History

Founded in 1925, MacLean-Fogg offered one lock nut to North America’s railroads. Through innovative product development and selected acquisitions, the business has grown into a worldwide enterprise with facilities throughout Europe and North America and sales of nearly $800 million annually.

John MacLean Sr. and Jack Fogg

In 1925, John MacLean Sr., former vice president and general manager of the Boss Nut Company, took advantage of an opportunity to start his own business in locking fasteners. His assets included his own energy and creativity, the Number 1 Lock Nut, his partner, Jack Fogg (pictured right), and his two customers: the Santa Fe Railroad and the Milwaukee Railroad. After a few years of health problems, John Senior turned the company over to John Junior.

Jack Fogg was a legend in the railroad industry. He was known as a stylish salesman complete with spats and a cigar. His acquaintances in the railroad industry spanned from the switchmen to the chairmen of the boards of the country’s largest railroads.

John A. MacLean Jr., Joe Murphy, Ernie Doke, and Harry Bishop

In 1927, John MacLean Junior (pictured below) left his stock and bond position and joined the MacLean-Fogg Company after his father suffered a stroke. His father’s message was direct, “I’ve gone to Florida for a month. Look after things.” His career was quickly and firmly established. “Help the industry,” he said, “and we will help ourselves. Solve the customer’s problems, at a fair price, and on time.”

To this day, unequivocal problem solving for customers’ challenges continues to support the commitment.

Initial capital was a challenge. Established nut companies were reluctant to provide loans to a start-up company. Impressed, however, with the integrity and potential of the two principals, Duro Metal Products Company came forth and backed the new venture, thus enabling it to begin doing business in 900 square feet of space rented from Duro Metal.

In 1928, John A. MacLean, Jr. approved most of the spec sheets and bids himself, primarily because the company was very small and because he’d done the work himself! MacLean and Fogg were continuously looking for product solutions to their customers’ problems.

The 1930s were a challenge for the two partners, but Fogg kept selling, and MacLean kept doing things that had never been done. MacLean invented the Lock Tight Floor Clip and was granted a patent in 1938. In 1943, Fogg died suddenly leaving the company without its best railroad salesman.

Joe Murphy came to MacLean-Fogg with a reputation as The Dean of Railroad Salesmen. While old-time railroaders tried blocking a sale because they preferred traditional methods, Joe ensured they understood why MacLean-Fogg products worked better.

In 1929, John MacLean saw the impact of the Water Tight Bolt, which solved severe problems connected with boxcar walls on angle posts by eliminating seepage of water into boxcars. The company bought the invention, marketed it, and continued to improve upon it. As MacLean always said, “Help the industry and we’ll help ourselves!”

The company needed good people to help keep the business growing and diversifying. In 1940, Ernie Doke joined the company to run business operations. In 1954, the Industrial Locking Fastener Division was formed. Harry Bishop became an important figure in the pattern of key people that was developing.

MacLean, Doke, Bishop and Murphy built a business that got stronger with each year. They were committed to educating businesses about the superior performance of locking fasteners.

John MacLean III and Barry L. MacLean

John MacLean III joined the company and worked alongside his father to develop new products until his tragic death in a plane crash in 1962. He received a patent for MacLean-Fogg’s Whiz-Lock fasteners and saw them become a success.

Barry L. MacLean (picture right), mechanical engineer, joined the firm in 1961. Today, he is responsible for building a successful global business with nearly 3,000 employees, and over 23 locations held tight with a bond of personal integrity and the highest standards of performance.

Barry MacLean Expands the Company

Three years after Barry joined the company, expansion of the fastener division continued by the opening of the plant in Mundelein, Illinois. The 1970s were very successful. Barry MacLean became the new president in 1972. Three years later, the MacLean-Fogg Company celebrated 50 years of business. In 1976, MacLean-Fogg continued to expand and diversify with the founding of their Metform Division that produced Hot Formed Products. This was the first offsite facility built. By 1979, the minority interests of Metform were bought out by Erich Neumayer, K.G. of Germany.

MacLean-Fogg Prospers in the 1980s Despite Recession

The recession in the 1980s decreased the demand for railroad car and auto parts. Stamptech moved to a new facility in Richmond, Illinois, in 1980, and a new sales office was opened in Detroit. MacLean-Fogg branched out and purchased Extrusion Science in 1980 and Polymer Technologies in Whitewater, Wisconsin in 1982. The original focus of the company, the railroad business, was sold in 1983. Precision Cold Forge was acquired in 1984 and added to Metform in Savanna, Illinois. MacLean-Fogg celebrated 60 years in business in 1985. Reliable Power Products, Franklin Park, Illinois was acquired in 1986, and MacLean Molded Products, Wheeling, Illinois and Reliable/Bethea, Pelham, Alabama in 1987. The Company sadly lost John MacLean Jr., a critical contributor to the Company’s success, in 1986.

In 1989, the MacLean-Fogg Company hosted a picnic in Savanna to which more than 1000 employees attended. The growth of the company was clearly evident.

When Hurricane Hugo devastated South Carolina’s barrier islands and flattened the Francis Marion National Forest to the north of Charleston, Reliable Power Products was there to help with record shipments of needed electrical supplies. It did the same in 1993 when Hurricane Andrew besieged Florida.

MacLean-Fogg Experiences 1990s With Growth and Development

MacLean-Fogg celebrated 65 years in business in 1990. Ground was broken in 1991 for a new Polymer plant in Whitewater, Wisconsin. New Divisions were acquired: MacLean Rubber, Wheeling, Illinois in 1993; MacLean-ESNA in Pocahontas, Arkansas; MacLean Forge in Havana, Illinois in 1994; MacLean Fiberglass in Newberry, South Carolina in 1995; and MacLean Maynard in Chesterfield, Michigan in 1997. MacLean Vehicle Systems, Royal Oak, was opened in 1999.

In 1995, MacLean-Fogg Company named a new division, MacLean Power Systems, as Continental Electric and Atlas Power were acquired in 1995. MacLean Power then continued to grow as assets of Utilities Service Company in Allentown, Pennsylvania were acquired in 1996. The company was then moved to Trussville, Alabama. In 1997, the Company acquired fiberglass crossarm products of Pentech Industries. MacLean Power ventured into Canada in 1998 when it acquired Hydrocom International renaming it MacLean Power Canada. It continued to grow in 2000 through acquisitions of the American Metal Products and Preformed Line Products, which were consolidated in Alabaster, Alabama. MacLean-Fogg Company celebrated its 70th year in business in 1995.

MacLean-Fogg Company Focuses on Opportunities Worldwide

After the turn of the century, MacLean-Fogg continued to pursue domestic interests as well as opportunities worldwide. In 2001, Royal Oak obtained a new international client, Nedcar, in the Netherlands. MacLean Power also looked internationally when it responded to the devastating earthquakes in El Salvador by rebuilding towers, and to the earthquakes in India, in 2002, by shipping 132 KV insulators. When Guam struggled with the disaster of a major typhoon in 2003, MacLean Power was there to help again with materials and crews.

MacLean-Fogg Company in Europe

In 2002, the Company established bases in Europe. It established headquarters in Germany and purchased the Hollow Core non-ceramic insulator facility in St. Yorre, France, renaming it MacLean Power France. In 2004, MacLean Vehicle Systems acquired the Germany based Krefeld-Linn Plant of TRW’s European Operations.

MacLean-Fogg Company in Asia

MacLean-Fogg initiated its first operations in Taiwan in the 1970s. Since then, MacLean-Fogg has increasingly expanded its presence within the Asian continent and the Pacific Rim countries.

Japan
MacLean Vehicle Systems customers include Mazda, Nissan and Toyota in Japan. MVS Japan, K.K. located in the heart of Tokyo, Japan, serves the engineering and technical needs of our Japanese customers.

Korea
MVS Korea (Seoul) serves customers in the Korean auto market and Korean vehicle makers worldwide.

China
MacLean Power China manufactures insulators for the burgeoning Chinese power transmission and distribution markets. Additional manufacturing investments include Laizhou Hongyuan Foundry and Rizhao Honbase Forge in Shandong Province as well as MacLean Quality Composites China (MQC) located in Hangzhou dedicated to the manufacture of carbon fiber products. MacLean-Fogg International maintains procurement and engineering offices in Shanghai and Qingdao dedicated to meeting the needs of our global customers.

Taipei
MacLean-Fogg International (MFI) has its headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, where engineers and quality expertise manage the procurement, engineering and quality for MacLean-Fogg parts and components and our customers worldwide.

India
MacLean-Fogg India Limited has its headquarters in Bangalore to manage engineering across India.

MacLean-Fogg Company in the United States

Even with many new expansions overseas, MacLean-Fogg did not lose sight of important duties in the United States. Bethea responded to the California energy shortage in 2001. After the devastating Midwestern ice storms in 2002, MacLean Power responded with connectors, insulators, and hardware. The following year, it assisted the City of New York after the enormous blackout with transmission polymer insulator and EHV hardware. When Florida suffered after the wave of three large hurricanes in 2004, MacLean Power was once again there to help. After the horrible devastation of hurricanes, Katrina and Rita, in 2005, MacLean Power Systems worked day and night to help restore power.

Right: Margaret B. MacLean, Vice President, MacLean-Fogg International; Barry L. MacLean, CEO, MacLean-Fogg Company; Duncan A. MacLean, President, MacLean Vehicle Systems.

On October 12th 2007, Barry MacLean was inducted into the National Industrial Fastener Show Hall of Fame. He was recognized for his leadership and contributions both in the fastener industry and to the greater community.

January 28, 2008, The Board of Directors of the MacLean-Fogg Company elected Duncan MacLean to President of MacLean Vehicle Systems.

MacLean-Fogg Company Expands Domestically

In order to provide the United States and the world with such support, MacLean-Fogg continued to expand its business domestically in both the MacLean Power division and the MacLean Vehicle Systems division.

In 2001, MacLean Power integrated its plants in Alabama successfully, which enabled it to more efficiently provide better service. In 2003, it then relocated its Alabama division to Alabaster. MacLean Power Systems acquired business units from Sediver, Inc. in York, South Carolina, renaming it MacLean Power York in 2002. Although the MacLean Forge division was sold in 2003, MacLean Power acquired the electrical hardware maker, Josyln, in 2004, and the anchor rod maker, Dixie, in Birmingham, Alabama in 2005.

MacLean Vehicle Systems bought out Nuemeyer’s twenty-five percent interest in Metform, in 2001, and proceeded to open a third location in Mount Carroll, Illinois in 2005. Polymer Technologies acquired Nissan North America as a new client for pogostiks in 2002 while a new division named MacLean Fastener Services was formed in order to more efficiently serve its customers. Flowform, Inc. in Toledo, Ohio, was acquired by MacLean Vehicle Systems, which opened a new Dynalink manufacturing facility in Green Oaks, Illinois in 2003. In 2004, it acquired both MacLean Crewson and Protier.

MVS closed the MacLean Molded Products division and its Wheeling facility at the end of 2007 and transitioned the business successfully to other locations. The closure allowed MVS to focus efforts on its core injecton molding business at Polymer Technologies.

The MacLean-Fogg Company announced in February 2008 the purchase of Saegertown Manufacturing Company, Saegertown, Pennsylvania, a manufacturer of specialized engineered metal components for diverse applications in North America including mining, home construction, and automotive marketplaces, and Proform Tool Corporation, Saegertown, Pennsylvania, a manufacturer of hot and cold metal forged products.

Awards and Recognition

MacLean-Fogg Company provides services worldwide and continually receives awards and patents for its innovative engineering, service, and products. In 2001, MacLean-Fogg Company received the highest Ford operations’ September rating and the Ford Europe CDQA award for CDW 162-platform pogostick. Metform received a Freightliner 2001 Master of Quality Award and then attained ISO 14001 certification in 2003. In 2002, US patents were awarded for link assembly and ball joint components. In 2004, MacLean Vehicle Systems Europe received the Benteler Quality Award. In 2005, Dynalink became certified in the ISO 9000 and the Environmental ISO 14001. Also, MacLean Fasteners received the Ford Q1 Award, Chrysler Gold Award, and became certified in the TS 16949, ISO 9001, and ISO 14001. Certificate ISO 14001 was confirmed for Presswerk Krefeld GmbH & Co. KG. MVS Europe GmbH received the ISO TS 16949 Certificate and achieved ISO 14001 certification in 2006. In 2006, MVS received the Certificate of Appreciation from Nifast Canada Corporation for excellence in quality, service, delivery, and support. MVS Royal Oak was recognized by NUMMI for consistently providing cost, quality, and a 100% delivery rating. MacLean-ESNA became Ford Q1 certified and then was awarded AS 9100 Certificate in 2008. Metform's Machined Components was awarded the Ford Q1 Award in 2008.

Today the MacLean-Fogg Company is a diversified manufacturing company providing high performance fastener and component systems, forgings, precision machined parts, suspension and transmission components, connectors and insulators to automotive, truck, trailer, off road vehicles, recreational vehicles, farm equipment, military vehicle and aerospace markets.

MacLean-Fogg Company also provides automatic splices and bolted connectors, silicone rubber non-ceramic insulators, hollow core insulators, surge arresters, guy and foundation anchors, pole line hardware, aluminum and ductile clamps, fiberglass brackets and guy strains, steel fabrications, and grounding equipment to the world's power and telecommunications companies.