest of the microbiome. The food to sustain the fungal body of a lichen (and incidentally the color) comes from cyanobacteria – what we used to call blue-green algae. The method is photosynthesis, just like grass and trees. In addition, very recently at Purdue University a team of researchers have discovered lichens also contain a third partner in the form of yeast. This yeast often acts as the immune system of the lichen warding off predators or even other lichens with a variety of secreted chemicals. All of this comes together to explain why lichens can survive on rocks or in sand or even in the arctic as they already provide everything they need to survive except a place to sit. This method of symbiotic relationship between multiple species is called mutualism and there are convincing arguments suggesting the first form of life that made the leap from ocean to land was a lichen. If this is true, it would have made them the first food source for other oceanic emergents and today many forms of life including animals as big as reindeer (domestic caribou) sustain themselves largely on lichen – in their case, reindeer moss.

Because of how they grow, lichens are loosely described as epiphytes (air plant) in that they pull moisture and photosynthetic ingredients directly from the air. This means a couple of things. For one, they do not “eat” trees as many believe. They simply live on trees holding on with their rhizines (microscopic tendrils) and cause the trees no direct damage. The reason you see more lichens on a tree that is dying is that dying tree has less leaves and allows more sunlight through to the lichen. Another result of the air plant behavior is lichens are good indicators of air quality. Some pollution types act as biocides – i.e. ozone, sulfur dioxide, fluorides, ammonia, and acid rain to name a few. Lichens readily absorb these pollution vectors (along with the beneficial elements) directly from the air and die. You can think of lichens as the canary in the mine. So-called lichen zone patterns (areas with little to no lichens) are generally found around urban centers or near industrial complexes. If you see a lot of lichens, it does not mean the trees are sick; it means the air is clean and supportive of delicate life.

In an area with many current invasive tree pests and diseases it is easy to lump something that looks as strange as a lichen in with the rest of them. However, the truth couldn’t be more different. They are a self-sustaining community  of organisms quietly letting us know where the air is nice and where we can do better.

Article by Kevin Trychta, Benton Foundry Inc.